INTEGRATING SIMULATION RESEARCH INTO CURRICULUM MODULES ON MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF MATERIALS: FROM THE ATOMISTIC TO THE CONTINUUM MRS Workshop Proceedings

We describe the development of modules for teaching a senior level course, Mechanical Behavior of Materials, that incorporate the results of state of the art simulation techniques. The modules are Web-Java based and make extensive use of materials available through the Internet. The most important characteristic of these modules is that they teach the basics of materials mechanical behavior using research simulation codes that are state of the art in the materials simulation community. The simulation results span various length scales and start at the atomistic level, using embedded atom method techniques reaching finite element simulations at the continuum level. The modules attempt to stress the way in which macroscopic properties are controlled by phenomena at the atomistic and microstructural levels. Advanced computation and visualization techniques, including CAVETM = virtual reality technology, are used to convey some of the more basic concepts. The course was taught by an interdisciplinary team of material scientists and engineering mechanicians. We will discuss our experience in teaching the course and the lessons learned.