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My name is Greg. I currently attend Texas A&M University where I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. I have completed my course requirements (although I am still taking courses that I find interesting) and am in the early stages of working towards completing my dissertation.
I am primarily interested in solid mechanics which is a broad field spanning subjects such as:
- Classical mechanics: Also known as rigid body mechanics, or sometimes just dynamics. This field is concerned with the dynamical behavior of rigid solid bodies.
- Continuum mechanics: This is actually a large field than includes many subjects, not just solid mechanics. Continuum mechanics is concerned with the study of objects (fluids and solids) for which the continuum hypothesis is valid. Continuum mechanics is at the heart of many engineering disciplines such as solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and heat transfer. Continuum mechanics also provides a framework for the development of constitutive equations.
- Elasticity: This subject in general includes both the linear and nonlinear theories of elasticity. Unlike classical mechanics, the theory of elasticity is concerned with solid bodies that are elastically deformable. Both the linear and nonlinear theory of elasticity are used extensively in structural analysis often through the aid of a general purpose finite element package.
- Mechanics of composites materials: This field is actually just anisotropic elasticity.
- Plates and shells: This subject has been extremely valuable in the analysis of thin structural elements. Plate and shell theories are formulated using the theory of elasticity and appropriate kinematic assumptions. This results in a set of equations for plate and shell structures that are more practical to solve than the general equations of elasticity.
- Viscoelasticity: Viscoelastic materials are material bodies that exhibit behaviors of both elastic solids and viscous fluids. Viscoelastic materials can be categorized as viscoelastic solids or viscoelastic fluids.
- Plasticity: Plasticity is concerned with the irreversible deformation of solid bodies, or bodies that are deformed beyond their yield limit.
- Fracture mechanics: Fracture mechanics is concerned with the description of the formulation and growth of cracks in solids bodies. Fracture mechanics is widely used to predict the ultimate failure of solid objects. It is very important in the design and maintenance of aircraft, since structural cracks are inevitable. Fracture mechanics uses many concepts from elasticity and plasticity.
- Micromechanics: Micromechanics is used to determine effective mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of bulk materials that macroscopically appear homogeneous, but at smaller lengths scales actually consists of many constituents. Micromechanics is useful in estimating effective properties of composite materials.
Although my primary interests are in solid mechanics, the tentative area of research for my dissertation is fluid-structure interaction (FSI) so I have also had to learn what I can about fluid mechanics.
I am also very interested in the Finite Element Method, which is a general and extremely useful tool for obtaining approximate solutions to partial differential equations.
