at Iowa State University
This simulation of composite damage under impact is run using Alamo. It takes less than six minutes on a desktop.
Creating tools to predict the response of materials in extreme environments for enhanced resiliency
Developing cutting-edge methods for simulating – and visualizing – material behavior from atoms to applications.
Advancing solid rocket propulsion technology by developing tools for simulation driven design.
Creating next-generation materials by manipulating their structure at the microscopic level
Finding ways to make materials stronger, lighter, and more resilient by predicting the ways that they fail.
Using artificial intelligence to unravel the mysteries of why materials break
Applying diffuse interface modeling techniques to automate the design process. This video shows the optimal topology of a cantilever structure to support a load, computed using Alamo.
Welcome to the research website for the Solid Mechanics Research Group at Iowa State University.
The discipline of solid mechanics is concerned with determining how structural materials respond to external loading, and – often – predicting the reliability and safety of the materials in their environments. Materials are uniquely complex in that they exhibit vastly different behaviors at different scales. At the nanometer scale, they behave as lattices of atoms or, perhaps, chains of polymer. At the mesoscale, they exhibit features, such as grain boundaries, that act as key players in mechanical processes. At the application scale, these microscopic behaviors present as behaviors that we all know and understand: plasticity, viscoelasticity, fracture, etc. Understanding this atoms-to-applications picture is a grand challenge in solid mecahnics.
Our group uses the latest computational methods to develop new tools to enable better simulation of solid mechanics. We are interested in a broad range of applications, ranging from solid rocket propellant to asteroid-satellite impact.
Computational solid mechanics lies at the intersection of mechanics, mathematics, materials science, physics, and high performance computing. We aim to produce methods that are theoretically sound, codes that efficient, and results that are believable. Are you interested in joining us? Please check out our page on joining the solid mechanics group.
Recent News
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Congratulations Mike!!","author":{"name":"Brandon Runnels","link":"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/author\/brunnels\/"},"date":"May 17, 2024","dateGMT":"2024-05-17 12:51:23","modifiedDate":"2024-05-17 12:51:28","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-05-17 12:51:28","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/category\/news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">News<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/category\/news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">News<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":0,"sec":8},"status":"publish"},{"id":1263,"link":"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/finite-kinematics-diffuse-interface-mechanics-coupled-to-solidcomposite-propellant-deflagration-our-work-appears-in-cmame\/","name":"finite-kinematics-diffuse-interface-mechanics-coupled-to-solidcomposite-propellant-deflagration-our-work-appears-in-cmame","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solids.group\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/vonmisses0067.png?fit=974%2C904&ssl=1","alt":""},"title":"Finite kinematics diffuse interface mechanics coupled to solidcomposite propellant deflagration - our work appears in CMAME","excerpt":"","content":"Link to paper: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.cma.2024.117040 Abstract: Solid Composite Propellants (SCPs) are widely employed in the field of propulsion due to their enduring chemical and mechanical stability","author":{"name":"Brandon Runnels","link":"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/author\/brunnels\/"},"date":"May 14, 2024","dateGMT":"2024-05-14 20:17:00","modifiedDate":"2024-05-14 20:17:04","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-05-14 20:17:04","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/category\/publications\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Publications<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/category\/publications\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Publications<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":1,"sec":38},"status":"publish"},{"id":1255,"link":"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/grain-boundary-energy-and-faceting-with-lattice-matching-our-work-appears-in-acta-materialia\/","name":"grain-boundary-energy-and-faceting-with-lattice-matching-our-work-appears-in-acta-materialia","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solids.group\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/render.png?fit=2656%2C1062&ssl=1","alt":""},"title":"Grain boundary energy and faceting with lattice matching - our work appears in Acta Materialia","excerpt":"","content":"Link to paper: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.actamat.2024.119962 Abstract: Many material properties can be traced back to properties of their grain boundaries. Grain boundary energy (GBE), as a result,","author":{"name":"Brandon Runnels","link":"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/author\/brunnels\/"},"date":"May 14, 2024","dateGMT":"2024-05-14 20:05:09","modifiedDate":"2024-05-14 20:05:53","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-05-14 20:05:53","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/category\/publications\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Publications<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/category\/publications\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Publications<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":1,"sec":9},"status":"publish"},{"id":1200,"link":"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/congratulations-dr-boyd-and-dr-meier\/","name":"congratulations-dr-boyd-and-dr-meier","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solids.group\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/PXL_20240405_190122323.jpg?fit=1317%2C988&ssl=1","alt":""},"title":"Congratulations Dr. Boyd and Dr. Meier!","excerpt":"","content":"On 5 April 2024, Emma Boyd and Maycon (Mike) Meier successfully completing their final PhD defense. Congratulations Dr. Boyd and Dr. Meier! Emma Boyd's Thesis:","author":{"name":"Brandon Runnels","link":"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/author\/brunnels\/"},"date":"Apr 9, 2024","dateGMT":"2024-04-09 20:31:21","modifiedDate":"2024-04-09 20:32:23","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-04-09 20:32:23","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/category\/people\/\" rel=\"category tag\">People<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/category\/people\/\" rel=\"category tag\">People<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":2,"sec":40},"status":"publish"},{"id":1159,"link":"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/network-plasticity-for-reduced-order-microstructure-evolution-modeling-our-work-appears-in-jmps\/","name":"network-plasticity-for-reduced-order-microstructure-evolution-modeling-our-work-appears-in-jmps","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solids.group\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/movie-1.gif?fit=601%2C482&ssl=1","alt":""},"title":"Network Plasticity for reduced order microstructure evolution modeling - Our work appears in JMPS","excerpt":"","content":"Connectivity is preserved using graph theory Network plasticity can account for deformation modes of thousands of grain boundaries at a single material point Non-dislocation plasticity","author":{"name":"Brandon Runnels","link":"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/author\/brunnels\/"},"date":"Jan 15, 2024","dateGMT":"2024-01-15 17:01:30","modifiedDate":"2024-01-16 23:12:15","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-01-16 23:12:15","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/category\/publications\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Publications<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solids.group\/category\/publications\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Publications<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":1,"sec":37},"status":"publish"}]
Current Projects
National Science Foundation
CAREER: A Multichannel Convolutional Neural Network Framework for Prediction of Damage Nucleation Sites in Microstructure
National Science Foundation
MRI: Acquisition of a high performance computing cluster for next-generation computational science in Southern Colorado
Office of Naval Research
Mesoscale and continuum modeling of solid-phase propellant coupled to gas-phase to determine continuum burn rates in AP/HTPB
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Synthesis – Structure-Property Relationships of Fluorinated Binder Systems
Collaboration with UCCS