Dr. M. A. Sai Balaji

Teaching

Educational Background

Work Experience

Lecture courses

• Engineering Graphics
• Fluid Mechanics
• Tribology
• Metallurgy
• Circular Economy

Research

Area of Research Interest

• Friction Materials
• Optimization Techniques
• Tribology
• Circular economy

Publications

International Journals:

• Sai Balaji MA, Katiyar JK, Eakambaram A, Baskara Sethupathi P, Kamalakannan J, Baskar A. Comparative study of sintered and composite brake pad for wind turbine applications.Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology. 2023;237(7):1430-1445. doi:10.1177/13506501231159188
• Sai Balaji MA ,”New Population-Based Simple Algorithms for Solving Global Optimization Problems”, International Journal of Mathematics in Operational Research, 10.1504/IJMOR.2023.10053957, (2023)
• Sai Balaji MA, Hybrid adaptive control of CNC drilling for enhancement of tool life and surface quality, Insight – Non-Destructive Testing and Condition Monitoring, 65 (10), 570-578 (2023)
• Balaji MS, Jitendra K, Arumugam E, Sethupathi BP. State of the art on challenges for friction material manufacturers – raw materials, regulations, environmental, and NVH aspects.Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology. 2023;237(4):926-942. doi:10.1177/13506501221135071
• Sai Balaji MA,” Influence of silver nanoparticles on mechanical, thermal and antibacterial properties of poly (vinyl alcohol)/rice hull powder hybrid biocomposite films”, Polymer composites, Volume43,Issue5, May 2022, Pages2824-2837
• Sai Balaji MA,” Varying Cu and Zn composition in brass and its effect on the fade and recovery behavior of the phenolic-based friction composites”,Polymer Composites, 43(7), 4478-4494 (2022)
• Eakambaram A, Saibalaji M, Baskara Sethupathi P. Role of solid lubricants/sulfide mix in brake performance for automotive applications—a review.Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part E: Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering. 2022;0(0). doi:10.1177/09544089221110982
• Eakambaram A, Balaji MS, P BS. Effect of two different sulfide coated steel fiber towards tribo performance – An interface study.Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology. 2023;237(4):757-774. doi:10.1177/13506501221113175
• Ahmed KA, Mohideen SHR, Balaji MAS, Sethupathy PB. Synergic effect of metallic fillers as heat dissipaters in the tribological performance of a nonasbestos disk brake pad.Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology. 2022;236(2):292-301. doi:10.1177/13506501211018953
• Sai Balaji MA . “Comparative Study of Disc Brake Pads Sold in Indian Market —Impact on Safety and Environmental Aspects.” Environmental Technology & Innovation, vol. 21, Elsevier BV, Feb. 2021, p. 101245. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2020.101245.
• Susai Mary J, Dinakaran D, Sai Balaji M.A, ” Adaptive Control of Tool Wear by Grey Wolf Optimization and Neural Controller in a Drilling Process”, International Journal of Robotics and Automation, Vol.36,
• A. Baskar & M.A. Sai Balaji & N. Nithyanandan & A. Krishnamoorthy, 2021. “Connecting business centres and establishing central nodal centres considering distance, population and real GDP as weights using the Weiszfeld algorithm and concept of minimum cost spanning tree – an,”International Journal of Services and Operations Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 39(1), pages 121-149
• Md.JaveedAhmed,M.A.Balaji,S.S.Saravanakumar&P.Senthamaraikannan(2021)A Comprehensive Physical, Chemical and Morphological Characterization of Novel Cellulosic Fiber Extracted from the Stem ofElettaria CardamomumPlant,Journal of Natural Fibers,18:10,1460-1471,DOI:10.1080/15440478.2019.1691121
• Sai Balaji MA . “Tribological Performance of Graphene/Graphite Filled Phenolic Composites – a Comparative Study.” Composites Communications, vol. 15, Elsevier BV, Oct. 2019, pp. 34–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coco.2019.05.012.
• Sai Balaji MA . “Monitoring of Drill Runout Using Least Square Support Vector Machine Classifier.” Measurement, vol. 146, Elsevier BV, Nov. 2019, pp. 24–34., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2019.05.102.
• Sai Balaji MA . “Effect of Steel Family Fibers on Friction and Stiction Behavior of Brake Pads.” FME Transactions, vol. 47, no. 4, Centre for Evaluation in Education and Science (CEON/CEES), 2019, pp. 856–64. https://doi.org/10.5937/fmet1904856s.
• Sai Balaji MA . “Tribological Performance Evaluation of Epoxy Modified Phenolic FC Reinforced With Chemically Modified Prosopis Juliflora Bark Fiber.” Materials Research Express, vol. 6, no. 7, IOP Publishing, Apr. 2019, p. 075313 https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/ab07e6.
