Research
Dynamics, Vibration and Control
Computational, experimental and analytical solutions in dynamics, vibration and control at SIUE provide excellent opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students as well as local industries. The research and education activities includes but not limited to structural dynamics and control, vibro-impact systems, discontinuous dynamical systems, bifurcations and chaos, robust control and time delay systems.
For more information, please contact our faculty in the dynamics, vibration and control group listed below.
Dr. Keqin Gu
Control of flexible structure, nonlinear dynamic systems and control, robust control, time delay systems.
Dr. Albert Luo
Nonlinear dynamical systems, discontinuous dynamical systems, analytical periodic solutions and chaos, nonlinear vibrations, vibration and measurements.
Dr. Fengxia Wang
Nonlinear dynamical systems, vibration systems, multibody dynamics, vibration energy harvesting
Energy System
SIUE supports and promotes energy and sustainability research, and a variety of energy-related research projects are conducted at the Department of Mechanical Engineering. These projects include: renewable and alternative energy systems; energy harvesting; energy storage systems; building energy efficiency; green roofs; and efficient thermal-mechanical systems. Energy research is funded by seed and/or internal and external grants. Undergraduate students can also get involved in energy research, as well as graduate and doctoral students. Certificate training programs and symposia are offered throughout the year for training professionals and promoting community awareness.
For more information, please contact our faculty in the Energy Systems Research Group listed below.
Dr. Serdar Celik
Alternative and Renewable Energy Systems, Building Energy Efficiency, Green Roofs
Dr. Nima Lotfi
Alternative Energy Systems, Battery Technologies
Dr. Fengxia Wang
Energy Harvesting, Extracting Kinetic Energy via Smart Materials
Dr. Terry Yan
Efficient Energy Systems, Thermal Engineering
Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering
The mechatronics lab is one of the many teaching and research labs in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. It is used to teach courses such as robotics-dynamics and control, introduction to mechatronics, sensors and actuators, and automatic control. It is also the home to multiple research projects in the area of robotics, including development of a swarm of omni-directional ground robots, a 3D printer robot, a telepresence robot, and a swarm of aerial robots, aka drones. We have continuously upgraded the equipment and experiments in the lab to be able to provide the best learning experience for our students in this fast-paced field. Specifically, the seating capacity in this lab was almost doubled last year thanks to a generous financial support from the dean’s office. In the past few years, the mechatronics lab has been one of the most popular spots in the engineering building for current and prospective students due to cutting-edge and exciting nature of the ongoing projects.
For more information, please contact our faculty in the Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering Group listed below.
Dr. Keqin Gu
Control of Flexible Structure, Nonlinear Dynamic Systems and Control, Robust Control, Time Delay Systems
Dr. Nima Lotfi
Mechatronics, Alternative and Renewable Energy Systems, Autonomous Transportation, Robotics
Dr. Mingshao Zhang
Robotics, Mechatronics, Machine Vision, Motion Tracking; Game-Based Educational Laboratory
Dr. Kamran Shavezipur
Physical MEMS, Biochemical Integrated Microsystems, Biomimetic Microsystems, Surface and Interfacial Studies, Multiphysics modeling
Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering Slideshow
MEMS and Microfluidics Group
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is a technology that deals with miniaturized electromechanical systems where the size of different devices ranges from few micrometers to several hundred micrometers. Scaling to smaller sizes, from several hundred nanometers to few nanometers, would create systems that are often called nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). Micro/nanofluidics is a multidisciplinary field that deals with studying the behavior of fluids in micro/nanometer sized confined structures. A typical microfluidic chip is a credit-card sized device with a network of microchannels narrower than a human hair that can be used to control and manipulate tiny amounts of fluids. Micro- and nanosystems have a wide range of applications, from consumer products to automotive, aerospace, military, biomedical, and food and agriculture.
The MEMS and microfluidics group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering focuses on different aspects of micro- and nanosystems research, from fundamental studies to the development of novel devices for a wide range of applications. Specific research topics include biological and chemical sensors to address the contamination of food products with foodborne pathogens and toxic chemicals, physical sensors and actuators, dielectrophoretic and magnetophoretic microfluidic chips for isolation and detection of circulating tumor cells from human blood, micro/nanostructured passive cooling systems for thermal management of high heat flux electronic chips, and multiphysics modeling.
