High temperature deformation behavior

of engineering materials
(Creep of materials)

Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar N V

Professor
Head, Central XRD Laboratory
Head, Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engg.,
Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT Madras)
Chennai 600036

Email: nvrk@iitm.ac.in
URL: https://mme.iitm.ac.in/nvrk

IIT Madras
1
 High temperature deformation behavior of engineering
materials (Creep of materials)
Learning objectives

 To understand the deformation process in a material at high temperatures,

even if an applied stress is below its yield stress.

 To distinguish between time-dependent (creep) and time-independent

(yielding) deformation mechanisms.

 To utilize deformation maps to explain their relationship between stress and

temperature.

 To understand & distinguish the deformation behavior at elevated

temperatures of various crystalline materials at elevated temperatures
(namely., pure metals, solid solutions, metal matrix composites, ceramics).

 To also briefly discuss on the deformation behavior of amorphous materials at

elevated temperatures.

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 High temperature deformation of crystalline materials
(Creep behavior)

Plastic deformation of a material (time dependent) that is subjected to a stress lower than its
yield stress when that material is at a high homologous temperature.

High
temperature

Uni-axial flexural creep

Compressive Creep
Measured quantity is
Tensile Creep displacement

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Examples
Can ICE creep ?
Can creep occur at room temperature?

 Ice creeps at -50°C (223K), melting point of ice (Tm) = 0°C (273K), the
homologous temperature is 0.82,

 Lead-tin solders creep at 20°C (293K), melting point of the solder (Tm) ~
200°C (473K), the homologous temperature is 0.62,

 Silicon nitride (Si3N4) creeps at 1300°C (1573K), dissociation temperature of

Si3N4 is 1850°C (2123K), the homologous temperature is 0.74.

Creep occurs - high homologous temperatures (T/T m> 0.5)

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Time-independent and time-dependent deformation

High Constant
temperature load

Room
temperature

At t = 0

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Need for the study

Development of new materials for high temperature applications has

always been a subject of challenge and interest for material
scientists.

Driving force

The stringent conditions the materials in high temperature applications are

subjected to, and the ever increasing demand to maximize the performance
of the materials used in aerospace industries, automobile industries etc.,

Case study: Jet engines

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 GE 90-115B engine

• To achieve higher thrusts, higher

operating temperatures must be
realized.

• To achieve higher efficiency, the

engines must be made significantly
lighter without loss of thrust.

Turbine blades

Superalloys: Ni- based superalloys

nickel based superalloys melt at about 1250
°C they are supposed to be operating at 85 %
of their melting point at ~ 140 MPa.
MME, IITM
Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V
 Degradation of microstructure

What is the consequence of such a degradation ?

 Need for experiments with controlled
parameters !

How do we then perform laboratory scale

experiments?

&

how do we understand the deformation

mechanisms?
MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V
 Compression creep equipment (Zwick)

Test
specimen
SiC Pin SiC Pin

SiC Pin

Inductive strain gauge

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V
 Compression creep experimental set-up
Controlled atmosphere

• Heating elements & radiation

shields are made of molybdenum.
• Rotary vane pump ~ 9 x 10-6 mbar
• Argon gas flow rate ~ 1 litre/min

MME, IITM • N.Load

Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, Vcell ~ 10 KN,  0.2 N
accuracy
 Creep curve

I II III

90 % of life time spent

in stage-II

Instantaneous
elastic strain = /E

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Influence of stress & temperature

Deformation,  Deformation rate, έ Design criteria for

creep
• min. strain rate
• time-to-fracture

• increase in strain rates

• shortening of steady state
creep period
• decrease in tf

All materials need not

show all the 3 stages
always during a creep
experiment

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 After generating the creep
curves……

How do we understand the deformation

behavior with in a crystal?

Role of dislocation ?

Role of diffusion ?

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 HT deformation (creep) in a single crystal
If plastic
deformation occurs
by dislocation
movement…….

Unlike room temperature

deformation (aided only by
stress), thermal activation
aids/accelerates dislocation
movement in creep (with
stress)…….

Is it just dislocation glide then …??

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V
 Creep in single crystals
Dislocation Creep

 Dislocation motion is impeded by a variety of obstacles and if the stress

fields associated with these obstacles is short, the obstacle can be by-
passed by the dislocation by thermal activation.

 Hence, by thermal activation, creep in single crystals can occur by

dislocation climb. When combined with dislocation glide, it leads to
dislocation creep.

Slip planes

Diffusion of vacancies
into the dislocation core

Obstacle Dislocation climb

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep in single crystals
Dislocation Creep

 Dislocation climb requires a short range diffusion process, which allows the
dislocation to move to an adjacent slip plane.

 This means, the dislocation creep (creep strain rate) is controlled by the
climb or glide process of the dislocations.

 The rate-limiting step most of the times is dislocation-climb which requires

diffusion & is thus time-dependent - favored at higher temperatures.
Dislocation-glide can also be a rate-limiting step under some conditions.

 The climb-controlled process has been analyzed and leads to the strain-rate
equation of the form:

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Is it necessary for HT deformation to
occur only by dislocations?

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V
 Creep in single crystals
Stress-induced diffusion

 The creep strain rate is then given by:

 The inverse-square dependence on crystal size (d) makes this mechanism

more important in polycrystals than single crystals.

 Observe the linear dependence of the strain rates on stress.

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep in polycrystals

 Steady state creep of polycrystals involve both dislocation mechanisms

(dislocation creep) and purely diffusion mechanisms (diffusion creep).

 Dislocation creep has been discussed already. Nabarro-Herring creep

(diffusion mechanism) has also been discussed. Another possibility of
diffusion is along grain boundaries and is termed Coble creep.

 Unlike Nabarro-Herring creep where creep is controlled by lattice diffusivity

(DL), in Coble creep, creep is controlled by grain boundary diffusivity (DG).

 In Coble creep, strain rate depends on d-3, this means higher sensitivity to
grain size.

Note: Diffusion creep (N-H & Coble) - characterized by stress exponent = 1

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Generalized creep equation

To summarize, all these creep mechanisms can be expressed by one single

equation:
where, A = dimensionless constant (represenative of the
 ADb b   
m n
microstructural state of the material), D = diffusion
    coefficient (diffusivity) associated with the creep process, 
kT
 d  = shear modulus, b = Burgers vector, d = grain size, m =
grain size exponent, n = stress exponent

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

MME, IITM
Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V
 Calculation of stress exponents and activation energy
(evaluation of creep parameters)

Stress exponent (n) Activation energy (Q)

Slope = n
High T High 𝝈
ln (strain rate)

ln (strain rate)
Low T
Low 𝝈
Slope = -Q/R
ln (stress) 1/T

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V
Creep of pure metals, solid solutions, and MMCs

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep
Pure metals

For pure metals, a logarithmic plot of strain rate vs. stress, reveals 3 distinct
regions of flow.

1. A region at very low stresses where n = 1,

2. An extensive region at intermediate stresses where n ~ 5,

3. A region at very high stresses, where n increases in an exponential

manner.

For solid solutions,

- the creep behavior can be much more complex.

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep
Solid solutions

A typical creep behavior of a solid

solution is shown in figure (left hand
side)
A B C
A. Low stress region, n = 1,
associated with diffusion creep.

B. Intermediate region, where n ~ 3 -

5, creep controlled by dislocation
process.

C. High stress region, n > 5, implying

power-law break down (PLB) -
generalized creep equation not
applicable.

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep
Solid solutions

Region - B

Intermediate region, where n ~ 3 - 5,

creep controlled by dislocation process.

A B C - With increasing stress, where n ~ 5,

creep is controlled by dislocation climb.

-Where n = 3, creep is controlled by

dislocation glide, & then n > 3

- where n ~ 5, dislocation climb is again

the rate-controlling mechanism.

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep
Pure metals, Solid solutions

Recapitulation

 The overall concept of the generalized plot (for solid solutions), is that the
dislocations move by climb and glide in the alloys and the slowest of these two
processes is the rate-controlling mechanism.

 In pure metals, glide is always faster than climb so that n ~ 5, where as in solid
solution alloys, glide becomes slower than climb at the transition from n ~ 5 to n = 3.

 At higher stresses, dislocations are able to break away from the solute
atmospheres, so that n > 3, and then again a transition to climb.

