Prof. Yaw Delali Bensah

Contact info ydbensah@ug.edu.gh

About

Yaw Delali Bensah received his PhD in Material Science from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. His background specialty and research is mainly about the interfacial thermodynamics and the application of extremum principles such as the maximum entropy generation rate (MEPR) postulate to crystal growth and solidification processing routes. His work on binary materials has shed light on the possible structure of the solid-liquid interface that emanates during the growth of single and polycrystalline materials from their melts.

For the case of pure (unary) materials a connection is found for the interface mixing entropy and the Einstein-Stokes diffusion equation that leads to a breakdown criterion that makes practical quantitative assessment of the velocity possible. This result further cast deep insights into how entropy generation becomes a sole selection rule that controls pattern formation in systems which involve irreversible processes and are far from equilibrium.The main MEPR equation developed measures the irreversible entropy generation rate density (i.e., per unit volume of the interface) at the atomistic and molecular scale. He believes that this new result aboutentropy generation rate densitycalculated is connected to all forms entropy. A typicalone of such a connection is to find out how it may be linked to the Perelman entropy functional, W. It should be noted that the Perelman entropy functional played a critical role in the resolution of the Poincare conjecture and the Thurston geometrization conjecture in the solution posted by Grigori Perelman. Thus, there could be a deeper connection between thermodynamics and the mathematics of Riemann geometry and topology that has not been explored. In other works, if the connection could be unraveled, then topological and differential geometrical tools coupled with the laws of thermodynamics (particularly on extremum entropy generation principles) would pave the way to track all kinds if interface bifurcation for all systems.

Education

PHD - Materials Science, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati-Ohio, United States

MSC/MPHL - Materials Science and Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

BSC - Chemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

Research Interest

  • Phase transformation and microstructural evolution 
  • Solidification, crystal growth theories and theoretical materials science
  • Carbon, biomass and energy materials technology
  • Polymer/ceramic nanocomposite materials
  • Polymer synthesis, processing, recycling and degradation
  • Fibrous material processing and conversions
  • Indigenous and sustainable materials, and  processing

Keywords:  

Website: microstructural evolution, phase transformation, polymers, nanocomposites, polymer recycling, sustainable materials, biomass, entropy generation and maximization, fibers