• Sai Balaji MA . “Tribological Performance Evaluation of Newly Synthesized Silane Treated Shell Powders in Friction Composites.” Materials Research Express, vol. 6, no. 6, IOP Publishing, Mar. 2019, p. 065317. https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/ab08e0.
• Sai Balaji MA . “Effect of Silane Surface Treatment on the Physico-mechanical Properties of Shell Powder Reinforced Epoxy Modified Phenolic Friction Composite.” Materials Research Express, vol. 6, no. 6, IOP Publishing, Mar. 2019, p. 065315. https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/ab0ca5.
• Sai Balaji MA . “The Dual Role of Metal Sulfides as Lubricant and Abrasive: An Interface Study in Friction Composite.” Materials Research Express, vol. 6, no. 4, IOP Publishing, Jan. 2019, p. 045315. https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/aafd5a.
• Ahmed MJ, Balaji MS, Saravanakumar S, Sanjay M, Senthamaraikannan P. Characterization of Areva javanica fiber – A possible replacement for synthetic acrylic fiber in the disc brake pad.Journal of Industrial Textiles. 2019;49(3):294-317. doi:10.1177/1528083718779446
• Mahendran G.,Sai Balaji M.A.,Susai Mary J,Dinakaran, D, “ Prediction and Modeling of Tool Wear with cutting forces and fine Gaussian support vector Machine in Drilling” Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, pp.421-429,2021.
• Susai Mary J, Sai Balaji M. A, Dinakaran D, Satishkumar S, Arockia Selvakumar A, “Monitoring and Modeling of Cylindricity error using vibration signals in drilling”, Springer Handbook of Smart Materials, Technologies and Devices, Applications of Industry 4.0, 2022.
• J.Susai Mary, M A Sai Balaji, D Dinakaran, “Prediction and Geometric Adaptive Control of surface roughness in drilling process”, FME Transactions, 2019.
• Sai Balaji MA “Characterization of Alkaline treatedAreva Javanicafiber and Its Tribological Performance in Phenolic Friction Composites.” Materials Research Express, vol. 6, no. 11, IOP Publishing, Sept. 2019, p. 115307., https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/ab43ad
• Sai Balaji MA . “Development of an Automated and Dedicated Measuring System of Tube Dimensions Using 1d and 2d Laser Displacement Sensors.” FME Transactions, vol. 47, no. 1, Centre for Evaluation in Education and Science (CEON/CEES), 2019, pp. 122–28. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.5937/fmet1901122r.
• M. R.Sanjay,G. R.Arpitha,P.Senthamaraikannan,M.Kathiresan,M. A.Saibalaji&B.Yogesha(2019)The Hybrid Effect of Jute/Kenaf/E-Glass Woven Fabric Epoxy Composites for Medium Load Applications: Impact, Inter-Laminar Strength, and Failure Surface Characterization,Journal of Natural Fibers,16:4,600-612,DOI:10.1080/15440478.2018.1431828
• Sai Balaji MA “Effect of Chemical Treatment and Fiber Loading on Physico-mechanical Properties of Prosopis Juliflorafiber Reinforced Hybrid Friction Composite.” Materials Research Express, vol. 6, no. 3, IOP Publishing, Dec. 2018, p. 035302 https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/aaf3cf.
• Sai Balaji MA “Influence of Binder on Thermomechanical and Tribological Performance in Brake Pad.” Tribology in Industry, vol. 40, no. 4, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac, Dec. 2018, pp. 654–69. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.24874/ti.2018.40.04.12
• Surya Rajan, B., Sai Balaji, M.A. & Velmurugan, C. Correlation of field and experimental test data of wear in heavy commercial vehicle brake liners.Friction5, 56–65 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-017-0138-x
• Balaji, M. A. Sai,. “Effect of Varying Cashew Dust and Resin on Friction Material Formulation: Stability and Sensitivity of Μ to Pressure, Speed and Temperature.” International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering, vol. 8, no. 4, Inderscience Publishers, 2014, p. 327. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijsurfse.2014.065837.
• R. Vijay, M. Jees Janesh, M. A. Saibalaji, V. Thiyagarajan, “Optimization of Tribological Properties of Nonasbestos Brake Pad Material by Using Steel Wool”,Advances in Tribology, vol. 2013, Article ID 165859, 9 pages, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/165859
• Balaji, M. A. Sai, and K. Kalaichelvan. “Experimental Studies of Various Reinforcing Fibres in Automotive Disc Brake Pad on Friction Stability, Thermal Stability and Wear.” International Journal of Materials and Product Technology, vol. 45, no. 1/2/3/4, Inderscience Publishers, 2012, p. 132. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijmpt.2012.051348.
• Balaji, M. A. Sai,l. “Alteration of Molecular Weight in the Resin Matrix in Relation to Fade and Wear in a Semi-Metallic Brake Pad.” Advanced Science Letters, vol. 13, no. 1, American Scientific Publishers, June 2012, pp. 525–33. https://doi.org/10.1166/asl.2012.3864.