Class M ( representative of dislocation climb in pure metals, metal type )

Class A ( representative of dislocation glide, alloy type)

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep
MMCs

Potential
of
MMCs

Cast SiCp/Al attachment fittings - multi-

Discontinuously reinforced aluminum inlet fitting for a truss node
MMCs for electronic packaging
applications - SiCp/Al electronic
package for a remote power controller
Hubble Space Telescope made
with diffusion-bonded sheet of
P100 graphite fibers in 6061 Al

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep
MMCs
creep behavior of MMC
Al2618-10 vol% Al2O3 & Pure Al

reduction in creep rates for MMCs

Tested under double shear conditions

Specimen geometry
 = /L

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V
 Creep
MMCs

 Concept of threshold stress: “ Lower limiting value of stress below which

there is no measurable plastic flow “ .

 10-10 s-1 - Lowest measurable strain rates (machine limitation).

 Threshold stress exists in most of the composites irrespective of the

processing route.

 Exists because of the interactions of mobile dislocations with fine or ultra

fine precipitates that are present within the matrix alloys. (direct evidence from
TEM observations of crept samples).

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep
MMCs

Incorporation of threshold stress

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Evaluation of the threshold stress
(when strain rate values not parallel to ordinate)

Let us first consider the MMC with Al 7005 matrix

1. Select suitable values for n.

1
2. Plot  n
vs. 

3. Choose that plot which
gives you the linear fit for the
data.
4. Extrapolate to zero creep
rates to obtain threshold
stresses.

5. n ~ 4, indicates dislocation
climb.

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Evaluation of the threshold stress
(when strain rate values not parallel to ordinate)

Let us first consider the MMC with Al 6061 matrix

1. Select suitable values for n.

1
2. Plot  n vs. 

3. Choose that plot which
gives you the linear fit for the
data.
4. Extrapolate to zero creep
rates to obtain threshold
stresses.
5. n = 3, indicates dislocation
glide.

Effective stress =  - o

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep
MMCs

Incorporation of Load Transfer & Substructural Strengthening

 Load transfer refers to the situation in which a part of the external load is transferred
to the reinforcement, thereby reducing the level of the effective stress (e) that acts on the
matrix alloy

Load transfer is generally incorporated into the analysis by the use of a load transfer
coefficient () = [0, 1].

 Existence of substructural strengthening: possible sources

- increase in dislocation density in MMCs as a direct consequence of thermal mismatch between
reinforcement and matrix.
- internal stresses introduced because of the reinforcements

Substructural strengthening can be incorporated in to analysis by using a

substructural coefficient () = [0, 1].

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep
MMCs

Incorporation of Load Transfer & Substructural Strengthening

 For simplicity, one can use a coefficient () which incorporates both load
transfer and substructural strengthening.

Effective stress acting on the MMC in the presence of a threshold stress:

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep & lamps

Why does the incandescent tungsten filament not fail quite frequently in
modern times which used to be the case before….?

Assignment: Write-up on the influence of processing, microstructure and doping on

the creep properties of Tungsten filament – not more than 5 pages

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep of ceramics
(eg: SiC and Si3N4)

• Influence of processing

• Processing dependent microstructures

• Microstructure dependent creep properties

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Processing
Sintering: Heating the green compact, T > 0.5Tm (K) enabling diffusional
mass transport– driving force is the reduction in surface free energy.

Size, distribution, temperature,

pressure, impurities Bulk sintered
Green body
Interfacial energy, grain boundaries & compact
triple junctions, pores, Ostwald ripening

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Sintering methodologies
Solid state sintering & Liquid phase sintering

 Solid state sintering (SS)

 Occurs through lattice diffusion

 KEY to sintering kinetics: Identify the slowest ionic specie and enhance its diffusion
along the fastest path !
Eg: Solid state sintered silicon carbide (SiC) – addition of B, C to enhance sintering kinetics

 Liquid phase sintering (LPS)

 Addition of sintering additives, formation of a secondary phase/liquid phase

Eg: Liquid phase sintered silicon nitride (Si 3N4)
– sintering additives from MgO ….to rare earth oxides – creep resistance depends on how
refractory the liquid phase would be which is determined by the choice of sintering additives

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Microstructures
solid state sintered & liquid phases sintered ceramics
extreme ceramic microstructures

Dry grain boundaries Wetted boundaries

(direct crystalline contact) (wetted with a secondary
phase)

brittle at room temperatures Tough at room temperatures

(KIc = 2 – 4 MPa.m-1/2) (KIc = 6 – 8 MPa.m-1/2)

