The Computational Continuum Mechanics Research Group (CCM) has been founded by its current head, Professor Sebastian Skatulla, in 2012. The research group is engaged in theoretical and computational solid and fluid mechanics in general, but has gained considerable expertise in cardiac mechanics, sea ice mechanics, multiscale and multiphase continuum approaches, and the development of high-performance computing (HPC) codes. The current research activities of the Group are mainly focused on two fields: (1) Cardiac mechanics investigating various pathological conditions such as myocardial infarction, inflammatory heart diseases and arrhythmia; and (2) Antarctic sea ice thermodynamics and its impact on accelerating global climate change which is complemented by experimental investigations of physical and mechanical sea ice properties in the newly established Polar Laboratory.
Nationally, the group keeps close links with the Marine and Antarctic Research Centre for Sustainability and Innovation (MARIS), where Prof Skatulla serves as its Deputy Director, the Centre for Research in Computational and Applied Mechanics (CERECAM), the Cardiovascular Research Unit (CRVU) and the Cape Universities Body Imaging Centre (CUBIC). Internationally, research collaborations have been established with the Institute of Mechanics at the University of Duisburg-Essen; the Institute of Mechanics, Structural Analysis, and Dynamics of Aerospace Structures at the University of Stuttgart; the Institute of Structural Analysis at the Technical University of Dresden; the Bioengineering Sciences Research Group (BSRG) at the University of Southampton; and the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI).