University of Birmingham researcher helps to introduce a powerful approach for accurately simulating the behaviour of flexible structures in co-written tutorial
Stock image depicting robotic jellyfish
A new tutorial co-authored by University of Birmingham researcher, Dr Mingchao Liu, Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering, introduces a powerful and accessible approach for accurately simulating the behaviour of flexible structures such as soft robots, deployable space mechanisms, and wearable devices. Despite the remarkable end-user impact of these structures, accurately simulating the mechanical and nonlinear behaviour of these structures remains a complex challenge.
The tutorial, titled A Tutorial on the Nonlinear Numerical Simulation of Flexible Structures Using the Discrete Differential Geometry Method, was recently published in Applied Mechanics Reviews, a leading journal in the field of mechanics, and presents a unified computational framework for efficiently simulating large, nonlinear deformations in flexible structures such as beams, rods, plates, and shells. These structures play a key role in a wide range of cutting-edge technologies, including soft robotics, wearable devices, biomedical systems, and deployable aerospace components.
The published tutorial will serve as a foundational reference for researchers and practitioners in mechanical engineering, applied mechanics, materials science, and related disciplines. It also lays the groundwork for future research that combines high-fidelity simulation with machine learning and data-driven design, accelerating innovation in intelligent mechanical systems.
Unlike traditional numerical methods such as the finite element method (FEM) the Discrete Differential Geometry (DDG) approach works by directly breaking down the geometry of a structure, rather than using complex formulas to approximate its shape - allowing for more efficient and reliable simulations, especially when dealing with large deformations. DDG is therefore effective in handling complex situations involving multiple physical forces and interactions, such as those involving gravity, magnetic fields, fluid-structure interactions, and contact or friction, which often present substantial computational challenges.
“This tutorial aims to make the DDG method more accessible to the engineering mechanics community. It not only provides a solid mathematical foundation and open-source implementation, but also demonstrates how DDG can become a powerful tool for data-driven modelling and intelligent structural design.”
Assistant Professor
Staff profile for Dr Mingchao Liu, University of Birmingham
