Moussa Lamamra’s research stay in Erlangen
In June 2025, Moussa Lamamra, a researcher from the University Gustave Eiffel in Paris, embarked on a research stay at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg’s Institute of Applied Mechanics as part of the joint French-German BIO ART project. Collaborating with Lukas Laubert and advisor Sebastian Pfaller, Moussa focused on preparing a molecular dynamics-based epoxy system to subsequently perform coupled simulations using the finite element (FE) wrapping framework of the Capriccio method. His work involved identifying critical mechanical quantities from MD deformation simulations and exploring the polymer network to extract the quantities of interest to calibrate a suitable constitutive model for the FE part. The ultimate goal is to enable coupled FE-MD simulations for fracture analysis, obtaining detailed insights from MD while enabling a classical fracture mechanical setup through the FE surrounding. This research aims to significantly advance the understanding of thermoset polymers and fracture mechanics in this context.