National Academies Press: OpenBook

Research Directions in Computational Mechanics (1991)

Chapter: Front Matter

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Research Directions in Computational Mechanics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1909.
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RESEARCH DIRECTIONS IN COMPUTATIONAL MECHANICS

U.S. National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics

Manufacturing Studies Board

Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
1991

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Research Directions in Computational Mechanics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1909.
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the board responsible for this report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charge of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of the appropriate professions in the estimation of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Stuart Bondurant, M.D., is acting president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

This project was sponsored by the National Science Foundation, contract number INT-9016207-C.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 91-67466

International Standard Book Number 0-309-04648-3

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Research Directions in Computational Mechanics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1909.
×

U.S. NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON THEORETICAL AND APPLIED MECHANICS (USNC/TAM)

SIDNEY LEIBOVICH, (Chair),

Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

RICHARD M. CHRISTENSEN (Vice Chair),

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA

H. NORMAN ABRAMSON (Past Chair),

Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX

PHILIP G. HODGE, JR. (Secretary),

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

TED B. BELYTSCHKO,

Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

DAVID B. BOGY,

University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

ROBERT S. BRODKEY,

Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

C.F. (TONY) CHEN,

University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

CONSTANTINE M. DAFERMOS,

Brown University, Providence, RI

CHARLES DALTON,

University of Houston, Houston, TX

MICHAEL E. FOURNEY,

University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

DANIEL FREDERICK,

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA

L. BEN FREUND,

Brown University, Providence, RI

THOMAS L. GEERS,

University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

JOE D. GODDARD,

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

DANIEL JOSEPH,

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

L. GARY LEAL,

Stanford University, Stanford, CA

BRYAN R. NOTON,

Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH

J. TINSLEY ODEN,

University of Texas, Austin, TX

POL SPANOS,

Rice University, Houston, TX

MARSHALL P. TULIN,

University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA

MILTON VAN DYKE,

Stanford University, Stanford, CA

WILLIAM S. VORUS,

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

ROBERT P. WEI,

Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Research Directions in Computational Mechanics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1909.
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MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF THEORETICAL AND APPLIED MECHANICS (USNC/TAM EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS)

BRUNO A. BOLEY (Personal Member),

Columbia University, New York, NY

DANIEL C. DRUCKER (Bureau Member),

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

JAN ACHENBACH (Congress Committee Member),

Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

ANDREAS ACRIVOS (General Assembly Member),

City College of City University of New York, New York, NY

STEPHEN H. CRANDALL (General Assembly Member),

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

Staff

THOMAS C. MAHONEY, Director,

Manufacturing Studies Board

DANA G. CAINES, Staff Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Research Directions in Computational Mechanics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1909.
×

MANUFACTURING STUDIES BOARD

JAMES F. LARDNER, Chairman, Vice President,

Component Group, Deere & Company (Retired), Davenport, IA

STEVEN J. BOMBA, Vice President of Technology,

Johnson Controls, Inc., Milwaukee, WI

BRIAN E. BOYER, Vice President of Operations,

Northrup Aircraft Division, Hawthorne, CA

GARY L. COWGER, Executive Director,

Advanced Manufacturing Engineering, General Motors Corporation, Warren, MI

CHARLES P. FLETCHER, Vice President of Engineering,

Aluminum Company of America (Retired), Allison Park, PA

DAVID A. GARVIN, Professor, Business Administration,

Harvard Business School, Harvard University, Boston, MA

THOMAS G. GUNN, President,

Gunn Associates, Inc., Bryn Mawr, PA

GEORGE J. HESS, Vice President of Systems and Planning,

The Ingersoll Milling Machine Co., Rockford, IL

CHARLES W. HOOVER, JR., Professor,

Department of Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, NY

RAMCHANDRAN JAIKUMAR, Professor of Business Administration,

Harvard Business School, Boston, MA

J. B. JONES, Randolph Professor Emeritus,

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA

DONALD KENNEDY, Educational Representative International,

Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Hollywood, MD

JOE H. MIZE, Regents Professor,

School of Industrial Engineering and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK

LAURENCE C. SEIFERT, Vice President,

Communications and Computer Products, Sourcing and Manufacturing, AT&T, Bridgewater, NJ

