Modelling nanoscale properties
In an inaugural article in the latest issue of PNAS, George C Schatz writes on Using theory and computation to model nanoscale properties. Here is the abstract of the article:
Blog posts
In Memory of Professor Liviu Librescu
I had known Liviu since his early days in the Engineering Science and Mechanics Department at Virginia Tech when I was just beginning my own academic career. I had received my PhD from this department in 1981 in an area (composite materials) that at the time was at the cutting edge of high technology. In 1985 I had come back to VA Tech from the industry to continue working in this exciting area in which the ESM Department excelled world-wide. Liviu had arrived shortly thereafter with an already established reputation as a top-notch scientist.
Electromechanical hysteresis and coexistent states in dielectric elastomers
Active polymers are being developed to mimic a salient feature of life: movement in response to stimuli. Large deformation can lead to intriguing phenomena; for example, recent experiments have shown that a voltage can deform a layer of a dielectric elastomer into two coexistent states, one being flat and the other wrinkled. This observation, as well as the needs to analyze large deformation under diverse stimuli, has led us to reexamine the theory of electromechanics.
Open source codes for microstructural evolution
Modelling and simulation is sometimes said to be the third way of doing science, the first two being theory and experiment; see this essay in Science for example:
Loading problems in simulate crack propagation with cohesive element
Hi all:
When I simulate a crack propagate along interface between film and substrate with cohesive element, different load-deflection curves of film were achieved when I applied load or displacement on film, respectively. I think it should achieve same results regardless which kind of load I selected. Please help me find what’s wrong with my simulation.
Harder than diamond: Rhenium diboride
In the recent issue of Science, researchers from UCLA (Chung et al) report on an ambient pressure synthesis (using arc melting) of a compound, namely, rhenium diboride, which is superhard. Apparently, the material leaves scratch marks on the surface of diamond. Here is the abstract of the paper:
Simulating explosions
Recently Henry talked about software that could be used to simulate explosions and introduced CartaBlanca. Luming asked whether anyone had used the software, how good it was, and whether one needed Java to implement models into CartaBlanca.
爆炸力学的发展史
爆炸力学是力学的一个分支，它主要研究爆炸的发生和发展规律，以及爆炸的力学效应的利用和防护的学科。它从力学角度研究化学爆炸、核爆炸、电爆炸、粒子束爆炸(也称辐射爆炸)、高速碰撞等能量突然释放或急剧转化的过程，以及由此产生的强冲击波(又称激波)、高速流动、大变形和破坏、抛掷等效应。自然界的雷电、地震、火山爆发、陨石碰撞、星体爆发等现象也可用爆炸力学方法来研究。
Computer simulations and visualization: Seed video
Here is a video from the Seed magazine called Science in Silico. The video shows results from large scale simulations (and visualization) of fractals, microscopic dynamic processes in ribosomes, structure of viruses, bacterial flagellum, turbulence, explosions, and the modelling of cosmological events.
iMechanica now has 2000+ registered users
iMechanica was lunched on 9 September 2006. It took about five months for iMechanica to see its 1000th registered user. Today we are welcoming the 2000th registered user after only another two and half months.