Multi-phase Modeling & Design of

Mesoscopic Systems Group


My MISSIOM is to explore multi-phase modeling and design of complex mesoscopic systems - those occupying the middle ground between macroscale and nanoscale, characterized by intricate phases and grains.

Expertise

  • ·Fundamental understanding of process-structure-property mechanisms in additive manufacturing of metals, ceramics, and composites


  • Multi-scale, multi-physics computational methods:
    • Macro-scale: Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Finite Element Method (FEM) - FEniCSx
    • Meso-scale: Phase-Field Method - JAX-AM

----------------------------Lattice Boltzmann Method - JAX-AM

---------------------------Crystal Plasticity - JAX-FEM


  • Machine-learning-informed computational design for manufacturing processes & materials
  • Thermo-hydromechanical-chemical processes in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS)


Dr. Zhengtao Gan

Assistant Professor

Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering and

(by courtesy) Computational Science Program

The University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX


Adjunct Assistant Professor

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL


Professional Traning


  • Research Assistant Professor (2020-2022) and Assistant Director (2020-2022) of the Predictive Science and Engineering Design (PS&ED) Cluster at Northwestern University


  • Research Associate (2019-2020) and Postdoctoral Fellow (2017-2019) at Northwestern University


Email: zgan@utep.edu

Address: A117, Engineering Building, El Paso Texas, 79968

Phone: 773-865-0314

Google Scholar

Meet The Team

Xavier Hebol D Cruze

Master Student (Spring 2023)


Bachelor's degree (ME) from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology


Research thrust:

  • Multiscale mechanisms in non-equilibrium sintering processes of metal and ceramics


Augustine Twumasi

Ph.D. Student (Fall 2021)

Computational Science


Master's degree (MATH) from The University of Texas at El Paso

Research thrust:

  • Physics-guided scan paths optimization for controlled microstructure


Diana H. Leyva

Ph.D. Student (Fall 2021)

Co-advised with Prof. Yirong Lin


Bachelor's degree (ME) from The University of Texas at El Paso


Research thrust:

  • Real-time control of sintering process with digital twins


Soumya Shouvik Bhattacharjee

Master Student (Fall 2023)


Bachelor's degree (ME) from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology


Research thrust:

  • Reactive Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) for porous media in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS)

Zixun Li

Ph.D. Student (Spring 2023)


Master's degree (ME) from the Chinese Academy of Sciences


Research thrust:

  • Phase-field modeling of dynamic recrystallization and grain deformation in friction stir processing

Sofia G. Gomez

Ph.D. Student (Fall 2021)

Co-advised with Prof. Yirong Lin


Bachelor's degree (ME) from The University of Texas at El Paso


Research interests:


Arturo Rodriguez

Ph.D. Student (Fall 2020)


Bachelor's degree (ME) from The University of Texas at El Paso


Research interests:

  • Turbulence/CFD
  • Large language models (LLMs)


Prokash Chandra Roy

Ph.D. Student (Fall 2023)


Bachelor's degree (ME) from Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Bangladesh


Research thrust:

  • Physics-informed and data-driven learning for multi-physics phenomena


Ongoing Projects


Multiphysics modeling of melt pool dynamics in additive manufacturing (AM):

Mechanisms of non-equilibrium debinding and sintering processes of metal and ceramics:

Advanced Engineering Materials 16.3 (2014): 289-294.

Gan, Zhengtao, et al. Nature communications 12.1 (2021): 1-8.

Dynamic recrystallization and crystalline grain growth in additive friction stir deposition:

Supported by PNNL

• Thermo-hydromechanical-chemical processes in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS):

Supported by DOE

Total citations: 1791, H-index: 17, i10-index: 23

(Last updated: 02/2024)

