Bachelor, DD and M.Tech students interested to work in the area of computational solid mechanics are welcome to contact me for their graduation project. I work primarily in two directions

Mechanics of Granular Materials

• Mechanics of Granular Materials We use discrete element method (DEM) to understand the micromechanical behaviour of granular systems. Specific applications that we focus on are Additive Manufacturing, Agricultural Machinery, Lithium Ion Battery (LIB) and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) materials.
• We have a in-house DEM code written in C++ which will be used during the project. A prior knowledge of programming language such as Fortran, C or C++ is beneficial but not essential. Basic knowledge of solid mechanics, and interest in computational mechanics are essential.

Mechanics of Microsystems

• We use physics based models to understand the mechanics involved in the fabrication of various patterned structures in pre-stressed thin films. These patterned structures form the basis for the design and development of microsystems such as optical gratings, microfluidic channels and lab-on-a-chip. In future, we aim to study various other experimental systems and develop relevant physics based models to understand the mechanics involved in the processes. This activity is expected to help us identify optimized solutions which may be used by experimental groups for better control of their processes.
• We use Finite Element (FE) models to investigate the mechanics of thin film buckling and delamination in various material systems.

M.S (Regular, QIP and External) and Ph.D. candidates interested to work with me are advised to send me an email to arrange for a discussion about possible research problems.

For any further information or discussion, please send an email to ratna@iitm.ac.in