A publication of the Advanced Simulation & Computing Division, NA-121.2, NNSA Defense Programs
June 2008
NA-ASC-500-08—Issue 7
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ASC Salutes
Martin Heinstein, a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff in the Engineering Sciences Center at Sandia, leads the computational solid mechanics portion of Sandia’s SIERRA Mechanics development effort under ASC’s Integrated Codes/Engineering Codes program element. In the four years that Martin has served in this role, SIERRA Mechanics has moved from a loosely connected set of mechanics modules to a more tightly consolidated code system, which is reliable and robust, with dramatic performance increases and unique mechanics capabilities for Sandia’s diverse set of solid/structural mechanics applications. These capabilities have also been extended to applications across the nuclear weapons complex. With his ability to create innovative solutions to mechanics problems, Martin has been directly responsible for the successful development of many of these unique capabilities and for guiding the work of others in developing additional capabilities.
Some of his contributions to SIERRA Mechanics include multi-level algorithms for solving large, nonlinear quasi-statics problems with iterative solution methods; efficient and robust contact algorithms for explicit dynamics and quasi-statics; and multi-length-scale algorithms for fracture and failure. Additionally, Martin has been a key player in the development of a nodal-based tetrahedral element (with computational properties comparable to single-point integrated hexahedral elements), which, when applied with remeshing algorithms, allows successful application of Lagrangian methods to problems involving extremely large deformations. He has also led work on a time-stepping algorithm for explicit dynamics applications, which can produce speed-ups of 20X or more for some problems.
Martin received his PhD in Aerospace/Engineering Mechanics from Purdue University in 1989 and joined Sandia in early 1992 as a Postdoctoral Fellow. He became a technical staff member at Sandia in late 1992. In addition to his contributions to the ASC Program, Martin has been a key participant in Sandia’s highly successful CRADA partnership with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Martin’s computational algorithms provided Goodyear with a unique computational mechanics capability that led to a revolutionary change from a test-based to a computational-based design culture at Goodyear. Martin, along with his Goodyear and Sandia colleagues, received an R&D 100 Award for designing and producing innovative new tires in record times through the use of this computational simulation capability. Martin was also part of the SNL team that developed the first scalable parallel contact algorithm, which has received numerous awards in the computational mechanics community.
Under Martin’s leadership, the SIERRA Mechanics code has been used for many nuclear weapons applications, including extensive use in recent design and qualification studies for the W76-1. Issues addressed include determining margins and uncertainties for weld attachments of the firing set exclusion region and resolving a major shock-unlock issue with the intent strong link. In another application, SIERRA Mechanics was used to investigate safety scenarios for the SafeGuard Trailer (SGT) used for nuclear weapons transport. Failure capabilities in SIERRA Mechanics are being used to provide more accurate solutions for crash scenarios.
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