Selected Publications

  1. Xie, X., Samaei, A., Guo, J., Liu, W.K. and Gan, Z., 2022. Data-driven discovery of dimensionless numbers and governing laws from scarce measurements. Nature Communications, 13(1), pp.1-11.
  2. Gan, Z., Kafka, O.L., Parab, N., Zhao, C., Fang, L., Heinonen, O., Sun, T. and Liu, W.K., 2021. Universal scaling laws of keyhole stability and porosity in 3D printing of metals. Nature communications, 12(1), pp.1-8.
  3. Liu, W.K., Gan, Z. and Fleming, M., 2021. Mechanistic Data Science for STEM Education and Applications. Springer.
  4. Xue, T., Gan, Z., Liao, S. and Cao, J., 2022. Physics-embedded graph network for accelerating phase-field simulation of microstructure evolution in additive manufacturing. npj Computational Materials - Nature, 8, 201.
  5. Xie, X., Bennett, J., Saha, S., Lu, Y., Cao, J., Liu, W.K. and Gan, Z., 2021. Mechanistic data-driven prediction of as-built mechanical properties in metal additive manufacturing. npj Computational Materials - Nature, 7(1), pp.1-12.
  6. Mozaffar, M., Liao, S., Xie, X., Saha, S., Park, C., Cao, J., Liu, W.K. and Gan, Z., 2021. Mechanistic artificial intelligence (mechanistic-AI) for modeling, design, and control of advanced manufacturing processes: Current state and perspectives. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, p.117485.
  7. Gan, Z., Lian, Y., Lin, S.E., Jones, K.K., Liu, W.K. and Wagner, G.J., 2019. Benchmark study of thermal behavior, surface topography, and dendritic microstructure in selective laser melting of Inconel 625. Integrating Materials and Manufacturing Innovation, 8(2), pp.178-193.
  8. Lian, Y., Gan, Z., Yu, C., Kats, D., Liu, W.K. and Wagner, G.J., 2019. A cellular automaton finite volume method for microstructure evolution during additive manufacturing. Materials & Design, 169, p.107672.
  9. Gan, Z., Liu, H., Li, S., He, X. and Yu, G., 2017. Modeling of thermal behavior and mass transport in multi-layer laser additive manufacturing of Ni-based alloy on cast iron. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 111, pp.709-722.
  10. Gan, Z., Yu, G., He, X. and Li, S., 2017. Numerical simulation of thermal behavior and multicomponent mass transfer in direct laser deposition of Co-base alloy on steel. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 104, pp.28-38.

Teaching

MECH 4395 - Artificial Intelligence in Mechanical Engineering, Spring 2024.

MECH 5305/6305 - Computational Fluid Dynamics, Fall 2023.

MECH 4326 - Finite Element Analysis, Fall 2023.

MECH 5311/6311 - Advanced Finite Element Analysis, Spring 2023.


Our new book "Mechanistic Data Science for STEM Education and Applications" is published!


I am making a series of tutorial videos for my YouTube Channel ("Zhengtao Gan") about high-performance Python programming (JAX), finite element method, and computational fluid dynamics for additive manufacturing.

Professional Services

  • Co-Chair, Mechanistic Machine Learning and Digital Twins for Computational Science, Engineering & Technology (MMLDT-CSET 2023) – September 2023, El Paso, TX
  • Co-Chair, Mechanistic Machine Learning and Digital Twins for Computational Science, Engineering & Technology (MMLDT-CSET 2021) – Track 4: Reduced-order Modeling for Fluids, Solids, and Structures, September 26-29, 2021, San Diego, CA
  • Instructor, 16th U.S. National Congress on Computational Mechanics, Short course: Mechanistic Data Science for STEM Education and Applications, July 25-29, 2021, Chicago, IL.
  • Member of ASME, AAAS, and USACM
  • Reviewer of Nature Communications, Nature Computational Science, Communication Materials, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Applied Physics Letters, Additive Manufacturing, European Journal of Mechanics / A Solids, Computational Mechanics, Applied Physics A, Integrating Materials and Manufacturing Innovation, Ceramics International, Optics and Laser Technology, Engineering Failure Analysis, Vacuum, Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Review Instructions for Review of Scientific Instruments, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, Advanced Power Technology, Journal of Heat Transfer.

News

  • We received a $ 4.9 million grant from DOE for Basic Research in Support of Energy Earthshots!
  • Three new students have joined this Fall: Prokash Chandra Roy, Soumya Shouvik Bhattacharjee, and Arturo Rodriguez!
  • Two co-advised students, Sofia Gomez and Diana Leyva from Prof. Yirong Lin's team, have joined the group!
  • We received a two-year external grant provided by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), DOE!
  • Welcome to join the group, Xavier Hebol D Cruze and Zixun Li!
  • Our latest paper is published in Nature Communications!
  • Northwestern team won THREE 1st places and TWO 2nd places in AM-Bench 2022!
  • Prof. Zhengtao Gan's Advanced Computing & Simulation for Manufacturing Innovation Lab (ACSMIL) is launched at UTEP!

10/2023


09/2023


04/2023


03/2023


01/2023

12/2022

08/2022


08/2022

Gallery

  • 17th U. S. National Congress on Computational Mechanics, July 23-27, 2023 - Albuquerque, New Mexico


  • AM-Bench 2022 Conference, August 14-17, 2022 - Hyatt Regency Bethesda, Bethesda, Maryland


  • MMLDT-CSET Conference, September 26-29, 2021 - Hyatt Regency Mission Bay, San Diego, CA