Abstract: The behavior of solids beyond standard linear elasticity remains a central challenge in computational mechanics, particularly when microstructural effects and non-linear processes arise. In this context, continuum solid mechanics has seen significant progress, with a plethora of constitutive models developed over the past decades to address these issues. Yet, while scalable, such constitutive modeling approaches introduce uncertainty through phenomenological assumptions and tuning parameters. Hence, in this talk, we pivot towards micromechanical models that naturally capture effective emergent behavior, with examples including granular materials and metamaterials. To recover scalability, we explore multiscale methods that bridge micromechanics and the continuum scale, leveraging data-driven computing or variational homogenization to arrive at parameter-free constitutive laws. Recent advances and open issues in these areas will be discussed.

Contact: Silas Alben