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Guruswami Ravichandran B.E., University of Madras (Regional Engineering College), 1981; Sc.M. (Solid Mechanics and Structures), Brown University, 1983; Sc.M. (Applied Mathematics), 1984; Ph.D., 1986 1200 East California Boulevard | website
Research As a part of the program in the mechanics of solids at Caltech, Professor Ravichandran's research group is concerned with investigating the mechanical behavior of materials through a combination of experiment, analysis, and microstructural characterization. The research emphasis is on understanding the constitutive response and failure of homogeneous and heterogeneous solids and active materials with emphasis on microstructure. Currently, experiments are performed to establish the deformation response and failure through accumulation of damage in solids under a range of multiaxial stress states, strain rates, and temperatures. Experimental work is also being conducted to understand the mechanics for failure mode transition in fiber-reinforced composites and sandwich structures. Shock-wave experiments on layered media are conducted to understand the issues of dissipation and dispersion in heterogeneous solids. Studies related to establishing constitutive parameters and critical conditions for localization in metals and metallic glasses are performed. A wide variety of experimental techniques are developed for studying material behavior over a wide range of strain rates (10-4/sec to 106/sec). Large strain electrostriciton in active materials such as ferroelectrics is studied by monitoring in-situ motion of domain walls under electromechanical loading. Strain and stress gauges, optical interferometry, and infrared thermography are used as the primary diagnostic tools. Analytical and computational analyses together with experiments are used to develop models for the deformation and failure behavior of solids. Our research group draws upon the disciplines of continuum mechanics, micromechanics, plasticity, fracture mechanics, stress waves, materials science, and computational mechanics to further understand the mechanical behavior of advanced materials. The research conducted in our laboratory has potential applications in the areas of design of aerospace and naval structures, high-speed machining, impact-resistant structures, and micro-electrical-mechanical systems (MEMS).
Selected Publications Large Strain Electrostrictive Actuation in Barium Titanate (with E. Burcsu and K. Bhattacharya), Applied Physics Letters, 77(11), pp. 1698-1700, 2000 Partition of Plastic Work into Heat and Stored Energy in Metals (with J. Hodowany, A. J. Rosakis, and P. Rosakis), Experimental Mechanics, 40(2), pp. 113-123, 2000 Constitutive Modeling of Textured Body Centered Cubic (BCC) Polycrystals (with Y. J. Lee and G. Subhash), International Journal of Plasticity, 15(6), pp. 625-645, 1999 Recent Developments in Modeling Shock Compression of Porous Materials (with W. Tong), High-Pressure Shock Compression of Solids, IV, Response of Highly Porous Solids to Shock Loading, L. Davison, Y. Horie, and M. Shahinpoor, eds., Springer-Verlag, pp. 177-203, 1997 Dynamic Compressive Failure of a Glass Ceramic Under Lateral Confinement (with W. Chen), Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 45(8), pp. 1303-1328, 1997 |
