Supercomputer reveals supersonic crack speeds.

Advanced Ceramics Report, June, 2002

An unprecedented billion-atom calculation has enabled US scientists to use supercomputers to simulate the strength of materials.

Using one of the world's most powerful supercomputers as a 'computational microscope', the team of IBM and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists simulated materials to reveal their fracture mechanics as well as other key properties.

Calculating the strength of new materials such as ceramics and composites is a critical issue in creating structures that will withstand the adverse conditions that advanced materials are often subjected to. The scientists also state that their results are a major step toward the use of supercomputers to design new materials with customized properties.

In the most...

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