PhD Research
PhD research domain
Topic: Effect of electric current on structural integrity of pre-cracked thin metallic foils/sheets.
Research Advisor: Dr. Praveen Kumar , Associate Professor, Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Brief Introduction to topic:
Electrical conductors are often subjected to very high current densities (order of 108A/m2 or greater) in applications such as microelectronics, rail gun, tokomak fusion reactors etc. Lightning strikes on some structures could also generate local current densities of this order of magnitude. These conductors may contain cracks or crack like defects which may propagate leading to failure of the structure.
I am interested in studying the effect of electro-magneto-thermo-mechanical coupling on the structural integrity of pre-cracked metallic foils, sheets and plates. It has been observed that significant current crowding near crack tip along with the generated electro-magnetic (i.e., Lorentz) force can lead to partial as well as complete failure of the structure. Critical understanding of this multiphysics phenomenon can be useful for constructive applications (e.g., crack healing, machining).
The work includes following aspects:
Effect of external applied (electromagnetic, mechanical) fields on failure of foils
Healing of cracks in materials due to effects caused by electric current
Controlled crack propagation via electric current