Profile

Education

• Ph.D., New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 1984
• M.S., South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 1981
• B.E., University of Rajasthan, India, 1980

Research Areas and Descriptors

• Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing; High-strain-rate mechanical properties, deformation and strengthening mechanisms, phase transformations, and processing of nanocrystalline and metastable materials with structural, energetic, and functional properties.

Background

Dr. Thadhani has been involved in research in synthesis, processing, and fabrication of bulk nanocrystalline, metastable, and non-equilibrium alloys, ceramics, and composites with unique structural, energetic, magnetic, and thermoelectric properties through dynamic powder consolidation, and shock-induced phase transformations and chemical reactions; high-strain-rate deformation and failure studies through time-resolved measurements and numerical simulations in metals, ceramics, and composites; and design, fabrication, anergy-absorbing metallic, ceramic, and composite materials. His high-strain-rate laboratory includes a 7.62 mm and a 80-mm diameter single-stage gas-gun to perform impact experiments at velocities of 100 to 1100 m/s with instrumentation to monitor shock-initiated events with nanosecond resolution employing piezoelectric and piezoresistive stress gauges, velocity interferometry, and high-speed digital imaging, combined with the ability to recover impacted materials for post-mortem microstructural characterization and determination of other properties. He has built computational capabilities employing continuum simulations for design of experiments and development and validation of constitutive equations, as well as for discrete particle numerical analysis (using CTH and ALE3D codes) to determine the effects observed during shock compression of heterogeneous materials. He is currently building a laser facility for accelerating thin foils for impact experiments on nano-particle layers, thin films, coatings, and soft materials.

Research

Dr. Thadhani's current research projects are sponsored by the Department of Defense and industries, and include dynamic shock consolidation of powders for fabrication of bulk nanocomposite exchanged-coupled permanent magnets with high energy products; the design, processing, characterization and evaluation of structural energetic materials (based on intermetallics, ceramics, thermites, and polymer-composites), including determining their pressure-volume compressibility characteristics and constitutive equations; shock processing and high strain rate mechanical properties of bulk metallic glasses and composites; development and validation of constitutive equations for high-strain-rate mechanical property characterization of tantalum and other bcc metals; and design and ballistic characterization of armor packages and systems.

Dr. Thadhani's has graduated twenty Ph.D. and M.S. students, most of whom are currently working as research scientists at national laboratories or universities. Several of his former M.S. students are working in small and large materials processing industries.