Polymer & Natural-Fibre Composites
Self-reinforced polymer composites, natural-fibre/epoxy systems, interfacial behaviour, and mechanical performance.
About
Teaching, research and engineering in practice
With 15+ years of higher-education experience, Dr. Sharan Chandran M combines teaching, research, project supervision, industry engagement, and student mentoring. He serves as Senior Assistant Professor at VIT Vellore and coordinates the SME student chapter.
His work focuses on polymer and natural-fibre composites, sustainable materials, additive manufacturing, interface characterization, circular economy, and AI applications in materials research. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Indonesia.
Sustainable compositesMaterials engineeringAdditive manufacturingAI in materials researchStudent innovation
15+
Years in higher education
30+
Peer-reviewed publications
60+
UG and PG projects guided
7
Patents/design registrations listed
Research
Research interests
Research themes spanning materials performance, sustainable design, manufacturing, and computational approaches.
Sustainable Materials
Recycling, circular economy, sustainable biocomposites, and material choices for lower-impact engineering.
Surface Treatment & Characterization
Plasma treatment, combined surface modification, interface characterization, and composite property evaluation.
Additive Manufacturing
3D-printed auxetic and sandwich structures, lightweight design, and manufacturing-oriented innovation.
Computational Engineering
Finite element analysis and data-driven methods relevant to materials and mechanical engineering.
Engineering Education
Hands-on design, fabrication, testing, teamwork, and student-led engineering projects.
Leadership & Mentorship
Turning student ideas into engineering practice
SME Student Chapter & Team Gati
As SME student chapter coordinator and faculty advisor, Dr. Chandran supports technical engagement, professional development, and hands-on learning.
- Established Team Gati, a campus Go-Kart team.
- Mentored students in developing a Go-Kart from scratch in the VIT workshop.
- Team Gati earned two awards at a competition involving 93 teams from across India, according to the supplied CV context.
- SME Distinguished Faculty Advisor Award recipient in 2024 and 2025.
- SME Gold Chapter Award, 2024.
Teaching & Supervision
- Engineering Mechanics
- Mechanics of Solids
- Design of Machine Elements
- CAD and Introduction to Finite Element Analysis
- Advanced Solid Mechanics and Stress Analysis (PG)
- Engineering Innovation and Modeling
Project guidance: 40+ undergraduate projects, 20+ postgraduate projects, and PhD supervision (one completed, two in progress, as listed in the CV).
Career
Academic experience & recognition
Senior Assistant Professor
Department of Design and Automation, School of Mechanical Engineering. Responsibilities include undergraduate first-year coordination, SME student chapter coordination, laboratory and academic service, and organization of workshops and training programmes.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Postdoctoral fellowship in an international academic setting.
Earlier academic appointment
Assistant Professor; also served as placement coordinator.
Awards & Academic Service
- SME Distinguished Faculty Advisor Award, 2024 and 2025.
- SME Gold Chapter Award, 2024.
- VIT University Outstanding Researcher Award, 2022; research awards in subsequent years as listed in the CV.
- ERASMUS+ International Credit Mobility fellowship with the University of Cyprus (2026–2030).
- VIT seed grant recipient.
- Evaluator for Toycathon 2021, Government of India.
- Verifier for AICTE regional-language translation of Mechanical Engineering video lectures.
Education
Academic qualifications
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Indonesia
Ph.D.
Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, India
M.E.
Design of Mechanical Equipment, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra
B.Tech.
Mechanical Engineering, TKM College of Engineering, Kerala University
Scholarship
Recent publications
Selected publications transcribed from the supplied CV. DOI links open the publisher record where available.
Influence of combined alkali and plasma surface treatment on mechanical properties of natural fiber composites
Varma, M. & Chandran, S. (2026). Composite Interfaces, 33(4), 845–869. DOI
Impact on mechanical properties of combined alkali-plasma treated natural fiber reinforced-epoxy/reduced graphene oxide biocomposites
Kailas R. et al., including Chandran, S. (2025). Composite Interfaces. DOI
The effect of glow discharge air plasma surface treatment on mechanical properties of natural fiber reinforced-epoxy sustainable biocomposites
Varma, M. & Chandran, S. (2025). Composite Interfaces. DOI
A comprehensive review on the machining and joining characteristics of natural fiber-reinforced polymeric composites
Varma, M. et al., including Chandran, S. (2024). Polymer Composites. DOI
Sustainable recycling of polymers
Shivanshu, Abhiraj, Vishnu V., and Sharan Chandran (corresponding author) (2024). Polymer Bulletin.
A review on the recent applications of synthetic biopolymers in 3D printing for biomedical applications
Shiva, S. et al., including Sharan Chandran (corresponding author) (2023). Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, 34(12).
Experimental and numerical damage analysis of low-velocity drop weight impact of polyethylene self-reinforced composite laminates for transportation applications
Chandran, S. et al. (2023). Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials.
Show additional publications
Lightweight and sustainable self-reinforced composites
Kumar, V. V. et al., including Chandran, S. (2023). In Lightweight and Sustainable Composite Materials, pp. 19–46.
Microbond multiple fiber pull-out test to evaluate interface properties of UHMWPE/LDPE self-reinforced polymer composites
Chandran, M. S., Chebiyyam, Y., & Padmanabhan, K. (2021). Journal of Engineering Research, 9(3), 278–293.
A fractographic study of PE, PP self-reinforced composites in quasi-static loading conditions
Chandran, M. S. & Padmanabhan, K. (2020). In Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering, Springer, pp. 603–618.
A novel correlative formulation of the interfacial, quasi-static and dynamic behaviour of polyamide self-reinforced polymer composites
Chandran, M. S. & Padmanabhan, K. (2020/2021). Materials Today: Proceedings.
Effective powertrain isolation of off-highway vehicles
Sakhala, P. et al., including Chandran (2019). SAE Technical Paper 2019-28-0106.
A comparative investigation of interfacial adhesion behaviour of polyamide-based self-reinforced polymer composites by single fibre and multiple fibre pull-out tests
Chandran, M. S. et al. (2019). Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology, pp. 511–530.
Microbond fibre bundle pullout technique to evaluate the interfacial adhesion of polyethylene and polypropylene self-reinforced composites
Chandran, M. S. & Padmanabhan, K. (2019). Applied Adhesion Science, 7(1), 5.
Innovation
Patents & design registrations
- Modified Industrial Wheel Barrow — Granted design registration.
- Modified Household Wheel Barrow — Granted design registration.
- 3D-Printed Composite Sandwich Structures With Ultrasonic Welding — Published.
- Plasma-Treated Natural Fiber Epoxy Composites With Reduced Graphene Oxide — Published.
- System and Method for Generating Validated Parametric CAD Artifacts From Natural Language Input — Published.
- A Fractal-Based Sandwich Structure and Method for Manufacturing the Same — Published.
- Topology-Excised Void Form Lightweight Structural Panel — Published.
Authored book
Self-Reinforced Polymer Composites
Self-Reinforced Polymer Composites: The Science, Engineering, and Technology
Published by De Gruyter, Germany. Paperback ISBN: 978-3-11-064729-7.
Contact
Connect with me
For research collaboration, academic engagement, student projects, or professional enquiries.
Phone
Institution
School of Mechanical Engineering
VIT Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
Professional profile details are based on the supplied CV. Please review dates, publication metadata, patent status, and links before publishing publicly.