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Stephen E. Bechtel

Stephen E. Bechtel

Professor
BS 1979, University of Michigan
PhD 1983, University of California

CONTACT INFORMATION
Address: Room E 329; Scott Laboratory
201 W. 19th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210
E-Mail : Bechtel.3@osu.edu
Phone:

(614) 292-6570

Web Site: Computer Applications of Mechanics Laboratory
RESEARCH

Professor Bechtel’s research focuses on fundamental modeling and computational issues in mechanics, and their application for the modeling of industrial manufacturing processes and the characterization of industrial and agricultural materials. He has created computer-based models of polymer and polymer nanocomposite processing which replace physical prototyping for the purposes of product design and process optimization. He has developed and experimentally implemented techniques to obtain the viscoelastic properties of polymer and polymer/nanoparticle composite melt and suspension systems, and dynamic surface tension and elongational viscosity of agricultural pesticide sprays. In addition, he conducts research in the underlying mechanics of non-isothermal processes, free-surface flows and instability mechanisms, and belt/pulley systems.

Professor Bechtel is a Fellow of ASME. He has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, US Department of Commerce, IBM Corporation, Hoechst Celanese Corporation, and OSU Center for Advanced Materials and Automotive Manufacturing.
THRUST AREA:

Applied Mechanics
ASSOCIATED RESEARCH LABS


Computer Applications of Mechanics Laboratory

TEACHING INTERESTS

Professor Bechtel primarily teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in mechanics. At the undergraduate level he has taught courses in particle and rigid body statics and dynamics, and strength of materials, and participates in the College’s Introduction to Engineering Laboratory for first year undergraduate engineering students and Freshman Engineering Honors program. At the graduate level he has developed and taught an introductory course in continuum mechanics, an advanced course in continuum thermomechanics, and courses in infinitesimal and finite deformation elasticity, elastic wave propagation, non-linear dynamics, nonlinear vibrations, and advanced dynamics.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
  1. S.E. Bechtel, “The Oscillation of Slender Elliptical Inviscid and Newtonian Jets: Effects of Surface Tension, Inertia, Viscosity, and Gravity,” (recipient of the 1990 American Society of Mechanical Engineers Henry Hess Award for young authors of outstanding technical papers) ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics, Vol. 56, December 1989, pp. 968-974.
  2. S.E. Bechtel, J.Z. Cao, and M.G. Forest, “Practical Application of a Higher Order Perturbation Theory for Slender Viscoelastic Jets and Fibers,” Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 41, 1992, pp. 201-273.
  3. S.E. Bechtel, J.A. Cooper, M.G. Forest, N.A. Petersson, D.L. Reichard, A. Saleh, and V. Venkataramanan,” A New Model to Determine Dynamic Surface Tension and Elongational Viscosity Using Oscillating Jet Measurements,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 293, June 1995, pp. 379-403.
  4. G.M. Henson, D. Cao, S.E. Bechtel, and M.G. Forest, “A Thin-Filament Melt Spinning Model with Radial Resolution of Temperature and Stress,” Journal of Rheology, Vol. 42, Issue 2, March/April 1998, pp. 329-360.
  5. S. Naboulsi and S.E. Bechtel, “Bi-Component Filaments,” Physics of Fluids, Vol. 11, No. 4, April 1999, pp. 807-820.
  6. S.E. Bechtel, S. Vohra, K.I. Jacob, and C.D. Carlson, “The Stretching and Slipping of Belts and Fibers on Pulleys,” ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics, Vol. 67, No. 1, March 2000, pp. 197-206.
  7. S.E. Bechtel, S.Vohra, and K.I. Jacob, “Modeling of a Two-Stage Draw Process,” Polymer, Vol. 42, January 2001, pp. 2045-2059.
  8. S.E. Bechtel, M.G. Forest, F.J. Rooney, and Q. Wang, “Thermal Expansion Models of Viscous Fluids Based on Limits of Free Energy,” Physics of Fluids, Vol. 15, September 2003, pp. 2681-2693.
  9. S.E. Bechtel, F.J. Rooney, and M.G. Forest “Internal Constraint Theories for the Thermal Expansion of Viscous Fluids,” International Journal of Engineering Science, Vol. 42, 2004, pp. 43-64.
  10. S.E. Bechtel, S. Vohra, and K.I. Jacob, “Fiber Draw Using Draw Pins Under Isothermal Conditions,” Polymer Engineering and Science, Vol. 44, No. 2, 2004, pp. 312-330.