SS- SiC, Hexoloy, Carborundum LPS- Si3N4, SN88 NGK Insulator Inc.,
SiC grain and dry grain boundaries, with residual Darker phase is the silicon nitride grain and the
graphite at multi-grain junctions lighter phase is the residual sintering aid/liquid
phase
MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V
 Influence of microstructure
KX01-RB-SiC
SS -SiC LPS-Si3N4 (33 vol% Si)
RB-SiC

SCRB210-RB-SiC
(18 vol % Si)

Reaction bonded
(RB) SiC

NT230-RB-SiC
(8 vol% Si)
Index of long
term life time

Comparison of tensile creep of various grades of

SiC: LPS Si3N4 is included also included for
comparison

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Difference in creep behavior for RB-SiC
Creeps 100 times more in tension than
compression

• Cavity formation only during

tensile creep & not in
compression creep.

• Vol fraction of cavities is ~ total

Tensile & compressive creep of RB SiC creep strain !

Differences in the creep behavior as a consequence of cavitation !

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Now if you consider liquid phase sintered
materials…..how would they behave ?

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Grain boundary sliding
 LPS ceramics possess a grain boundary glassy phase (secondary phase),
which is basically used to aid the densification in the fabrication process.

Microstructure showing
Si3N4 grains (dark phase)
High performance Microstructure- SEM Microstructure-HREM coated with a glassy
Si3N4 ceramic secondary phase (brighter
phase)

 Softening of this
secondary glassy phase
at higher temperatures
allows creep to occur by
grain boundary sliding.

Note – 1: It is not the sliding process which controls the creep behavior here, but the viscosity of the
glassy phase which controls the creep rates.

Note – 2: Higher the refractoriness of this glassy phase, better the creep resistance of the material.

Secondary phase must be highly refractory – choice determined

by the sintering additives
 Dissolution precipitation & Redistribution of glass by
viscous flow

 

 
Dissolution-precipitation Liquid redistribution
mechanism mechanisms containing a
glassy grain boundary phase

 w 2 / 3  w 3
 
o d 3 o d 3
w = thickness of the glassy layer,  = atomic volume of the diffusing species

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Evidence for creep cavitation-LPS Si 3N4

After tensile
creep

Before creep, SN88, LPS-Si3N4

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

Cavities within the silicate phase
in multi-grain junctions
 HT deformation of LPS-Si3N4
Mechanisms of creep different in tension &
compression- creep asymmetry
• For a range of applied stress, creep
occurs faster in tension than
compression.
• In contrast to metals, creep in tension
here is not a power function of the
applied stress.
• Cavity formation accompanies creep in
tension.
• Vol fraction of cavities in tension is
linearly proportional to the axial creep
strain.
• Cavity formation almost negligible in
compression.

Tensile & compressive creep of LPS

Si3N4 (SN88)

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

Creep equation exponents-diffusion paths for various
creep mechanisms

From the analysis of creep data the values of m and n can be obtained and in principle
one can identify the predominant creep mechanism
Creep mechanism m n Diffusion path

Dislocation creep
Climb controlled 0 4-5 Lattice
Glide controlled 0 3 Lattice

Diffusional creep
Vacancy flow thro’ grains 2 1 Lattice
Vacancy flow along gbs 3 1 grain boundary

Grain boundary sliding

Sliding with liquid 3 1 Liquid
Sliding without liquid 2-3 1 Lattice/grain
(diffusion controlled) boundary

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep rupture/Stress rupture tests
(extrapolation procedures for creep rupture)

 Sometimes when the steady state

creep (min. strain rates) does not
become important, but rather
rupture time seems important.

 Empirical approach used by

Monkman-Grant:

 p
tf  C
s
Where, tf = failure time (h),
p (~ 0.8 -0.95) and C (~ 3 - 20) are
constant for a given material.

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep rupture/Stress rupture tests
(extrapolation procedures for creep rupture)

 p
tf  C
s

Si3N4 at 1400°C, Cao et al., JECS, Vol 22, 2002

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep rupture/stress rupture tests
 Better fit for many materials can be obtained by introducing the failure strain
also in the equation, and hence the modified Monkman-Grant equation
would then be:
'
 p

t f  C1 s

f

where, f = failure strain, p’ is close to unity and C1 is the temperature

independent constant.

