From atomistic simulations to macroscopic structures: multiscale mechanics of materials from nuclear fusion to microelectronics
Marzo 17 @ 11:00 - 12:00
On Tuesday, March 17, a seminar titled “From atomistic simulations to macroscopic structures: multiscale mechanics of materials from nuclear fusion to microelectronics” will be held in Grandori Room (Building 4) at 11:00 CET.
The seminar will be given by Luca Reali, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Politecnico di Milano.
Abstract
In this seminar, I will discuss how computational tools can help us understand mechanisms active at the fundamental scale of atoms, and how this translates to engineering design.
Two examples, taken from my own research activity, are radiation damage in metals and fracture of silicon in micro-electromechanical systems. In both cases, the starting point is to directly simulate the mechanisms of interest at the lowest scale, whether it is a localised impact of a neutron on a lattice or the fracture of a brittle phase. We then extract quantities that are familiar to engineering design, such as a creep rate or the fracture toughness.
I will also show how the atomistic modelling can be part of large modelling endeavours, in my case applied to the structural simulation of a fusion device. Starting from stochastic Monte Carlo simulations of the neutron fields, we need atomistic models to translate neutron fluxes into quantifiable effects on materials; subsequently, we use the finite element method in a high-performance computing setting to estimate the expected elastic stress during operations.
Speaker’s bio
After a degree in Industrial and Materials Engineering from the University of Trento, and a short experience in a startup as a junior engineer, Luca graduated with a PhD in Theory and Simulation of Materials at Imperial College London. His research there involved the computational modelling of zirconium alloys for nuclear fission applications, using planar discrete dislocation plasticity.
He then spent 4 years at the UK Atomic Energy Authority, in Oxfordshire, building an understanding of radiation damage in materials for nuclear fusion applications. Intense neutron irradiation profoundly changes engineering materials and structures. This has implications for the very fundamental atomic mechanisms as well as for macroscopic phenomena such as swelling and irradiation creep. Incorporating irradiation effects into large finite element models and performing stress analyses were the main objectives of his research.
After a successful application to the 2024 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions call, he was hired as a researcher at the Politecnico di Milano, to lead a project that aims at integrating atomistic methods into existing models for the mechanical response and fracture of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS).
Overall, his interests are positioned at the intersection between structural mechanics, materials science and computational physics.