Oh 9722699 This award supports a two-year collaborative research project between Dr. Hae-Soo Oh of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Dr. Jae Heon Yun of Chungbuk National University in Korea on a "New Method To Obtain Highly Accurate Three Dimensional Analysis of Crack Propagation and Stress on Composite Materials." The goal of the project is to develop a new method for numerical simulation of crack propagation which deals with the three- dimensional singularities of vertex, edge and edge-vertex. Fracture-related damage, metal fatigue and material failure are critically important issues in the context of our national civil infrastructure. Effective inspection and preventive maintenance programs (for example, of the airworthiness of airplanes or the integrity of nuclear power plants) require an accurate fracture analysis. However, because of the complicated geometry and nonlinearities that characterize fracture mechanics, the use of analytical techniques is very limited. This project will combine the experience of the U.S. and Korean laboratories to work on a practical and accurate numerical simulation for three dimensional fracture analysis. ***
