Contact Dr Hessam Ghasemnejad

Areas of expertise

  • Aerospace Manufacturing
  • Aerospace Structures
  • Aircraft Design
  • Composites
  • Aerospace Materials

Background

Dr Ghasemnejad is currently Reader in Aerospace Structures in the Centre for Aeronautics. He joined Cranfield University in 2016 as a Senior Lecturer in structures in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. As a course director, he developed and established the brand new short courses and MSc in Advanced Lightweight and Composite Structures (2016 - 2020). Prior to joining Cranfield Dr Ghasemnejad was a Senior Lecturer in composite materials (2011 - 2016) and a Lecturer in Engineering design (2009 - 2011) in the school of aerospace and aircraft engineering at Kingston University London. He has supervised 10+ PhD and Post-Doctoral programs as the main supervisor to date and secured industrial research grants from Innovate UK, Clean Aviation, MoDs and SME partners on design and analysis of advanced composite structures. He also acts as Member of Editorial Board of Journals and Scientific Committees of International Conferences. 

Current activities

Dr Ghasemnejad’ s main research activities are focused on experimental, analytical and numerical aspects of stability and failure in composite structures under various transient dynamic loading conditions such as impact damage, blast and crash. The impacts of his research have developed technologies investigated in the awarded projects, which are aimed to achieve a world-leading innovative production based in the UK and healthier environments by reducing toxic emissions. This has been through design and analysis of advanced lightweight materials for high-performance composite aerostructures. The developed technologies have been assessed on a formal and consistent basis to identify the most promising technologies.

As a lecturer, Dr Ghasemnejad has explored the full range of opportunities that the role provides to positively influence the enhancement of programmes and the quality of the student experience. His ongoing plans have increased student satisfaction in the course, which is one of the main achievements since he has become course director. Recent graduates have managed to secure jobs in major aerospace and automotive sectors, which indicates a piece of evidence on the quality and student satisfaction rate.

List of Post-Doctoral Completions:

1

2018 - 2019

Development of a novel affordable neonate-infant transport incubator

Research Assistant

Innovate UK

2

2013 - 2015

Design and optimisation of new generation of advanced aircraft composite structures

Research Assistant

Innovate UK

3

2016 - 2020

A new power-plant integration with platform systems for future wing structures

Research Fellow

Innovate UK

4

2020 - 2021

Development of Aluminium Foam Box for Crashworthiness Performance Improvement of Road Service Vehicle

Research Assistant

Royal Academy of Engineering

5

2022 - 2025

Hydrogen Engine Architecture Virtually Engineered Novelly

Research Fellow

Clean Aviation



1

2016 - 2020

Structural Integrity Enhancement of UAVs using 3D Printed Structures

PhD

(First Supervisor)

2

2015 - 2018

Optimisation of Failure Mechanisms in Crashworthiness of Multi-stitched Composite Tubular Absorbers

PhD

(First Supervisor)

3

2014 - 2017

Analytical Impact Analysis of Variable Curved Composite and Sandwich Panels

PhD

(First Supervisor)

4

2014 - 2017

Analysis of the Effect of High-Velocity Impact Damage on the Repairability of CFRP Composite Panels

PhD

(First Supervisor)

5

2011 - 2014

Explicit Finite Element Analysis to Predict Impact Damage Response of Osteoporosis Hip Bone

PhD

(First Supervisor)

6

2010 - 2013

Delamination Failure in Natural Stitched Composite Structures

PhD

(First Supervisor)

7

2010 - 2013

Fatigue Design of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) Composite Blades

PhD 

(Second Supervisor)

8

2009 - 2012

A New Approach to Project Management Based on a Combination of Predictive and Adaptive Thinking

PhD

(Second Supervisor)


Clients

- Innovate UK

- Rolls-Royce

- Airbus UK

- Cranfield Impact Centre (CIC)

