The Materials, Mechanics and Structures Research Division is a collaborative effort dedicated to support cutting edge research activities that cover all aspects of mechanics, materials processing, and structural engineering design. Our mission is to promote high quality multidisciplinary research, from fundamental to applications, in the areas of aerospace, biomaterials and biomechanics, computational mechanics, dynamic systems and control, geomechanics, advanced nanomaterials and polymer composites processing.
We aim to provide an ideal environment for carrying out any theoretical, computational and experimental works, which are supported by modern instrumental facilities and fast computational technologies. Most of our research projects are financially supported by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), Ministry of Finance (MOF) and various industrial collaborators and partners.
Research groups within the Materials, Mechanics and Structures Research Division are:
Advanced Materials
The Advanced Materials Research Group was established with the purpose to support and foster multidisciplinary research on advanced materials in science and engineering among the division members.
Research areas
- Engineering of advanced nanomaterials for photocatalysis, organic photovoltaic and microelectronic application
- Design and development of microfluidic devices viaminiaturisation technology for aerospace and biological assays application
- Fabrication of novel metal oxides, quantum dots and graphene nanomaterials for molecular sensing application
Bioengineering
Bioengineering Research Group aims at the excellence of research in the areas of Tissue Engineering (TE) and Biomaterials. TE provides an advanced alternative therapy to the patients with diseased or damaged organs through regeneration of tissue. Our overall goal is to contribute to the better and healthier human lives.
We are currently focused on the development of scaffold library by means of rapid prototyping (RP) technology in combination with novel biopolymers to cater for tailored TE applications.
Research partners and collaborations include the Ministry of Higher Education, Hospital Universiti Kebangsan Malaysia, and the MIDAS project at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.
Research themes
- Computational modelling and simulation of the scaffold design
- Fabrication and characterisation of physical scaffold
- In vitro and in vivo tissue generation
- Clinical trial for TE application
Geomechanics
Current research in the Geomechanics Research Group focuses on development and improvement in the design and construction aspects of some common engineering works in the construction industry. Our research outputs are intended for practical civil engineers to improve their knowledge and competency in carrying out design and construction works.
Research areas
- Ageing effects on mechanical and physical characteristics of bituminous mixtures
- Bearing and settlement behaviours of piled-rafts in soft clay
- Improving bearing capacity of circular footings using key wall
- Prediction of shaft- and base resistance factors from static maintained load tests
- 3-D finite element modeling and full scale measurements of pullout capacities on single-plate and multiple-plate discrete deadman anchors
Polymer Composites
The Polymer Composites Research Group is formed by a dedicated team with expert knowledge in design, manufacture and performance optimisation of both polymer and advanced fibre reinforced composites. Fundamental principles are applied, and ‘state-of-the-art’ techniques are utilised to ensure that the properties and performance of the end products are perfectly adapted to design specifications. Our research themes combine curiosity-driven research with application driven objectives, leading the development of advanced synthetic/natural fibre reinforced composites.
Research areas
- Development of novel manufacturing processes
- Materials characterisation
- Optimization of performance/cost ratio in processing of thermoplastics and thermosets
- FEA and CFD modelling relate to mechanical performance and process simulation
- Crashworthiness studies of automotive vehicle
- Textile composites
Structural Integrity and Dynamics
The Structural Integrity and Dynamics Research Group activities have a connection with the structure, its dynamics and the thermo-fluid–structure interactions. We have received funding from industrial and government organisations.
Research areas
- Aerospace applications
- Computational mechanics
- Solid, fluid, and component analysis and testing
- Advance dynamics and vibration