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”）材料的研究激增，这种材料可以通过变形和改变形状来对温度、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，到飞机的可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大约10%的速度增长，这是美国可以保持显著竞争优势的领域之一。然而，由于缺乏成熟的仿真工具来评估他们的设计并在使用过程中控制设备，“智能”组件的设计者一直受到阻碍。提出的研究通过建立一个合理的科学基础来分析“智能”结构部件，该框架基于一种新的热力学框架，将拉格朗日力学的各个方面与新开发的模拟技术（称为离散变分积分器）相结合。拟议的研究有可能通过将科学预测能力引入“智能”设备设计师的手中，从而改变“智能”系统设计领域，使他们能够构思和开发用于各种应用的创新结构和设备。本研究也将改进机械工程中所选的结构力学课程，使之包含使用这些材料进行设计的合理方法。这项研究将激励研究生和本科生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.