International Conference

• Susai Mary, J., Dinakaran, D., Sai Balaji, M.A., Satishkumar, S., Arockia Selvakumar, A. (2022). Monitoring and Modeling of Cylindricity Error Using Vibration Signals in Drilling. In: Hussain, C.M., Di Sia, P. (eds) Handbook of Smart Materials, Technologies, and Devices. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58675-1_149-1
• Mahendran, G., Sai Balaji, M.A., Susai Mary, J., Dinakaran, D. (2021). Prediction and Modeling of Tool Wear with Cutting Force and Fine Gaussian Support Vector Machine in Drilling. Advances in Design and Thermal Systems . Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6428-8_34
• Eakambaram, A., Baskara Sethupathi, P., Saibalaji, M., & Baskar, A. (2021). Experimental analysis and Validation of torsional stiffness of a Tubular space frame chassis. Materials Today: Proceedings, 46, 7719–7727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.02.238
• Dr. M.A. Sai Balaji, Eakambaram Arumugam S. Habib Rahmathulla, H. Sultan Navid P. Baskara Sethupathi (2021), The Effect of Chopped Steel Fibre Orientation on Frictional Properties in a Phenolic Resin-based Asbestos-free Semimetallic Friction Material, Eurobrake 2021, Germany
• Sai Balaji M A, Baskar A, Sai Priya A, Md Javeed Ahmed, B.Suryarajan, Correlation of Test bench with actual vehicle condition of Indian Commercial passenger cars, International Conference on Advances in Industrial Engineering Applications, ICAIEA2018, January 3-5,2018,Anna University,Chennai,India.
• Influence of Aramid, Cellulose and Acrylic fibers in NAO brake pad – Effect on Thermal Stability and frictional characteristics , 2013-26-0081,SAE International Journal
• :Balaji, M. S., & Kalaichelvan, K. (2012, December). Optimization of Organic Fibres%[Kevlar/Arobocel/Acrylic] in NAO Brake Pad Application and its Effect on Thermal Stability & Friction Characteristics. Key Engineering Materials, 531–532, 8–12. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.531-532.8
• Balaji, S., & Kalaichelvan, K. (2012). Optimization of a Non Asbestos Semi Metallic Disc Brake Pad Formulation with Respect to Friction and Wear. Procedia Engineering, 38, 1650–1657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2012.06.201
• Balaji, M. A. S., & Kalaichelvan, K. (2012). Tribological Performance of a Non Asbestos Organic Brake Pad Using Various Organic and Mineral Fibers. In Advanced Materials Research (Vol. 585, pp. 559–563). Trans Tech Publications, Ltd.
• M. A. Sai Balaji and K. Kalaichelvan, “Effect of alkyl benzene modified resin matrix in relation to the friction stability in a non asbestos disc brake pad,”IEEE-International Conference On Advances In Engineering, Science And Management (ICAESM –2012), Nagapattinam, India, 2012, pp. 150-154.
• Balaji, M. A. S., & Kalaichelvan, K. (2012). Thermal and Fade Aspects of a Non Asbestos Semi Metallic Disc Brake Pad Formulation with Two Different Resins. In Advanced Materials Research (Vols. 622–623, pp. 1559–1563). Trans Tech Publications, Ltd.

