Mission: The CRL exploits Brown University's expertise in solid mechanics and materials science to perform research and development in areas of Computational Materials Research that are of critical importance to GM. The lab also enables exchange of personnel and technologies between Brown and GM. Specific goals of the lab are:

• To develop computer models of deformation and failure of materials that are of interest for automotive applications.
• To develop and assess new materials that could lead to low-cost, high-performance and environmentally friendly components for automotive applications.
• To provide GM with the next generation of computational tools to augment much of the traditional trial-and-error approach for reducing the cost and time required for microstructure optimization and process development for designing high-performance materials.
• To conduct experiments that elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of deformation and failure in automotive materials and that calibrate and validate computational models.

Fracture of lightweight materials

Reducing the weight of a vehicle can significantly improve its energy efficiency. Weight can be reduced by replacing existing materials in the vehicle with higher strength steels, or lightweight alloys such as Aluminum or Magnesium. The performance of these materials is often limited by fracture.

The lab is using computer simulations to predict how the microstructure of steels influences their fracture resistance.

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Lithium Plasticity

Lithium has the highest energy density among all the candidate materials for battery anodes in electric vehicles. It is difficult to process lithium, however, because of its extreme reactivity, low melting temperature, low yield stress and modulus. Lithium electrodes also tend to form dendrites (thin filaments that protrude from the surface) that degrade batteries and can cause short-circuits.

The lab is using simulations and experiments to understand plasticity and dendrite formation in lithium electrodes.

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Degradation and failure in battery electrodes

Developing batteries with extended life will significantly enhance the performance of future of electric vehicles. A range of phenomena limit battery life, from electrolyte decomposition; solid-electrolyte interphase layer build-up on active electrode surfaces; decomposition of the binder; corrosion in current collectors; and metallic Li plating.

The lab is using experiments and computations to measure and model stress and damage evolution in electrode materials during lithium insertion.

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