Scientists discover the world that exists; engineers create the world that never was.

- Theodore von Karman -

Research Directions

/What we do

ARCHITECTED MATERIALS

Architected materials can achieve physical properties beyond those found in nature. We are simulating their mechanical properties to better understand, design, and deploy them. We are advancing techniques to fabricate them at the nanoscale, coupling the best designs with the spectacular properties of nanoscale constituents.

MODEL CALIBRATION

Engineers depend on tools like finite element models for too many things to mention. The advancement of these tools has outpaced our ability to reasonably and accurately calibrate modern material models. We are integrating simulations with full field experimental techniques to fill the gap and enable existing modeling techniques to reach their full potential.

MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION

Effective material models rely on knowledge of the physical mechanisms that dominate the response. We are conducting mechanical tests with in situ microscopy to determine the unique behavior of nano-architected materials and observe the processes that occur during extreme deformation in structural metals.

PRINCIPAL  INVESTIGATOR
Andrew Gross
PHONE NO
803.777.0183
OFFICE LOCATION
Horizon I, Office 336
EMAIL
andrewgross@sc.edu

About The Lab

/We’re hiring!

The Gross Materials Lab was established in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of South Carolina in August 2019. Prior to leading the lab, Andrew earned his Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin and worked as a postdoc at Harvard University.

Work in the lab makes use of analytical, numerical, and experimental techniques. Students interested in researching architected materials should e-mail their CV to andrewgross@sc.edu to be considered for currently available graduate student positions and those starting in August 2020.

Publications

/Get the full story

Gross, A. J., & Bertoldi, K. (2019). Additive manufacturing of nanostructures that are delicate, complex,
and smaller than ever.
Small, 1902370.

Shanian, A., Jette, F.-X., Salehii, M., Pham, M. Q., Schaenzer, M., Bourgeois, G., … Et al. (2019).
Application of multifunctional mechanical metamaterials.
Advanced Engineering Materials, 1900084.

Vasios, N., Gross, A. J., Soifer, S., Overvelde, J. T., & Bertoldi, K. (2019). Harnessing viscous flow to
simplify the actuation of fluidic soft robots.
Soft robotics

Gross, A., Pantidis, P., Bertoldi, K., & Gerasimidis, S. (2019). Correlation between topology and elastic
properties of imperfect truss-lattice materials. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 124, 577-598.

Gross, A., & Ravi-Chandar, K. (2017). On the deformation and failure of Al 6061-T6 in plane strain tension evaluated through in situ microscopy. International Journal of Fracture, 1–26.

Gross, A., & Ravi-Chandar, K. (2016). On the deformation and failure of Al 6061-T6 at low triaxiality evaluated through in situ microscopy. International Journal of Fracture, 200 (1-2), 185–208.

Boyce, B., …, Gross, A., et al. (2016). The second sandia fracture challenge: predictions of ductile failure under quasi-static and moderate-rate dynamic loading. International Journal of Fracture, 198 (1-2), 5–100.

Gross, A., & Ravi-Chandar, K. (2016). Prediction of ductile failure in Ti–6Al–4V using a local strain-to-failure criterion. International Journal of Fracture, 198 (1-2), 221–245.

Gross, A., & Ravi-Chandar, K. (2015). On the extraction of elastic–plastic constitutive properties from three-dimensional deformation measurements. Journal of Applied Mechanics, 82 (7), 071013.

Boyce, B. L., …, Gross, A., et al. (2014). The sandia fracture challenge: blind round robin predictions of ductile tearing. International Journal of Fracture, 186 (1-2), 5–68.

Gross, A., & Ravi-Chandar, K. (2014). Prediction of ductile failure using a local strain-to-failure criterion. International Journal of Fracture, 186 (1-2), 69–91.