Patent Details

International/National Level summit/ workshop/seminar:

Workshop Organizer

• Organized a Technical seminar on Safety Awareness for the Technical staff- Feb 2023
• Organized a webinar on “ Modification of Oxidation properties of sulfide mix towards friction stability in a NAO brake pad” and arranged speaker from RIMSA METAL TECHNOLOGY, Barcelona, SPAIN – June 2020
• Organized  a webinar on Electric Vehicles in association with the Department of Electrical Engineering= May 2020
• Organized a  five day short term Training program  on “Basics of Friction Material Formulation ”  between  24th   and 28th February 2020
• Indian Organizer for 5th Railway Brake & Friction ONLINE Conference during 2020.
• Organized a One day National workshop on “Friction Material Concepts & Electronic Braking system” in association with MANDO for Industry people – April 2019
• Organized a one day national level workshop on “Friction Material Concepts – Formulation, Testing & Environmental Issues” April 2018

Resource person in Workshops/FDP/STTP

• Delivered a lecture on “Brake Pad: Materials Perspective” on the DST-SERB-sponsored FDP on Industrial Tribology: Towards a Sustainable Approach organized by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, SRMIST, Chennai, on May 15–22, 2023.
• Delivered a lecture on “Environmental friendly brake pads ”, in a 5-day FDP on friction materials for automotive applications (December 13–17, 2021) organized by the Centre for Automotive Materials, Department of Automobile Engineering, SRMIST, Chennai, India.
• Delivered a lecture on “Non-Exhaust Emissions from the Brake Pad: Development of Environmently Friendly Metal-Free Brake Pads” in a one-week FDP on “Recent Trends in Manufacturing Technology and Thermal Engineering (06/10/2021 to 13/10/2021) jointly organized by BIHER and Universiti Putra Malaysia.
• Delivered a lecture on “Comparative study of disc brake pads sold in the Indian market: impact on safety and environmental aspects”, in a 6-day FDP on friction materials for automotive applications (December 14–19, 2020) organized by the Centre for Automotive Materials, Department of Automobile Engineering, SRMIST, Chennai, India.
• Delivered a lecture on “Onboard wear analysis of disc brake pads using digital twins” in the AICTE-sponsored short-term training program (STTP) on “Cyber-Physical Manufacturing Systems for Future Industries,” organized by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IFET College of Engineering, Valavanur, India, from August 10–15, 2020.
• Delivered a Lecture on “Design and Development of Friction Composites” for one session in a two weeks AICTE sponsored FDP on Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Technology, organized by Department of Mechanical Engineering, M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Banglaore during 07th December 2017.
• Delivered a Lecture on “Application of Friction Composites in Automotive Industry” for one session in a One day National workshop on “Challenges and Innovations in Advanced Polymeric Composite”, organized by Kamaraj College of Engineering & Technology, Virudhunagar during 23rd Feb 2017.

Funded Projects:

•  Design and fabrication of Automatic goods weighing system in a Truck, Tamil Nadu State Council for Science & Technology (TNSTC) -EME 0089 – Rs.7,500/- Work carried out along with the Mando OEs. (2023)

Extension

Additional Responsibilities

• Lab In-charge: Friction Material Lab
• Coordinator – Curriculum development for B. Tech  Mechanical Engineering & M.Tech  CAD-CAM
• Coordinator for NBA -2020 & Co-coordinator for NBA 2023
• Part time Coordinator – 2017 to 2022
• Industrial Visit Coordinator
• Chairman for UG & PG Projects
• Class committee chairman for UG
• Department RPPC (Research Project proposal committee) member
• Curriculum Development Cell member
• Academic Council Member
• Department Board of Studies member