 Another correlation exists between the applied stress () and the Larson-
Miller parameter (P):

LMP = T. (CLM + log tf), where CLM ~ 15 - 20, T in kelvin, tf in hours

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

Creep rupture life of die-cast Mg–Al–Mn alloy (AM50)
LMP = T. (CLM + log tf)

σ tf (h) ɛf (pct)
T (K) LMP (CLM = 15) LMP (CLM = 20)
(MPa)
498 70 0.099 15.9 6970 9460
60 0.28 15.6 7195 9685
50 0.99 16.9 7468 9958
40 2.6 12.8 7677 10167
30 9.8 18.6 7964 10454
473 90 0.12 24.2 6659 9024
80 0.35 17.5 6879 9244
70 0.78 16.9 7044 9409
60 2.1 20.3 7247 9612
50 4.6 23.4 7408 9773
40 13.5 20.7 7630 9995
30 46.1 17.6 7882 10247

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Creep rupture life

What value of CLM fits better ?

Arriving at the
correct Larson-
Miller constant
(CLM)…independent
of the creep temp!

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Problem
For the following creep rupture data, construct a Larson-Miller plot ( assuming C = 20 ).
Determine the expected life for a sample tested at 650°C with a stress of 240MPa, and at
870°C with a stress of 35MPa. Compare these values with actual test results of 32,000
and 9000 hr, respectively.
Temp. (°C) Stress (MPa) Rupture Time (hr) Temp. (°C) Stress (MPa) Rupture Time (hr)
650 480 22 815 140 29
650 480 40 815 140 45
650 480 65 815 140 65
650 450 75 815 120 90
650 380 210 815 120 115
650 345 2700 815 105 260
650 310 3500 815 105 360
705 310 275 815 105 1000
705 310 190 815 105 700
705 240 960 815 85 2500
705 205 2050 870 83 37
760 205 180 870 83 55
760 205 450 870 69 140
760 170 730 870 42 3200
760 140 2150 980 21 440

1095 10 155
MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V
 Solution
LMP = T. (CLM + log tf)

At stress of 240 MPa, and at a temperature of 650 deg C, the

Larson-Miller parameter is 22.5 ×103
(273+650)(20+logt)=22.5×103
t = 24 × 103 hr (actual test result: 32,000 hr)

At stress of 35 Mpa, and at a temperature of 870 deg C, the Larson-

Miller parameter is 27.5x103
(273+870)(20+logt)=27.5 x103
t =11 x 103 hr (actual test result: 9,000 hr)

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Deformation mechanism map
(Stress normalized by shear modulus vs. homologous temp)

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Deformation mechanism map
(influence of grain size)

Ashby et al

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Superplasticity
Superplasticity is the ability of certain materials to undergo extraordinary tensile deformation (usually
more than 300 %) without fracturing. Materials that have demonstrated superplasticity include
aluminum, titanium, nickel, steels, and even some ceramics. This large tensile elongation can be
used effectively to form net-shape, complex structures.

Superplasticity of an Fe-Cr-Ni-Mo dual-phase A superplastically formed Al-Li alloy component

stainless steel.

KEY: Fine grained structure (<10µm), low strain rates, resistance to grain growth,
high strain rate sensitivity

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Superplasticity in ceramics
100
1*10-4 s-1 Nanocrystalline SiC
80 in N2
True stress / MPa

60
1850ºC
1750ºC 1800ºC
40

20

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
True strain

Mechanism: Grain boundary sliding

accompanied by diffusion

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V

 Fabrication of the micro ceramic tubes by using the
superplastic dieless drawing process
3Y-TZP zirconia ceramic tube

Acetylene burner for high temperature over 1500 deg C

https://www.furulab.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/research.html
MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V
 Can you identify this materials scientist ?

First to show superplasticity in ceramics, Nature, 1990

• Professor of the Materials and Structures Laboratory (MSL), Tokyo Institute of

Technology, Japan,

• Served as research director, Ceramics Superplasticity Project, Japan Science

and Technology Corporation from 1995 to 1999,

Professor Fumihiro Wakai

MME, IITM Dr. rer. nat. Ravi Kumar, N. V