This is an action under the Research Equipment Grants program. It is to assist in the purchase of a network of workstations to: 1) support the Computational Mechanics educational program; and 2) support research on large-scale problems in earthquake engineering, wave scattering, solid-fluid interaction, and optimal design. This network provides the computing speed and memory needed to solve realistic large-scale problems. The goal of the earthquake engineering project is to obtain a true understanding of seismic wave- induced ground motion of large, three-dimensional sedimentary basins, with a view toward developing improved structural design recommendations. The second project addresses optimal shape design, and involves the numerical solution of nonlinear, coupled partial differential equations; optimization of these systems entails multiple analysis iterations. The third project has developed a novel variational subdomain integral equation method for rigid and elastic scattering of acoustic, elastic and electromagnetic waves. The goal is to apply it to large-scale problems.
