DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED MECHANICS
& BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING Indian Institute Of Technology Madras

Solid Mechanics

The Solid Mechanics Group is a Prominent Part of Applied Mechanics & Biomedical Engineering Department, IIT Madras.


With the induction of young talent among the faculty, the solid mechanics group now enjoys a blend of the fresh and the experienced that maintain a close interaction with students to nurture their talent and curiosity.

Solid mechanics group integrates areas such as Mechanics of Material Behavior, Materials Science, Structural Dynamics, Experimental Mechanics, Structural Mechanics, Probabilistic Mechanics, Fracture Mechanics, Smart Materials and Structures, Composites and also coupled fields (Electro-Mechanical, Thermo-Mechanical, Magneto-Mechanical) . The group has been quite active in bringing interesting and challenging inter-disciplinary projects.

With a two-pronged goal to make learning a hands on experience as well as conducting world-class state of the art research in experimental, theoretical and application aspects for the challenging engineering problems, the group has constantly been updating its laboratory facilities. Existing facilities include:

  • Fatigue and Fracture testing facility with a computer controlled 100 kN Servo Hydraulic Fatigue and Fracture Testing machine
  • Photomechanics Lab with an Automated Polariscope for Digital Photoelasticity
  • Dynamics Lab with an LDS shaker and computerized signal generator
  • Model making and testing facility with a Universal Testing Machine - 200 kN capacity
  • Smart materials characterization / Smart systems building facility with temperature controlled wire testing and tools for building smart systems and structures.

At any given period, as many as 25 research students (M. S and Ph. D.) are on the rolls. The group offers the Solid Mechanics stream of the M.Tech program in Applied Mechanics. Recently, we have started a Dual degree program that allows undergraduate students to pursue an additional degree in Applied Mechanics at the Master's level.

In addition to research, the faculty of the group are also involved in teaching of undergraduate core courses to all the branches of IIT. The faculty also offer advanced graduate level courses in Solid Mechanics and conduct short term programmes on various areas of Solid Mechanics.