Contacts

Education:

• BASc, University of Waterloo, Canada

Research interests:

• Computational Solid Mechanics
• Crashworthiness and Structural Optimization
• Plastic Impact Analysis
• Axial and Oblique Crushing of Thin-Walled Structures

Summary of work:

Occupant safety is a priority in automotive design and despite enormous advances many accidents still result in injury. A leading factor in serious or fatal crashes is the performance of the vehicle in an oblique crash scenario – where impact occurs at an angle or the front corner of the vehicle strikes a small object such as a utility pole. Third-party agencies are becoming increasingly interested in small overlap and oblique impact testing. Through the use of computational tools, these impacts can be simulated to a high degree of accuracy. Once a validated finite element model is established, a parametric study can be performed to determine the effect of impact angle, size, and shape. The goal of my research is to develop a multi-objective optimization framework utilizing explicit dynamic finite element analysis to design superior energy absorbing structures in both axial and oblique loading.  

Education:

• BASc, University of Waterloo, Canada

Research interests:

• Crashworthiness of Composite Structures
• Fracture Mechanisms in Composites
• Composite-specific Design Optimization
• Finite Element Modeling of Composite Structures

Summary of work:

In pursuit of improved performance, fuel economy and safety, vehicle manufacturers are turning to composite vehicle structures for weight reduction. As further advances are made in the manufacturing techniques for carbon fiber reinforced composites, the manufacturing costs of such composites have decreased significantly, which means they are no longer limited to being used in high-end vehicles only.

By modelling the behavior of composite materials in vehicle structures, both development time and costs can be reduced significantly through the use of finite element analyses.

Due to the differing material behavior in metals compared to fiber-reinforced composites, my work aims develop a model to accurately capture the mechanical behavior of fiber-reinforced composite structures.

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.