Research Training Group GRK 2423 FRASCAL (2019-2023)
The Research Training Group GRK 2423 FRASCAL (Fracture across Scales: Integrating Mechanics, Materials Science, Mathematics, Chemistry, and Physics) started in January 2019 at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg and comprises 12 PhD projects and one postdoctoral project.
The aim of this interdisciplinary RTG, consisting of mechanics, materials science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and geology is to gain a deeper understanding of the fracture behavior of brittle, heterogeneous materials by developing simulation methods that can capture the multi-scale character of fracture processes.
Although various simulation approaches describing fracture exist for particular types of materials and specific time and length scales, an integrated and overarching approach that is able to capture fracture processes in different – and in particular heterogeneous – materials at various length and time resolutions is still lacking.
The projects of the RTG cover a representative spectrum of brittle materials and their composites as well as granular and porous materials. These are investigated on time and length scales relevant to the natural and engineering sciences in subatomic, atomic, mesoscale, and macroscopic descriptions. Modelling and simulations are based on approaches from quantum mechanics, molecular mechanics, and continuum mechanics. These are embedded in a comprehensive framework leading to a virtual laboratory that ultimately complements and minimizes complex and expensive material and component experiments.
The knowledge thus gained and the methodological framework allow the development of tailor-made materials that are optimized with regard to fracture behaviour.
Link to the local project webpage: FRASCAL
