Applied Mechanics, Robotics, and Manufacturing

Professor F. Ben Amara
Design and implementation of control systems for manufacturing processes, acoustic and flexible systems, and microsystems. Development of signal processing algorithms for estimation.

Professor B. Benhabib
Sensors: Development of contact and non-contact sensors for robotics using electro-optics: proximity, force/torque and tactile sensing. Computer Vision: Development of CAD-based 3D active-vision systems for the recognition of static and moving objects.  Development of automatic visual-inspection techniques for manufacturing process control. Control: Development of supervisory control systems for flexible manufacturing systems.

Kinematic and dynamic analysis of robotic mechanisms.  Development of optimal trajectory planning techniques for cooperative multi-arm robots.  Development of on-line trajectory planning techniques for the interception of moving objects using visual feedback from an active vision system.

Professor R. Ben Mrad
Development and integration of sensors, precision positioning actuators, and real-time controllers for optimization of machining processes.  Dynamic non-linear modeling and control of manufacturing processes.  Applications of time-series methods to manufacturing processes.

Professor M.S. Fox
Constraint-directed scheduling; Distributed supply-chain management; Coordination theory; Enterprise modeling.

Professor A.A. Goldenberg
Biotechnology Laboratory Automation:  Micro-robotics for genomics and proteomics; Micro-fluidics for lab-on-the-chip; Robotic-based automation for liquid handling.

Robotics and Automation:  Underground gas pipes; Nuclear reactors applications; Medical surgery; Modular and reconfigurable robots; Space applications; Custom robots.

Mobile Robots:  Explosive and ordnance handling; Landmine detection; Military robotics; Autonomous navigation.

Security and Defence Automation:  High-acceleration protection of jet fighter pilots; Smart materials and biometric actuators; Real-time data acquisition and modelling in military physiology; Fuzzy-logic inference systems for decision support and damage control; Expert systems applications based on neuro-fuzzy logic.

Professor A.K.S. Jardine
Equipment maintenance and replacement decision making.  Statistical analysis of failure data. Reliability estimation.

Professor V. Makis
Optimal control of stochastically deteriorating processes - applications to production processes, EMQ models, "tool-wear" processes.  Development of SPC techniques for monitoring controlled processes.  Condition-based preventive maintenance, proportional hazards modeling.

Professor A. Mandelils
Advanced laser photothermal wave non-destructive testing instrumentation for engineering and manufactured materials imaging, sub-surface defect probing and measurement of thermophysical properties.

Professor S.A. Meguid
Nano-technology; nano-engineering; nano-sciences.  Study of bi-material interfaces reinforced with nano-particles.

Smart structures, smart materials; functionally-graded materials; piezoeletric and piezoceramic materials.  Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).

Advanced cellular materials.  Mechanical characterization of metallic foams; crashworthiness of foam-filled structures.  Multi-scale modelling techniques.  Advanced analytical and numerical techniques for the evaluation of the structural integrity of critical components in the aerospace, power generation and automotive industries.

Composite structures.  Study of anisotropy and inhomogeneity and their effects upon crack initiation, crack propagation and possible crack arrest in both traditional and advanced composite materials.

Metal forming; Metal cutting; plastic instability; slip line field theory; extremum principles; explosive forming; shot-peening and peen-forming; manufacturing of composite materials.

Professor J.K. Mills
Dynamic modeling of single and multi-robot systems engaged in noncontact and contact tasks utilizing Hamiltonian and Lagrange methods. Included in this modeling are link, transmission and payload structural compliance effects. Stability analysis, local and global is carried out with these models.

Research areas include dynamic modeling and control of single and multi-robot systems in manufacturing tasks. Development of control methodologies to achieve pre- specified closed-loop performance specifications. Control of flexible joint and link robots as well as robots manipulating flexible payloads. Industry standard equipment allows validation of theoretical results in realistic industry setting. Performance evaluation of Neural Network controllers. Commercialization of control methods.

