9600466 Mehrabadi This award supports the collaboration of Professor Morteza M. Mehrabadi of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Tulane University and Professor Yuji Kishino of the Department of Civil Engineering at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. Project funding will enable Dr. Mehrabadi to spend six months in Japan, resident at Tohoku University, in order to study topics in mechanics of granular materials including a study of the influence of microstructure on their macroscopic behavior. Tohoku University which has been the site of two U.S.-Japan seminars on the continuum and statistical approaches in the mechanics of granular materials, has had a traditionally strong research program in this field. Professor Mehrabadi and his coworkers have previously developed important analytical results and algorithms for the description of stress, fabric, and strain in granular materials. He and his students have also developed a unique method to simulate granular media using the Linear Programming. Professor Kishino has developed his own numerical simulation model and has many interesting ideas with regard to modeling of the granular material response. Using his simulation model, he has characterized the dissipation mechanism in a granular assembly by means of a set of geometrical and statistical quantities. He has also developed micromechanical models of the liquifaction phenomena and strain localization. In this project, Professor Mehrabadi will combine his expertise with that of Professor Kishino to develop and validate an improved simulation model for studying the influence of microstructure on the mechanical response of granular media. This proposal brings together research scientists from two countries working in the area of mechanics of granular materials. The U. S. scientist will have the opportunity to become familiar with the experimental facilities and research methods provided by the Tohoku University while contributing to the overall research effort. Therefore, this proposal fulfills the objectives of the Program in its exchange and transfer of scientific knowledge through an international collaboration. ***