JOHN M. STEWART, Director,

McKinsey and Co., Inc., New York, NY

HERBERT B. VOELCKER, Charles Lake Professor of Engineering,

Sibley School of Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

PAUL K. WRIGHT,

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Research Directions in Computational Mechanics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1909.
×

Staff

VERNA J. BOWEN, Staff Assistant

DANA G. CAINES, Staff Associate

LUCY V. FUSCO, Staff Assistant

THEODORE W. JONES, Research Associate

THOMAS C. MAHONEY, Director

KERSTIN B. POLLACK, Deputy Director, and Director of New Program Development

MICHAEL L. WITMORE, Research Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Research Directions in Computational Mechanics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1909.
×

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The U.S. National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics thanks the following members of The Subcommittee on Research Directions in Mechanics for their individual commitment to and extra effort in the production of this report:

J. Tinsley Oden (Chair)

Andreas Acrivos

Ted Belytschko

Thomas Geers

Sidney Liebovich

Marshall Tulin

Milton Van Dyke

The committee also wishes to recognize those who authored the appendices and thank them for their hard work and invaluable participation.

D. Anderson, University of Texas at Arlington

H. Armen, Grumman Aircraft Systems

I. Babuska, University of Maryland

R.E. Ewing, University of Wyoming

S.J. Fenves, Carnegie Mellon University

J.E. Flaherty, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

A.F. Ghoneim, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

R. Glowinski, University of Houston

P. Haff, Duke University

A. Needleman, Brown University

A.K. Noor, University of Texas

S. Orszag, Princeton University

P.J. Rabier, University of Pittsburgh

W.C. Rheinboldt, University of Pittsburgh

O. Richmond, Alcoa Aluminum Company of America

M. Shinozuka, Princeton University

G. Turkiyyah, Carnegie Mellon University

O. Walton, Lawrence Livermore Laboratories

In addition, the committee gratefully acknowledges the contributions of many more individuals than can be conveniently listed here. Many colleagues gave helpful advice and suggested improvements to the report. Their participation in reviewing drafts of the report and offering constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Research Directions in Computational Mechanics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1909.
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FOREWORD

This document is the first in a planned series of five reports on research directions and trends in mechanics. Besides computational mechanics, the series will cover research directions in fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, experimental mechanics, and dynamics and control. The committee will assess the state of the art for each field and bring attention to developments that will allow the United States to maintain its leadership status and technical preeminence in an increasingly fiercely competitive and politically uncertain world.

This document describes current trends and future research directions in computational mechanics, as well as the status of computational mechanics in the United States. It suggests directions for further research, particularly in areas where gaps exist in current knowledge and major advances are crucial to continued technological developments in the United States. It consists of an Executive Summary and a collection of fourteen appendices. The Executive Summary is provided for readers not familiar with the technical aspects of the subject matter. The definition of computational mechanics, its importance in developing technology, and a summary of recommendations on principal areas of research requiring attention and support over the next decade are presented in the Executive Summary. More detailed technical discussions of specific research areas are given in the appendices.

If measured in terms of impact on advances in modern technology, the subjects of mechanics and its recent offspring, computational mechanics, are among the most important areas of research and development in the industrialized world. The subject is, arguably, the key to many further developments in manufacturing, robotics, defense systems, and other fields. Computational mechanics originated in the United States, grew out of the development of electronic computation in this country, and is basic to future growth in important segments of the economy. It is a field whose welfare is often taken for granted by major federal agencies that, some critics say, are more content with promoting the development of computing machines than with the development of conceptual tools to apply the machines to meaningful problems. In the meantime, Japan and Western Europe are investing heavily in computational mechanics and are gaining prominence both in expertise and in the world market share of computational methods and software.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Research Directions in Computational Mechanics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1909.
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Computational mechanics is a scientific discipline that marries physics, computers, and mathematics to emulate natural physical phenomena. It is a technology that allows scientists to study and predict the performance of various products—important for research and development in the industrialized world.

This book describes current trends and future research directions in computational mechanics in areas where gaps exist in current knowledge and where major advances are crucial to continued technological developments in the United States.

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