Dr. Marcial Gonzalez

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers University
NSF-ERC for Structured Organic Particulate Systems

Predictive multi-scale modelling and simulation of powder compaction processes requires research efforts in two main fronts. First, the development of predictive constitutive models of inter-particle interactions that account for high levels of confinement and a variety of physical mechanisms (e.g., elasto-plastic deformations, adhesion, bonding, friction, and fracture).  Second, the development of concurrent multi-scale strategies that combine a detailed description of the granular scale with the computational efficiency typical of continuum models. The outline of the Seminar is then twofold: (i) we present a new ‘nonlocal contact formulation’ that overcomes the typical, but unrealistic, assumption that contacts are independent regardless the confinement of the granular system, (ii) we describe a fully-discrete multi-scale strategy which solves for contact forces at the granular scale, for nonlocal deformations at the mesoscale, and for static equilibrium at the macroscale. We close with a discussion of procedures for verification, calibration and validation of these computational models as effective tools for design and optimization of compaction processes.