PNNL

Muthu Elen (a.k.a. Muthu Ram Prabhu Elenchezhian) graduated with his PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. He later worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue University’s Composites Manufacturing and Simulation Center, and then as a research and development engineer at X-wave Innovations Inc. for structural health monitoring and nondestructive evaluation projects.

Dr. Elen joined Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in 2023 as a postdoctoral research associate and converted to polymer materials scientist in 2024. He is on the Materials Aging and Degradation Team in the Applied Materials and Manufacturing Group, which is part of the Energy Processes and Materials Division. He currently leads efforts on a variety of research projects for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) supporting material aging and degradation studies, nondestructive examination (NDE) of electrical cable aging, durability of polymers and recycling of composites used in water-power technologies, carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) piping repairs used in nuclear power plants, and evaluation of assisted-analysis NDE techniques.

He is an active member of the Society for Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) and IEEE. He currently serves as chair of the Advanced Manufacturing Technical Committee in SAMPE, and chair of the Sensors Council, Richland Section in IEEE.

• Polymer Composite Materials
• Materials Characterization, Diagnostics, and Prognostics
• Polymer Aging and Degradation
• Polymer Recycling and Sustainability
• Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM)
• Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• PhD, Aerospace Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington
• MS, Aerospace Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington
• BS, Aeronautical Engineering, Anna University

• SAMPE – North America
• IEEE

• SAMPE Young Professional Emerging Leadership Award, 2022

• Reifsnider, K. L., M. R. Raihan, M. R. P. Elenchezhian, P. K. Banerjee, C. Dave, and V. Vadlamudi. 2021. University of Texas System. Systems and Methods for Assessing the Quality of Adhesive Bonds. U.S. Patent 10,989,680.

Selected publications, please see Dr. Elen’s OrcID and personal website for the full list of his publications and reports.

2023

• Elen, M., D. Li, M. P. Spencer, and L. S. Fifield. 2023. "Investigating the Longevity of Hydraulic Power Take-Off Piston Seals in Wave Energy Converters." In OCEANS 2023 - MTS/IEEE U.S. Gulf Coast. Biloxi, MS, September 25–28, 2023, 1–8. Piscataway, New Jersey: IEEE. PNNL-SA-188195. doi:10.23919/OCEANS52994.2023.10337349.

• Elen, M., M. K. Hasan, D. Li, Y. Ni, M. P. Spencer, M. T. Murphy, and A. Zwoster, et al. 2023. Dose Rate Effects on Degradation of Nuclear Power Plant Electrical Cable Insulation at a Common Dose. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. PNNL-34068. Richland, WA. 
• Glass, S. W., J. R. Tedeschi, M. P. Spencer, J. Son, D. Li, M. Elen, and L. S. Fifield. 2023. Extended Bandwidth Spread Spectrum Time Domain Reflectometry Cable Test for Thermal Aging, Low Resistance Fault, and Water Detection. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. PNNL-34815. Richland, WA. 
• Glass, S. W., J. R. Tedeschi, M. P. Spencer, J. Son, M. Elen, and L. S. Fifield. 2023. Laboratory Instrument Software Controlled Spread Spectrum Time Domain Reflectometry for Electrical Cable Testing. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. PNNL-34511. Richland, WA. 
• Li, D., M. Elen, K. Sushmita, V. Kumar, M. P. Spencer, and L. S. Fifield. 2023. The Durability of Piston Seals in Hydraulic Power Take-off Systems in Wave Energy Converters. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. PNNL-35186. Richland, WA. 
• Spencer, M. P., M. Elen, and L. S. Fifield. 2023. Survey of Aging and Monitoring Concerns for Cables and Splices Due to Cable Repair and Replacement. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. PNNL-34576. Richland, WA. 

2021

• Elenchezhian, M. R. P., P. P. Das, M. Rahman, V. Vadlamudi, R. Raihan, and K. Reifsnider. 2021. “Stiffness Degradation in Fatigue Life of Composites using Dielectric State Variables.” Composite Structures 273: 114272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2021.114272. 
• Elenchezhian, M. R. P., V. Vadlamudi, R. Raihan, K. Reifsnider, and E. Reifsnider. 2021. “Artificial intelligence in real-time diagnostics and prognostics of composite materials and its uncertainties–a review.” Smart Materials and Structures 30 (8). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665X/ac099f. 
• Das, P. P., M. R. P. Elenchezhian, V. Vadlamudi, K. Reifsnider, and R. Raihan. 2021. “RealPi2dDIC: A Low-cost and open-source approach to in situ 2D Digital Image Correlation (DIC) applications.” SoftwareX 13: 100645. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.softx.2020.100645. 

2020

• Qhobosheane, R. G., M. R. P. Elenchezhian, P. P. Das, M. Rahman, M. M. Rabby, V. Vadlamudi, K. Reifsnider, and R. Raihan. 2020. “Smart Self-Sensing Composite: Piezoelectric and Magnetostrictive FEA Modeling and Experimental Characterization Using Wireless Detection Systems.” Sensors 20 (23): 6906. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20236906.
• Raihan, R., M. R. P. Elenchezhian, and V. Vadlamudi. 2020. “Durability of bonded composite systems.” In Durability of Composite Systems, 383–401. Woodhead Publishing.