Akshay Devikar

Background

About Akshay Devikar

I worked on JRF/SRF on a DST-SERB funded project of "Development of Liquid Metal Processing route for Closed cell Magnesium foam" under the supervision of Prof. GS Vinod Kumar (SRM IST & SRMAP) and Dr. Manas Mukherjee (IIT Madras). I am currently pursuing my PhD in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh, India. My doctoral research focuses on the stabilization studies of closed-cell Magnesium alloy and composite foams produced via liquid metal route in ambient atmospheres. Some of the key features of my research are listed below: Due to high oxygen affinity of liquid Magnesium, liquid processing is very difficult as it oxidizes/burns in air. Ca and Be are added to improve the oxidation resistance of liquid Mg. Due to Mg oxidation, a time and temperature dependent study on the melt viscosity was also performed as the previously available literature was performed in protective gas atmospheres. Foam stabilization using ceramic particles was studied for an extended time period of up to 15 min, which retained about 600 % of volume expansion of the foamed structure. Different oxides and ceramic particles were studied from the stability standpoint. A thorough microscopic characterization (XRD, SEM-EDS, TEM and XPS) and macroscopic characterization (2D pore analysis, micro-CT analysis, X-ray radioscopy, foam density and volume expansion measurements, etc.) of Mg foams was performed to understand the role of these particles in Mg foam stabilization. The effect of different alloying elements and the subsequent intermetallic formation on the foam stabilization was investigated. Mechanical properties and energy absorption capacities of these Mg foams having 60-90% porosities were also studied. The brittle behavior of Mg foams under quasi-static compression exhibited a compressive strength close to that of Aluminium foams with up to 70% of energy absorption efficiency.