Modeling and Computational Methodologies for the Simulation of the Response of Multifunctional Programmable Materials

最近，对令人兴奋的新时尚（所谓的“智能”）材料的研究出现了爆炸式增长，这些材料可以通过变形和改变其形状来对温度，化学成分，光和磁场等刺激做出反应。它们有可能彻底改变各种设备的设计，从人类自适应外骨骼/假肢到飞机的变形机翼和能量收集应用。这种“智能”材料设备的全球市场正以约10%的速度增长，是美国能够保持显著竞争优势的领域之一。然而，“智能”组件的设计者一直受到缺乏完善的仿真工具来评估其设计和控制使用过程中的设备的阻碍。拟议的研究解决了这一需要，建立一个合理的科学基础上分析的“智能”结构部件的基础上，结合拉格朗日力学方面的新开发的模拟技术（这被称为离散变分积分）的一种新的物理框架。拟议的研究有可能通过将科学预测能力带入“智能”设备的设计者手中，从而改变“智能”系统的设计格局，使他们能够为各种应用构思和开发创新的结构和设备。该研究还将修改机械工程中选定的结构力学课程，以包括使用这些材料进行设计的合理方法。该研究将激励研究生和本科生利用这些材料为社会挑战创造创新的解决方案。

Recently, there has been an explosion of research on exciting new fashionable (so-called "smart") materials that can react to stimuli such as temperature, chemical composition, light, and magnetic field by deforming and changing their shape. They have the potential to completely revolutionize the design of a wide variety of devices ranging from human adaptive exoskeletons/prosthetics, to morphable wings of aircrafts and energy harvesting applications. The global market for such "smart" material devices is growing at a rate of approximately 10% and is one of the areas where a significant competitive advantage of the US can be maintained. However, designers of "smart" components have been stymied by the lack of well-developed simulation tools to evaluate their designs and to control the devices during use. The proposed research addresses this need by establishing a rational scientific basis for the analysis of "smart" structural components based on a novel thermodynamical framework that combines aspects of Lagrangian mechanics together with newly developed simulation techniques (which are called discrete variational integrators). The proposed research has the potential to transform the "smart" systems design landscape by bringing scientific predictive capabilities into the hands of designers of "smart" devices, allowing them to conceive and develop innovative structures and devices for a variety of applications. The research will also revamp selected structural mechanics courses in mechanical engineering to include a rational approach to designing with these materials. The research will motivate both graduate and undergraduate students to create innovative solutions to societal challenges with these materials.