Computational Mechanics Research Laboratory (VEC 219)
This laboratory is currently equipped with SGI Origin 2000 and 3000 servers for extensive parallel computations, several SGI Octane and Indigo 2 workstations, as well as several IBM compatible PC's. The workstations are Unix based and are used to run specialized software such as, CAD (e.g. Pro-Engineer), grid generation programs (e.g. ICEM-CFD), flow visualization programs (Fieldview, Ensight), various flow solvers (such as CFL3D, OVERFLOW, etc.), structural analysis tools (MSC/NASTRAN, MSC/PATRAN and HKS/ABAQUS), etc..
Until recently, through its research activities and contracts, the department also had continuous access to NASA Ames NAS computer facilities with access to CRAY and SGI Origin 2000 parallel machines. Now, the department owns its own supercomputers.
These facilities are used by both undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty for research activities. Undergraduate students also use it for their projects and assignments. For example, students in the Aerospace System Design courses (AE 478 & 479) have used these tools for Computational Fluid Dynamics and structural analysis.