1. Modeling and Simulation of Multi-Functional Material Systems
Magnetic Shape Memory Alloys
Magnetic Shape Memory Alloys (MSMAs) are one of the promising multi-functional materials for large actuation, sensing, shape control, vibration suppression, magnetic refrigeration, and energy harvesting applications.The macroscopically observable magnetic field induced strain (MFIS) in MSMAs is caused by the microstructural reorientation of martensitic variants, field induced phase transformation or a combination of both. My goal is to model and simulate such magneto-thermo-mechanical coupled responses in the continuum scale.
Magneto Active Polymers
Magneto-Active Polymers (MAPs) consist of a soft polymeric matrix with embedded magnetizable iron particles. The main attractions for MAPs are large deformation and contactless and continuous tunability of stiffness and viscoelastic (damping) properties through a magnetic field. Some potential applications are space deployable structures, remote actuation, satellite structures and micro-robotics. My primary focus is modeling and simulation of coupled magneto-mechanical responses.
Liquid Crystal
During my second postdoc, I was working on Liquid Crystal (LC), focusing on electro-mechanical instability through FE analysis. Such an electric field induced instability has the capability to control light through LC for LCD applications. A few more potential applications, among many, are to control the surface roughness of LC layer through electric field induced wrinkling, flexible/organic electronics, energy conversion.
2. Modeling and Simulation of Bio-Mechanical Systems
Brain Tissue Modeling and Simulation
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) to a person due to the car or sports accidental impact causes tissues to deform beyond the recoverable limit. One aspect to investigate TBI is to provide a mathematical model and a computational framework by identifying its underlying mechanisms. Many experimental studies confirm that brain parenchyma mechanisms are strongly influenced by anisotropy, nonlinear viscoelasticity, rate dependent loading and unloading and asymmetric tension-compression behavior of the soft brain tissues. My aims are constitutive modeling of soft brain tissues and numerical analysis of large deformation during impact.
