Method and program product for solid mechanics modelling workbench and dynamic display

#A field of the invention is solid mechanics. Another field of the invention is methods and program products for solid mechanics modeling.

#Solid mechanics is concerned with the stress, deformation, and failure of solid materials and structures, and is useful for many end use applications. By way of example, engineering scientists in the fields of mechanical, structural, materials, civil, and aerospace engineering study solid mechanics. As a more particular example, the behavior of soil and rock under loads and stresses may be studied for purposes that may include engineering projects such as tunnels, open-cut excavations, foundation settlements, slope deformations, and embankment response.

#Models are available for representing solid mechanics relations in a mathematical format. As a particular example, material constitutive relations and models are mathematical representations of the mechanical response of material relating stress to strain states as well as other aspects of material behavior including time dependent behavior such as heat flow, and creep. Constitutive models represent the material behavior at the point or “element” level and relate a second order symmetric stress tensor with six stress components to a second order strain tensor. One of the earliest and simplest constitutive models is Hook's Law, a mathematical relation that describes linear response of a spring being proportional to an applied force. Plasticity accounts for inelastic behavior by a yield criterion such as the Tresca and von Mises yield criteria to represent material failure. A flow rule determines material response at the yield surface. While these constitutive models are useful to establish a general framework for understanding material behavior, they may be inadequate for fully addressing complex behavior such as non-linearity, hardening and softening, anisotropy, and strain rate dependence.

#FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a first example embodiment of the invention.

#FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a second example embodiment of the invention.

#FIGS. 3(a)-3(d) illustrate GUI images of an example invention program product embodiment.

#Before discussing invention embodiments in detail, it will be appreciated by those knowledgeable in the art that the present invention lends itself well to practice in the form of a computer program product as well as a method. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that embodiments of the present invention comprise computer program products comprising computer executable instructions stored in a computer readable medium that when executed cause the computer to perform certain steps. The steps performed may comprise steps of a method embodiment of the invention. It will be further appreciated, therefore, that discussion herein of the steps of an invention method embodiment may be applicable to an invention program product embodiment, and that description of a program product embodiment may be applicable to a method embodiment.

#FIG. 1 illustrates an example embodiment 2 of a method and program product of the invention. Data describing the solids system to be modeled, load data, and load path data are first obtained (block 4). A model is then selected from a plurality of models, with at least one of the models comprising a constitutive model (block 6). The models may be contained in a model library. The solids, load, and load path data are then input to the selected model to generate model output (block 8). Finally, the model output is displayed using a graphical format (block 10).

#With this general example embodiment having now been presented, a more detailed embodiment may be described. Accordingly, reference is made to FIG. 2 to illustrating a second example embodiment of the present invention. In particular, FIG. 2 is a flowchart useful for illustrating an example computer program product and method embodiment 20 of the invention. The embodiment 20 comprises a graphic user interface (block 22) or “GUI” for interfacing with a user for receiving input data, displaying output data, and the like. Those knowledgeable in the art will appreciate that for the purposes of inputting data the GUI 22 may comprise any of a variety of forms, with an example comprising visually displayed symbols, characters, and the like on a screen or like display.