- Leonardo Helicopter

- Turkish Aerospace Industries

- Australian Department of Defence 

- Aero Optimal

- Safran Seats UK

- mOm Incubators

Publications

Articles In Journals

Conference Papers

  • Ghasemnejad H & Arachchige B (2018) Effect of variable core stiffness on the impact response of curved sandwich plates. In: ICCS21: 21st International Conference on Composite Structures, Bologna, 4-7 September 2018.
  • Ghasemnejad H & Roshan G (2016) Adopting mathematical-based approach in impact response of variable-stiffness curved composite panels. In: 3rd International Conference on Advances in Structural Health Management and Composite Structures (ASHMCS2016), Jeonju, 23-25 August 2016.
  • Arahchige B & Ghasemnejad H and Agousti AT Investigating effect on contact stiffness on the low velocity impact response of curved composite plate. In: 6th International Conference on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (TAM '15), Salerno, 27-29 June 2015.
  • Rabiee A & Ghasemnejad H High speed crushing behaviour of GFRP composite tubes. In: 2nd International Conference on Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering (AEME '15), Budapest, 12-14 December 2015.
  • Ghasemnejad H, Ghafari-Namini N & Ravanpak Z Failure analysis of off-axis crushing of stitched composite absorbers. In: 5th International Conference on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (TAM '14), Lisbon, 20 October - 1 February 2014.
  • Razmkhah O, Ghasemnejad H, Argyriou V & Aboutorabi A (2013) Advanced finite element analysis to predict impact damage behaviour of fractured hip. In: 19th Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB 2013), Patras, 25-28 August 2013.
  • Dhakal H, Zhang Z & Ghasemnejad H Effect of compaction pressure on water absorption behaviour and mechanical properties of hemp fibre reinforced vinyl ester composites.
  • Papadopoulos F, Aiyappa D, Shapriya R, Sotirchos E & Ghasemnejad H and Benhadj-Djilali R (2012) Advanced natural stitched composite materials in skin-stiffener of wind turbine blade structures. In: 11th International Conference on Fracture and Damage Mechanics, Xian, 18-21 September 2012.
  • Razmkhah O & Ghasemnejad H (2012) Green composites for advanced green structures. In: International Symposium on Environment Friendly Energies and Applications (EFEA 2012), Newcastle, 25-27 June 2012.
  • Ciuraru C & Ghasemnejad H (2012) An analysis of the wind energy sector in Romania. In: 2nd International Symposium on Environment Friendly Energies and Applications (EFEA), Newcastle upon Tyne, 25-27 June 2012.
  • Ghasemnejad H & Ghafari-Namini N (2012) Protection of offshore wind turbine blades against extreme conditions. In: 2nd International Symposium on Environment Friendly Energies and Applications (EFEA), Newcastle upon Tyne, 25-27 June 2012.
  • Occhineri L, Ghasemnejad H & Mirzaii H Use of natural flax yarn to control post-buckling failure in multi-delaminated HAWT blade sub-structures. In: EWEA2011, Brussels, 14-17 March 2011.
  • Heidari A, Pereira J, Wen J, Tam V, Ghasemnejad H, Shariff H, Donchev T & Johnson D (2011) Towards understanding the Buncefield explosion through advanced numerical analysis and experimental investigations. In: Hazards XXII: Process Safety and Environmental Protection, Liverpool, 11-14 April 2011.
  • Ghasemnejad H & Aboutorabi A (2010) Cohesive zone modelling of Mode-I & Mode-II interlaminar crack propagation in laminated composite. In: 18th International Conference on Composites or Nano Engineering (ICCE-18), Anchorage, Alaska, 4-10 July 2010.
  • Ghasemnejad H & Maheri A (2010) Buckling analysis for design of horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) composite blades. In: Composites UK 10th Annual Conference: Innovation in Composites, Birmingham, 5 May 2010.
  • Esfahani MMN, Ghasemnejad H & Barrington PE Buckling response of delaminated hybrid composite beams. In: 7th International BSSM Conference on Advances in Experimental Mechanics, Liverpool, 7-9 September 2010.
  • Ghasemnejad H, Hadavinia H & Ordys A (2009) Coupling of interlaminar fracture toughness and crashworthiness in woven CFRP composite box structures. In: Composites 2009 - 2nd ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on the Mechanical Response of Composites, London, 1-3 April 2009.
  • Ghasemnejad H & Hadavinia H (2009) Influence of interlaminar fracture toughness on the energy absorption of FRP composite box structures. In: 12th International Conference on Fracture 2009, Ottawa, Ontario, 12-17 July 2009.
  • Ghasemnejad H, Blackman BRK & Hadavinia H (2008) Crashworthiness of composite thin-walled GFRP and CFRP boxes. In: 5th International conference on the Fracture of Polymers, Composites and Adhesives, Les Diblerets, 7-11 September 2008.
  • Ghasemnejad H, Hadavinia H & Lewis E (2008) Crushing behaviour of CFRP composite structure. In: 7th International Conference on fracture and damage mechanics, Seoul, 9-11 September 2008.
  • Ghasemnejad H, Hadavinia H & Aboutorabi A (2008) Investigation of energy absorption of a GFRP composite crash box. In: 10th International Conference on Structures Under Shock and Impact (SUSI 2008), Algarve, 14-16 May 2008.
  • Ghasemnejad H, Hadavinia H & Simpson GB (2007) Crashworthiness optimization of crash box in automotive structure. In: 6th International Conference on Fracture and Damage Mechanics (FDM07), Maderia, 17-19 July 2007.
  • Ghasemnejad H Explicit finite element methods in modelling of crushing process of FRP composite absorbers. In: 7th International Conference on Finite Differences, Finite Elements, Finite Volumes and Boundary Elements, Gdansk, 15 May - 17 April 2015.
  • Ghasemnejad H & and Mirzaii H A robust finite element technique to model interlaminar damage in composite wind turbine blade materials. In: World Renewable Energy Congress XIII and Exhibition, London, 3-8 August 2014.
  • Razmkhah O and Ghasemnejad H Impact damage response of osteoporosis hip bone. In: 4th European Conference of Mechanical Engineering (ECME' 13), Paris, 29-31 October 2013.
  • Ghasemnejad H To improve crashworthy behaviour of FRP composite structures using natural flax yarn. In: Composites Engineering Conference 2012, Birmingham, 6-7 November 2012.
  • Ghasemnejad H and Weager B Damage resistance of natural z-pinned composite lap-joints under impact loading. In: Ecocomp 2011: 4th International Conference on Sustainable Materials, Polymers and Composites, Birmingham, 6-7 July 2011.
  • Pereira JM, Ghasemnejad H, Wen J, Lourenco P & Tam VHY Blast resistance of cracked steel structures repaired with CFRP composite patch. In: 8th National Conference on Seismology and Earthquake Engineering, Aveiro, 20-23 October 2010.
  • Ghasemnejad H, Barrington PE & Roshan G Advanced crash absorbers stitched by natural fibres to improve effective crack growth resistance. In: International Conference on Composite Materials (ICCM19), Montreal, 28 July - 2 August 2013.

Books