Design and Applied Mechanics
The Applied Mechanics group pursues fundamental research on mechanics of solids, materials and structures. Members of this group develop and use modern analytical, computational, and experimental tools to engineer applications in materials (nanomaterials, Magnesium and other alloys, wood, paper and other composites), structures (marine and aerospace), coupled fluid-structure-acoustic analysis, and devices (Biomedical stents and catheters, bio-inspired adhesives). They attract funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canada Foundation for Innovation, and industries from Canada and abroad.
The faculty members are Mattia Bacca, Peter Cripton, Mohamed Gadala, Antony Hodgson, Rajeev Jaiman, Thomas Oxland, Srikantha Phani, Mauricio Ponga, Gary Schajer, and Machiel Van der Loos. Some of the projects currently underway are outlined below.
Dr. Mattia Bacca — Multi-scale Mechanics of Materials, Contact Mechanics
Current Projects: Computational tools for optimal design of bio-inspired dry-adhesive interfaces; Fracture toughening in soft materials; Chemo-mechanics of active hydrogels; The mechanics of cutting.
Dr. Mohamed Gadala — Finite Element Applications
Current Projects: Industry solution procedure for crack detection and propagation in rotating components, steel run-out table design, and electric fatigue of piezoelectric actuators.
Dr. Antony J. Hodgson — Medical Robotics, Biomechanics
Current Projects: Developing tools for computer-assisted orthopaedic surgery based on phase-processing of 3D ultrasound images to provide realtime 3D imaging information and on mini-robotic devices to enhance accuracy and shorten surgical time; designing a 3D scale model of the human eye to study sensorimotor issues; comparing surgical motor performance in simulators and the live operating room to validate simulators.
Dr. Rajeev Jaiman — Variational Methods and Coupled Analysis for Aerospace and Marine Engineering
Current Projects: Aero-/hydroelasticity of thin structures, Multiphysics and multiscale modeling using partitioned techniques, Multi-fidelity modeling and optimization for marine/offshore engineering, High-order variational methods for continuum mechanics, Phase-field modeling for interfacial problems, Coupled fluid-acoustics analysis for marine environment.
Dr. Thomas Oxland — Orthopaedic Research
Current Projects: Revision hip replacement, fixation of the osteoporotic spine, regeneration of damaged neural tissue, behaviour of orthopaedic implants, and musculoskeletal tissues.
Dr. Srikantha Phani — Lattice Materials, Nanotubes, Graphene Sheets, and Biomedical Implants
Current Projects: Dynamic Response of Lattice Materials and Structures; Mechanics of Nanotubes and Single Layer Graphene Sheets; Mechanics of stents and stent grafts; Lattice Filters for MEMS Signal Processing.
Dr. Mauricio Ponga — Multiscale modeling of materials
Current Projects: Ductile failure in metals and alloys; Lightweight alloys design; Mechanisms of deformation in materials; Electronic structure calculations of materials including plasticity and electronic properties; Nanoscale heat conduction.
Dr. Gary Schajer — Measurement of Residual Stresses, Wood Quality Control
Current Projects: Developing methods to measure residual stresses suitable for industry use through ESPI and strain-gauge techniques, developing high-speed scanner to measure surface profile of rapidly moving lumber to enhance cut accuracy, and identifying lumber properties using microwave techniques.
Dr. Machiel Van der Loos — Robotics
Current Projects: Safe design of mobile manipulation robotic systems, exploration of ethical design principles for robot interfaces and neurotechnologies, development and testing of mechatronic exercise systems for stroke therapy.