The MEMS and Microfluidics Lab (MML) is equipped with different test setups and electronic equipment for the development, analysis and characterization of MEMS and microfluidic systems. A wide selection of software tools is available in the lab for device design, simulation and analysis.
For more information, please contact our faculty in the MEMS and Microfluidics Group listed below.
Dr. Jeff Darabi
MEMS, BioMEMS, Micro/Nanofluidics, Multiphysics Modeling
Dr. Kamran Shavezipur
Physical MEMS, Biochemical Integrated Microsystems, Biomimetic Microsystems, Surface and Interfacial Studies, Multiphysics modeling
MEMS and Microfluidics Group Slideshow
Solid Mechanics and Materials
The solid mechanics and materials research group at SIUE focuses on fundamental understanding of mechanical behaviors of various materials. The research includes computational materials science using elasticity, J2 plasticity, crystal plasticity, fracture mechanics, surface and interfacial properties, and Finite Element Method. Macro-scale mechanical behaviors are investigated using elasticity (both isotropic and anisotropic) and the J2 plasticity theory; this includes mechanical behaviors of structural materials such as polymer and metals. The fracture behavior of ductile metals are investigated using the theory of ductile fracture in the J2 plasticity Finite Element setting.
Mechanical behaviors in the lower level length scale are investigated using the elasticity and crystal plasticity theories. Surface and interfacial properties of materials are studied and micro-and nanoscale applications are designed and manufactured using micro instruments by mechanical engineering department researchers. Better understanding of the physics in the lower level (grain level) microstructure provides better theoretical tools in the macro scale, which is the basis of multi-scale mechanics/simulation.
Solid mechanics research at small scale (micrometer and nanometer scales) is conducted that includes novel mechanical designs, FEM analysis, manufacturing and experimental verification. Using solid mechanics and materials engineering fundamentals, microsystems with improved performances are developed for different applications, from consumers products to biomedicine and food.
For more information, please contact our faculty in the Solid Mechanics and Materials Group listed below.
Dr. Soondo Kweon
Fracture Mechanics; Computational Dynamics; Plasticity; Damage Model
Dr. Albert Luo
Nonlinear Dynamics; Vibrations; Nonlinear Continuous Mechanics; Damage Mechanics
Dr. Kamran Shavezipur
Physical MEMS, Biochemical Integrated Microsystems, Biomimetic Microsystems, Surface and Interfacial Studies, Multiphysics modeling
Solid Mechanics and Materials Slideshow
Thermal-Fluid Science
Thermal-fluid science deals with thermal energy and fluid flows in general. It mainly involves the subjects of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer, which are the fundamental knowledge bases for design and use of energy efficient systems.
- Thermodynamics deals with the conversion of thermal energy into mechanical work. Thermodynamic laws state the conservations principle and the limit and direction of energy conversion processes in nature and in every industrial device.
- Fluid mechanics, including fluid statics and fluid dynamics, deals with laws of motion applied to gases and liquids flowing in processes in scales as small as nano-micro and as large as galactic motions. Fluid mechanics uses mathematics in the form of differential equations and their solutions to examine the effects of forces on fluid motions. Computation fluid dynamics (CFD) offers new opportunities in solving very complicated fluid problems of industrial scales.
- Heat transfer is concerned with heat (thermal energy) exchange between physical systems in the form of conduction, convection and radiation. Heat transfer is ubiquitous in our everyday life and in industrial processes because the primary form of energy we use is always in the form of thermal energy. Utilization of energy and thus conversion of thermal energy into mechanical work involve heat transfer from one place to another.
The thermal-fluids science faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering engage actively in teaching and research in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer. The research projects involve practical applications, as well as fundamental thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer problems.
For more information, please contact our faculty in the Thermal-Fluid Science Group listed below.
Dr. Serdar Celik
Alternative and Renewable Energy Systems; Building Energy Efficiency; Green Roofs
Dr. Jeff Darabi
Micro/Nano Fluidics; Micro-Electromechanical Systems(MEMS); Thermal Management of Electronics Devices
Dr. Mike Denn
Aerodynamics; Internal Combustion Engines and Gas Turbines
Dr. Majid Molki
Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD); Electronics Cooling; Convection Heat Transfer
Dr. Terry Yan
Experimental and Computational Convective Heat Transfer and Fluid Dynamics; Gas Turbine Blade Cooling; Analysis of Internal Combustion Engines and Gas Turbines
