OSU researchers advance NASA-aligned multiscale modeling to design next-generation aerospace materials

OSU researchers advance NASA-aligned multiscale modeling to design next-generation aerospace materials

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Media Contact: Desa James | Communications Coordinator | 405-744-2669 | [email protected]

Researchers from the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology are taking a significant step toward accelerating the design and certification of advanced aerospace materials through a new multiscale modeling initiative, supported by a three-year $750,000 NASA grant.

The project is led by Oklahoma State University and includes investigators from the University of Oklahoma. The science principal investigator is Dr. Wei Zhao, assistant professor for the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and professor Andrew Arena, director of the Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium and Oklahoma NASA EPSCoR, is the administrator of this project. The co-investigators include Dr. Pankaj Sarin, associate professor for MAE and Dr. Peter Attar, associate professor at OU.

The project brings together OSU's growing expertise in computational mechanics, advanced composite materials, high-performance computing, and next-generation aerospace and space systems. 

At the core of the research is a challenge that has slowed innovation for decades: the difficulty of predicting how complex materials behave across multiple length and time scales in real-world engineering problems. 

Zhao notes that, much like a rope whose strength depends on the integrity of its smallest fibers, material performance at the structural scale is directly tied to what happens at the microscopic level. 

"Similarly, in materials, localized damage at the microscale, such as fiber breakage due to stress or temperature, can significantly alter the macroscale overall structural response," Zhao said. "Multiscale modeling helps us simulate these effects by linking microscale material behavior with macroscale structural performance, enabling better predictions and more efficient designs for high-performance engineering systems. 

Traditional computational models struggle to capture the behavior of complex materials at realistic scales, requiring enormous computing power and often limiting analysis to small laboratory samples. 

To overcome this barrier, Zhao is developing a hybrid computing framework that integrates Graphics Processing Unit-accelerated simulation with reduced-order modeling. The approach is designed to make large, nonlinear multiscale analyses faster, more accurate and more feasible for full-scale aerospace structures. 

"The goal is to allow engineers to understand material behavior at every level without the computational cost becoming overwhelming," Zhao said. 

He added that the new framework aims to overcome current scalability and convergence bottlenecks, a key need highlighted in NASA's "Vision 2040" for integrated materials and systems design. 

Sarin will lead the experimental validation work. His team will provide critical materials testing data, particularly advanced composites and heterogeneous materials, that will be used to calibrate and verify the new modeling tools. This ensures the framework remains grounded in physical behavior rather than computational simulations alone. The experimental validated modeling tools will be used to design fit-for-purpose materials for high-performance aerospace and space systems.

The collaborative effort bridges OSU's computational strengths with its expanding materials research capabilities, while also working closely with OU on adaptive reduced-order modeling and algorithm development. Together, the teams are building a fully integrated workflow that links physics-based simulations, experimental data and high-performance computing. 

The project also strengthens OSU's partnership with NASA Glenn and NASA Langley research centers, where the multiscale modeling tool NASMAT supports research in propulsion systems, thermal protection systems and fuel-efficient aircraft concepts. The team's contributions will help enhance these tools and support ongoing NASA efforts in sustainable aviation and advanced composite manufacturing. 

The research has broad implications, including improved prediction of material failure modes under extreme conditions, more efficient propulsion components, lighter and stronger airframes, better thermal protection for reentry vehicles and improved manufacturing processes for advanced composite materials. By reducing dependence on costly physical testing, the framework also helps accelerate the development and certification of new aerospace and space materials. 

The project will involve both graduate and undergraduate researchers, giving students hands-on experience in nonlinear modeling, GPU computing, composite manufacturing and testing, and aerospace and space applications. These skills are increasingly in demand across the aerospace sector and contribute to Oklahoma's growing research infrastructure.