Ping Cheng Zhang

Education:

• BASc, University of Waterloo, Canada

Research interests:

• Crystal Plasticity
• Transformation Mechanics
• Micromechanics and Homogenization
• Formability and Forming Limits

Summary of work:

Current automotive research and development efforts are aimed at developing and understanding high strength materials for use in structural components to achieve weight saving opportunities. The challenges of these new materials are their complex microstructure composition along with advanced deformation mechanisms which results in high strength and high ductility under mechanical deformation.

Through the use of crystal plasticity theory, transformation mechanics and thorough understanding of the micro-mechanical behaviours, accurate modeling these new materials becomes a tangible project. 

The goal of my research is to develop new material modeling techniques to be able to accurately capture the mechanical behaviour of new generation of high strength materials through crystal plasticity, transformation mechanics and microstructure analysis techniques. Ultimately upon validation, structural designs employing this new generation high strength materials will result in weight savings of 20-30% for massed production vehicles.