Institute for Structural Mechanics

The team of the Institute for Structural Mechanics conducts basic research in many areas of computational mechanics. The research goals are strongly methodologically oriented. As early as in the 1980s, the Institute developed its own finite element program (CARAT) into which the newly developed methods and algorithms were implemented. Today, the program Ikarus, written in C++ in an object-oriented manner, is the uniform platform for the research work of every doctoral candidate.

The research objects cover a broad spectrum spanning many disciplines, from the simulation of sheet metal forming processes to the modelling of the trapping mechanisms of carnivorous plants to the design of adaptive load bearing structures for building and bridge construction. In addition to the published research results, the most important product of the institute are the doctoral graduates, who can acquire deep and broad specialist knowledge in this environment.

Teaching at the Institute for Structural Mechanics covers the scientific basics of structural mechanics and is thus intrinsically multi-material and multi-constructional. Methodically, it focuses on clarity and the relationship between load-bearing behaviour and calculation methods. Ekkehard Ramm's teaching of structural assessment on the basis of archetypical structural components instead of the use of counting rules to assess the degree of static indeterminacy is just one example of the guiding principle of statics in Stuttgart. He was also one of the first to introduce the topic of modeling into the otherwise very formal and mathematical teaching of the finite element method.

The continuous development of computer statics requires to constantly challenge and renew teaching contents and goals. The teaching software StaR² (der StabwerksRechner) developed at the institute allows not only the quick control of manual calculations but also invites to experiment. Classical structural analysis methods are nowadays less needed for recalculation, but they are indispensable for reflection.