Advanced Materials Processing Research Group

Advanced Materials Processing Research Group (AMPRG) operates under the aegis of Materials Science and Engineering discipline at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN). We primarily work on friction stir welding (FSW), processing (FSP) and channeling (FSC), surface composites, modeling, and simulation of various welding and joining processes. Our research involves processing and characterization of several metallic (aluminum, copper, titanium, steel, magnesium alloys), polymers and ceramic materials as well their some of their best combinations. Furthermore, this group is also deeply engaged with notable paradigm-shifts in modern materials science and metallurgy, for instance, deep learning (artificial intelligence) and additive manufacturing (3D printing). We strive to support the needs of aerospace, automobile, marine, defense, and strategic sectors. In FSW/P, our developed and validated tools, methods, and codes can predict heat transfer, material flow, tool wear, thermal gradients, strain gradients, grain evolution, and recrystallization. We deploy numerous characterization techniques (both in-house as well as through collaborations) to study materials at various scales and for contrasting properties. Some of those techniques are optical microscopy, Vicker's microhardness, tensile testing, SEM, EDX, EBSD, XRD, AFM, TEM, Corrosion, Profilometry, Contact Angle measurement, X-Ray Computed Tomography, Metallography, DSC-TGA, and XRF for materials and metallurgical characterization. From tensile and hardness tests to transmission electron microscopy, our approach incorporates an extensive set of characterization tracks to test, demonstrate, and validate properties of materials.