Prof. Pitcheswara Rao KAMINENI

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

2003

• MBA in Technology Management, APESMA - LaTrobe University, Australia (via Graduate Diploma in Technology Management, APESMA Deakin University)

1983

• PhD - Metal Forming (Metallurgical Engineering), Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai - 600036, India

1978

• Master of Technology (MTech) - Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur - 208016, India

1976

• Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) - Metallurgical Engineering, Karnataka Regional Engineering College (now National Institute of Technology), Surathkal - 574157, India

RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

1990 - now

• Current position: Professor and Associate Head
• Associate Professor / University Senior Lecturer / Principal Lecturer / Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering (formerly with department of Manufacturing Eng. & Eng. Management), City University of Hong Kong
• Acting Head of the department from December 2008 to December 2010
• Honorary Visiting Professor (during 2000 - 2002), Padmasree Dr. B.V. Raju Institute of Technology, Narsapur, Hyderabad, India

1988 – 1990

• Post-doctoral Fellow, Dept. of Metals & Materials Eng., University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

1986 – 1987

• Post-doctoral Fellow, Dept. of Mechanical Eng., University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada

1983 – 1986

• Engineer – Research, Central Metal Forming Institute, HMT Ltd., Hyderabad, India

1979 – 1983

• PhD Research Student, Dept. of Metallurgical Eng., Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India

1979

• Metallurgist, Nava Bharat Ferro-Alloys Ltd., Paloncha, India

1977 – 1978

• Junior Research Assistant, Dept. of Metallurgical Eng., Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India

Current Research Areas

• Formability and processing maps of new high-strength magnesium alloys
• Thermo-mechanical processing of magnesium alloys for bio-implants
• Processing of bulk magnesium alloy composites with nano-dispersion

MAIN CONTRIBUTIONS IN DIFFERENT RESEARCH AREAS

A. Hot working and constitutive behavior of materials
This is the first and broader research area in which Prof. Rao started his research work. The work has continued over a number of years leading to the establishment of constitutive behavior of different alloys. The work is an essential component of many metal forming and hot working of metallic materials. A number of publications appeared in number of international journals and have been cited by many other researchers in this field.

B. Sheet metal forming
Developed a mathematical model for predicting formability and fracture limits based on parameters that can be obtained from simple tension tests of the chosen sheet materials. The model accommodates moderate changes in temperature and strain rate that is common in cold forming of sheet materials.

C. Lubrication and friction in metal forming
Studied the effectiveness of an environmentally friendly lubricant for cold forming operations of some commonly used metallic materials, and developed a route for developing coatings on the materials to be formed while it will be easy to remove the lubricant after forming.

D. CAD/CAM for metal forming
Developed an unique theoretical benchmark called “Universal Compact Utilization (UCY)” for use in cutting stock problems (CSP) involving nesting/clustering/packing of any 2-dimensional shapes on flat sheets. Probably, this is the only measure in the literature that can uniquely compare the effective utilization of sheet materials with different stock layouts that may be obtained using computer-aided design (CAD) algorithms and solutions. We developed one of the fastest and accurate algorithms for layout of single and or multiple pattern shapes using compact neighbourhood approach with stringy effect and branch and bound techniques.
Complimentary contribution is on computer aided manufacturing (CAM) involving cutting of the nested blanks utilizing efficient routings depending on the nature of cutting machine/technology used. Use of heuristic and genetic algorithms has been made to provide near-best solutions.
We developed a knowledge-based CAD/CAM system for design and manufacture of stamping dies. The system utilized decision tables to capture the general industry practice as well as the theory of forming.

E. Application of artificial neural networks (ANN) for metal forming
We are among the first few researchers (early nineties) who explored neural networks for use in metal forming, with a large number of citations (45) for a paper published in this area.

F. Development of high performance titanium aluminide-based in situ composites
Developed a novel technique for synthesizing high-strength and high-temperature resistant titanium aluminide based composites involving ternary (Ti-Al-Si) or quaternary (Ti-Al-Si-C) metastable precursors. Characterized the entire stages involved in the synthesis and the mechanical properties obtained compared simple titanium aluminides.

G. Warm and hot working of coppers
Though coppers have been used for a long time and is an important industrial material, their hot workability was not fully studied. Probably, only our studies encompassed the broadest range of process parameters, namely temperature and strain rate, and clearly established the role and criticality of oxygen content in hot working as well as mechanisms of core and grain boundary diffusion (besides the commonly believed self diffusion mechanism) that provide better processing opportunities. Processing maps have been developed for two important coppers, namely, oxygen-free high conductivity (OFHC) and electrolytic tough pitch (ETP) coppers, and microstructure evolutions have been fully studied over the entire range of processing.

H. Development and processing of magnesium alloys, including nano-dispersed bulk materials
With the collaboration of Magnesium Innovation Centre (MAGIC), Institute of Materials Research, Helmoltz Zentrum Geestacht (formerly GKSS Research Centre), National research facility of the HGF (Hermann von Helmholtz Society of German Research Centres), Germany, new generation magnesium alloys are being developed. A series of alloys based on Mg-Sn-Ca system has been developed and tested for their corrosion and creep behavior, and a shortlist of alloys with high potential for further development has been identified. These alloys are currently thermo-mechanically processed so that entire processing routes will be available soon with the development of processing maps based on dynamic materials modeling. Besides these alloys, the most popular magnesium wrought alloy AZ31 has been investigated and found that the alloy is highly texture sensitive even at high temperatures (which is not the case for most of the metallic materials). For the first time, we have established the best processing routes for this alloy and clarified the role of texture for this alloy. A larger programme is in progress to expand the availability of number alloys and develop fully the associated processing technologies for industrial applications. Another initiative is the incorporation of small quantity of nano-dispersed alumina into magnesium alloys to develop bulk components or alloys with better properties mechanical and processing properties. Two new areas being explored are the development and processing of (i) biocompatible and biodegradable magnesium alloys for implant applications, and (ii) high strength and creep-resistant alloys for automotive applications.