Oxford Solid Mechanics

Upcoming Events

9th May 2012: Second ABAQUS Workshop

After the great success of the first ABAQUS workshop, we agreed to organize the ABAQUS workshop on a regular basis to address a wide range of technical issues. You are all cordially invited to the Second ABAQUS Workshop, 2pm-5pm on the 9th May in the Lecture Theatre, Materials Department, Parks Road.

The agenda is as follows:

  • 2pm-2.45pm. "How to write a UMAT." Prof. Fionn Dunne, Engineering Science, Solid Mechanics & Materials Engineering Group.
  • 2.45pm-3.15pm. "How to import mesh formats from xmt and irregular foam geometries to Abaqus models at low cost." Petros Siegkas, Engineering Science, Solid Mechanics & Materials Engineering Group.
  • 3.15pm-3.45pm. "A (not so cheap) method of creating FE models from medical images" Jennifer Boyd, Engineering Science, Orthopaedic Engineering.
  • 3.45pm-5pm. Open discussion.

If you know of any events that may be of interest to Solid Mechanics members but are organised departmentally, let us know by email.


Previous Events

2nd February 2012: ABAQUS Workshop

This workshop was organised to share knowledge of ABAQUS and other finite element packages used across the departments involved in Oxford Solid Mechanics. It included the presentations listed below.

General Presentations

  1. Jon Gregory (Engineering Science): IT ABAQUS support.
  2. Andrew Richards (OERC): Oxford Super Computing: An Overview.
  3. Elise Pegg (Bioengineering): Use of ABAQUS to explore the mechanics of the musculoskeletal system.
  4. Peter Stewart (Maths): Growing elastic tissues.
  5. Joe Gattas (Civil Engineering): Impact Simulation on Thin-Walled Structures.
  6. Carolina Wessel (Robotics Group): Using ABAQUS to model the compressions of the breast during an X-ray scan.

Technical Presentations

  1. Olga Barrera (Solid Mechanics Group): User Element Implementation.
  2. Andreas Schiffer (Solid Mechanics Group): Fluid-Structure Interaction.
  3. Robert Paynter (Solid Mechanics Group): Simulation of Partial Slip Contact.
  4. Edmund Tarleton (Materials Science): Python Scripting.

23 November 2011: Oxford Solid Mechanics Junior Researchers' Reception

A networking event for young researchers.

The Oxford Solid Mechanics Junior Steering Committee organised an evening reception at the University Club

The event included a brief introduction to Oxford Solid Mechanics, refreshments and a poster session.

26-28 September 2011: Pattern Formation and Multiscale Phenomena in Materials

This workshop both brought to a close the EPSRC-funded OxMOS programme and was the first to be held in the NSF PIRE programme Science at the Triple Point of Mathematics, Mechanics and Materials Science.

The programme for this event can be found here.

4 & 5 July 2011: Intellectual Challenges in Multiscale Modelling of Solids

Speakers and PDF copies of their presentations are listed below:

The programme for the event can be found here.

Wednesday 15th June 2011: Oxford Solid Mechanics Graduate Seminar

The second Oxford Solid Mechanics Graduate Seminar.

David Al-Attar from the Department of Earth Sciences

Title: Seismic studies of the Earth's deep interior

Abstract: Following an earthquake, seismic waves propagate through the Earth and are recorded by seismometers positioned around the globe.

These seismic observations provide information on both the earthquake process and on the Earth's internal structure. In this talk I will first discuss the geological background and motivation behind such studies of the Earth's interior. I will then describe some theoretical and computational problems associated with the determination of Earth structure from seismic observations. In particular, I will focus on the modelling of the Earth's free oscillations and on the calculation of so-called sensitivity kernels for seismic observations using adjoint methods.

Bio: Dr David Al-Attar obtained his DPhil from Oxford in Earth Sciences under the supervision of Prof John Woodhouse. He is also Junior Research Fellow in Geology at Merton College. He is a theoretical geophysicist interested in the application of continuum mechanics to processes occurring within the Earth, and in the use of inverse theory to learn about the Earth's internal structure. During his doctorate, he has worked on the theory of seismic wave propagation in linear viscoelastic materials, post-seismic deformation and post-glacial rebound.

Organising Committee: Ettore Barbieri (Engineering), Claire Dancer (Materials), Christoph Ortner (Mathematical Institute) and Andy Higginbotham (Physics)

Wednesday 1 June 2011: Oxford Solid Mechanics Graduate Seminar

The first of two Oxford Solid Mechanics Graduate Seminars.

Derek Moulton from Alain Goriely's group in the Mathematical Institute.

Title: Surface growth: kinematics to mechanics (and lots of pretty seashells along the way)

Abstract: Growth, quite simply, is the process by which a material gains mass. This talk focuses on surface growth, or accretion, a particular form of growth in which mass is deposited on the surface of a body. An appealing example of surface growth is found in seashells. Seashells have intrigued scientists and mathematicians alike for centuries. While numerous mathematical descriptions of the shapes of seashells can be found, several aspects of how seashells grow are not understood. At the heart of the problem is the relationship between growth and mechanics. I first describe a framework for surface growth kinematics in terms of local growth velocities. I then demonstrate how mechanics can be incorporated within the model and provide a natural mechanism for seashell ornamentation.

Bio: Derek Moulton is a postdoctoral researcher in Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics (OCCAM). His research interests are in mathematical modelling of physical phenomena. He has previously worked with electrostatic interactions with minimal surfaces, sand ripple formation, and magnetic thin films. Currently, his work focuses on the mechanics of growth processes in biological systems.

You can see some pictures of this event here: 1 2 3 4 5

Organising Committee: Ettore Barbieri (Engineering), Claire Dancer (Materials), Christoph Ortner (Mathematical Institute) and Andy Higginbotham (Physics)

14 January 2011: Oxford Solid Mechanics Graduate Conference

Presentations:

  • Clare Dancer, Andy Higginbotham, Christoph Ortner: Introductory talks on Materials, Physics, and Mathematics.

  • Ben Britton: Strain mapping with electron backscatter diffraction in the scanning electron microscope: a tool for observing and understanding micro-mechanical behavior.

  • Bernhard Langwallner: The Quasicontinuum Method - Overview and a Mathematical Perspective

Posters:

  • Andrew Norton, Richard Norton, Mithila Achintha

28 September 2010: "Experiments in Solid Mechanics" Workshop

Presentations:

29 September 2010: OxMOS Final Year Students - Research Updates

Presentations:

12 May 2010: Oxford Solid Mechanics Launch Meeting

Presentations: