Fracture-Guided Design for Intelligent 4D-Printed Adaptive Structures
Developing a fracture-guided design framework for 4D-printed structures that can detect damage and adapt their shape or behaviour.
View ARC grant record ↗BioE Design Lab
Leo Zhang
Western Sydney University
Computational mechanics · Additive manufacturing · Adaptive structures.
01 / About
Research grounded in mechanics.
BioE Design Lab is my research platform for mechanics-informed design and advanced manufacturing. I combine computational modelling, fracture analysis and experimental evidence to understand how materials and structures behave, and to guide design for engineering and biomedical applications.
I am a Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Western Sydney University and Program Lead for undergraduate programs in Advanced Manufacturing, Mechanical, Mechatronic and Materials Engineering. I welcome research and industry collaborations, as well as enquiries from prospective research students.
02 / Research
Areas of focus
My work asks how materials and structures deform and fail, how to predict that behaviour, and how those insights can guide better design and manufacturing.
Fracture mechanics
Modelling damage and failure to guide the design of adaptive structures. Explore the ARC Future Fellowship project ↗
Computational mechanics
Using modelling and design methods to investigate residual stress, distortion and cracking in manufactured structures. Explore the ceramic manufacturing project ↗
Advanced manufacturing
Studying how design and process choices affect fabricated parts, from ceramic dental structures to metal components. See selected publications ↗
03 / Selected projects
Funded research
Australian Research Council projects.
Computational Design of Defect-Free Additively Manufactured Ceramic Structures
Developing computational design methods to address residual stress, distortion and cracking in ceramic additive manufacturing.
View ARC grant record ↗04 / People
People & opportunities
Dr Zhongpu (Leo) ZhangLab lead · Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering · Western Sydney University
I collaborate with PhD researchers and their supervisors on projects spanning computational mechanics, bioengineering and advanced manufacturing. I also contribute as a co-supervisor where relevant.
Prospective PhD and MPhil students are welcome to get in touch about computational mechanics, fracture, advanced materials and additive manufacturing. Please include your background and the question you would like to investigate.
Enquire about research study ↗05 / Publications
Selected publications
A selection of recent work. See Google Scholar for the full and current list.
06 / Collaboration
Collaborate
I welcome conversations with academic and industry partners about engineering problems such as why a material or component fails, how a structure might be modelled or improved, and how distortion or cracking can be reduced in additive manufacturing.
We can start with a specific question and explore whether modelling, experimental validation or a joint student project would be useful.
Discuss a collaboration ↗07 / Contact
Let’s talk.
For research collaboration, industry enquiries or HDR supervision, send a short outline of your interests or engineering challenge.
Leo.Zhang@westernsydney.edu.au ↗Western Sydney University · Sydney, Australia