CENTER FOR COMPUTATIONAL MATHEMATICS COLLOQUIUM

                  UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT DENVER



TITLE:   Overview of Particle-in-Cell Methods for Continuum Mechanics
 

SPEAKER: Deborah Sulsky, Department of Mathematics and Statistics,
         and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico
         
DATE:    Monday, February 16, 1998  


PLACE:   Mathematics Conference Room 626 
         UCD Building, 1250 14th St., Denver


TIME:    noon (Refreshments served at 11:45 am) 



ABSTRACT

Particle-in-Cell (PIC) methods have traditionally been used in
plasma simulation, but recently they have been used in a variety
of new applications such as magnetohydrodynamics, elastic-plastic
flow, and multiphase flow.  Application of the method to new areas
has been fueled by advances in the PIC algorithm which include increased
accuracy, implicit time differencing, adaptive gridding and dynamic control
of the number of particles. This talk will review the PIC methodology and
use examples from large-deformation solid mechanics to illustrate properties
of the method.