Work undertaken includes dynamic modeling and control of various manufacturing processes including contact and noncontact robot tasks, multi-robot assembly operations, fixtureless assembly and manipulation of rigid and flexible payloads. Industry standard equipment is used for experimental validation of theoretical results. Application of Neural networks in manufacturing process.

Professor C.B. Park
Manufacturing of microcellular plastics plastics have high toughness, high impact strength and long fatigue life. Development manufacturing technologies in extrusion, injection molding, compression molding, and bead molding.  Die and mold design. Theoretical modeling of cell nucleation and growth. Computer simulation. Experimental observation.

Professor C.A. Simmons
Multiscale computational modelling of biological systems, with the goal of elucidating the relationships between mechanical stimuli and cell function. Specific interests include: modelling of cellular deformation in engineered tissues and native heart valves; and modelling of tissue deformation around bone-interfacing dental and orthopaedic implants.

Professor A.N. Sinclair
Analytical and experimental work on resonant frequencies and mechanical wave propagation characteristics of engineering structures.  Development of an ultrasonic high-cycle fatigue facility whereby the crack propagation characteristics of aerospace alloys are studied by using ultrasound to promote crack propagation.

Development of materials made of recycled plastic and cellulose-based products: Improvement of the creep-resistance, uniformity, toughness and density characteristics.

Development of ultrasonic testing systems and software to evaluate engineering components, such as turbine blades, nuclear reactor components, gas & oil pipelines, fibre-reinforced composites, welds, and aerospace structures.

Professor J.K. Spelt
Development of a comprehensive methodology for the prediction of the fracture of bonded joints.  Adhesive joint failure accompanied by adherent yielding. Investigation of the failure mechanisms of bonded joints, and development of ways of incorporating environmental degradation into the fracture-based failure criterion. Erosion of solid surfaces by high-speed small solid particles (blast cleaning). Surface finishing of aluminum using vibratory fluidized beds of abrasive media. Modeling of thermal warpage in printed circuit boards. Accelerated thermal fatigue in SnPb and Pb-free microelectronic solder joints.  Thermal fatigue of plated-through-vias in circuit boards.  Water-paper interactions.

Professor Y. Sun
MEMS (microelectromechanical systems): Sensor and actuator design, fabrication, and testing; Wireless implantable MEMS; MEMS-based bio-instrumentation.

Nanofabrication and nanomanipulation: Characterization of nanostructure properties; NEMS (nanoelectromechanical systems) sensor and actuator design, fabrication, and testing.

Biological/biomedical studies assisted by MEMS and NEMS (e.g., cellular biomechanics aided by MEMS/NEMS devices).

Microrobotics: Microrobotic biomanipulation. Manipulating bio-materials (e.g., DNA and individual biological cells) with microrobotic systems; Visual servoing with high-resolution and low-depth-of-field visual feedback; Microforce and nanoforce control by integrating MEMS/NEMS devices; High precision position control; Assimilation of feedback from multi-modalities

Microstructure control (applying control theories to improve performance of MEMS devices).

Professor R.D. Venter
Structural integrity, fatigue and fracture of metals. Special applications relate to the investigation into the crack propagation of ductile ferritic steels employed in the nuclear industry.  Development of J and CTOA resistance curves for design of nuclear piping systems.

Professor J.W. Zu
Mechanical vibrations, dynamics and stability analysis of machinery, structures, automobiles and various mechanical systems.  Solutions via analytical or numerical approaches. Experiments on vibration measurements, testing and modal analysis.

Vibration control: Active and passive control methods for vibration reduction.

Plasticity of metal forming processes which include extrusion, rolling, sheet metal drawing/stretching and the lubrication associated with these processes.  Both experimentation and analysis using finite-element. methods and slip line theory, incorporating matrix inversion operators.  Production methods - JIT, SPC.  Rapid prototyping systems for product development.  Total quality management.