Dr. Sanhita Das is a faculty member in the Department of Civil and Infrastructure Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur. Her research lies at the intersection of computational mechanics, materials modeling, and structural reliability, with emerging applications in deployable renewable energy systems such as foldable solar panels.

Her work focuses on developing continuum-scale models that capture the mechanics of damage, fracture, and intrinsic self-healing in advanced materials, particularly thin films and flexible substrates used in portable energy systems. Using geometrically inspired frameworks, she investigates the folding, unfolding, and long-term durability of origami-inspired solar panel architectures, where repeated mechanical cycling often induces micro-cracking, delamination, and stress concentration.

Dr. Das integrates thermodynamically consistent damage-healing models with finite element simulations to predict performance under realistic environmental and loading conditions. Her research contributes to the design of lightweight, compact, and resilient solar panel systems suitable for aerospace, defense, and off-grid renewable energy applications. Through this work, she aims to bridge fundamental mechanics with practical innovations in sustainable and portable solar energy technologies.

Key Research Areas

• Computational Mechanics
• Structural Reliability and Fracture Mechanics
• Materials Modeling for Energy Applications
• Foldable Solar Panels and Deployable Structures
• Damage and Self-Healing in Advanced Materials

Recent Publications (Selected)

Das S., Kumari N., “A Geometrically Inspired Constitutive Framework for Damage and Intrinsic Self-Healing of Elastomers,” European Journal of Mechanics – A/Solids, Volume 115, 105800, 2026.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euromechsol.2025.105800

Prakash V., Sai Gopal U. M. M. A., Das S., Ramaswamy A., Roy D., “FeynKrack: A Continuum Model for Quasi-Brittle Damage through Feynman–Kac Killed Diffusion,” Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 481: 20240930, 2025.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2024.0930

Raza A., Das S., Roy D., “Geometric Thermodynamics of Collapse of Gels,” Physical Review E, 110, 044102, 2024.

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.110.044102

Das S., Lubomirsky Y., Bouchbinder E., “The Dynamics of Crack Front Waves in 3D Material Failure,” Physical Review E, 108, L043002, 2023.

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.108.L043002

Das S., Raza A., Roy D., “Geometric Thermodynamics of Strain-Induced Crystallisation in Polymers,” Physical Review E, 106, 015005, 2022.

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.106.015005

Ongoing Projects

PhD from

Indian Institute of Science Bangalore

Email ID

sanhitadas@iitj.ac.in

Office Phone No.

0291 280 1666

Personal Webpage

https://sites.google.com/iitj.ac.in/sanhita-das

For more professional achievements and detailed information, please refer to the personal webpage.