Skip to main content

NuCore members

Dr Kheng-Lim Goh

Associate Professor & Reader in Mechanics of Composite Materials

  • Telephone: +6597578847
  • Address: Newcastle University in Singapore
    1 Punggol Coast Road
    Block E1, Level 2
    Singapore 828608
Background


Dr Kheng-Lim Goh is Associate Professor and Reader in Mechanics of Composite Materials at Newcastle University in Singapore. He leads research in advanced composite materials, with particular expertise in composite interface mechanics, repair and joining, and the development of more durable and circular composite systems.


A central theme of his research is how interfaces and joints control stress transfer, damage, fracture and repairability in composite structures. His work has contributed mechanics-based frameworks and experimentally validated repair approaches that have subsequently informed research in composite interfaces, repair and durability.


He extends this work into sustainable and circular composite materials, including natural-fibre systems, additive manufacturing and design for repair, reuse and end-of-life recovery. The underlying question is how composite materials can retain engineering performance while becoming easier to repair, reuse and recover.


His research is strongly connected with engineering practice through industry-embedded postgraduate research, patented technologies and engineering demonstrators. He established and leads an Economic Development Board Industrial Postgraduate Programme with AEM in Singapore, linking university research directly with industrial manufacturing challenges.


His international standing is reflected in inclusion in the Stanford University/Elsevier World’s Top 2% Scientists list, international academic appointments, editorial-board and peer-review responsibilities, and professional fellowship. He is a Fellow of both the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institute of Physics, and is a Chartered Engineer and Chartered Physicist.


Research

An internationally established researcher in advanced composite materials whose distinctive contribution lies in understanding and engineering interfaces, repair and durability, and in extending this mechanics-led work towards more repairable, reusable and circular material systems.


RESEARCH PROFILE

  • Dr Goh leads research in advanced composite materials, with particular expertise in interface mechanics, repair, joining and durability. His work examines how interfaces and joints govern stress transfer, damage and failure, and how this understanding can be used to extend the service life, repairability and circular use of composite structures.
  • His research combines mechanics, experimental validation and engineering application. A distinctive feature of the programme is the progression from fundamental interface science to repair technologies, sustainable composite systems and industry-embedded research.
  • Research vision: Engineering longer-lived and more circular composite systems through interface mechanics, repair and sustainable design.

SELECTED RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS & IMPACT

1 Interface mechanics and stress transfer

  • Dr Goh developed the Stiction framework, a mechanics-based approach for analysing stress transfer and fracture at imperfect fibre–matrix interfaces, consolidated in his Springer monograph Discontinuous-Fibre Reinforced Composites: Fundamentals of Stress Transfer and Fracture Mechanics. The framework has subsequently been used by researchers working across fibre composites, interphases and related multiscale material systems, establishing this work as a technical foundation for his wider programme in interfaces, repair and joining.

2 Composite repair & lifetime extension

  • Dr Goh led the development of low-pressure resin-injection repair from an engineering concept into a systematic research programme addressing access-hole design, damage interaction and strength recovery in impacted CFRP laminates. Subsequent studies have used this work as a benchmark when assessing drilling-induced damage and repair strategies, demonstrating its value beyond the original experiments.

3 Repairable & circular composites

  • Dr Goh's current research extends interface and repair mechanics towards composite systems that can remain in service longer, be repaired after damage and ultimately be reused or recovered more effectively. This includes natural-fibre composites, recycled and bio-based materials, additive manufacturing and design-for-repair approaches.
  • He has also led work on pineapple-leaf fibre reinforced PLA for additive manufacturing, demonstrating how agricultural waste can be converted into functional biodegradable composites. Subsequent researchers have used this work as evidence for sustainable 3D-printable material systems, extending its significance beyond the original study towards circular manufacturing and next-generation applications.

RESEARCH LEADERSHIP & FUNDING

  • Dr Goh translates research into engineering practice through industry-embedded postgraduate research, demonstrators and patented technologies. He established and leads an Economic Development Board Industrial Postgraduate Programme with AEM in Singapore, embedding postgraduate researchers within the company to address real manufacturing challenges through university research.
  • His wider translational work includes a patented portable water-filtration technology and sustainable-composite demonstrators, including a low-cost prosthetic socket recognised by JEC Group as a significant development in the medical application of composites.
  • His research has been supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board, British Council, EPSRC, UKRI, the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Newcastle University and industry partners.

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH STANDING

  • Dr Goh's international standing is reflected in inclusion in the Stanford University/Elsevier World’s Top 2% Scientists list, international academic appointments, invited and keynote lectures, editorial-board service and external peer-review responsibilities. He serves on the editorial boards of Materials & Design and Scientific Data and is a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College.
  • Selected invited international engagements include the Heidemann Lecture at the IULTCS Congress, the Innovative Composite Centre Member Forum in Japan, the JEC Composites Forum Southeast Asia and keynote lectures at international materials and composites conferences.

POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH & GROUP DEVELOPMENT

  • Dr Goh has supervised PhD and MPhil researchers in composite mechanics, repair, sustainable materials and related engineering technologies, both at Newcastle and through international collaborations. Former researchers have progressed into academic, senior-scientist and research appointments, while student-led work has produced publications, engineering demonstrators and professional recognition.



Teaching

TEACHING PROFILE

Dr Goh’s teaching is centred on research-led engineering education: students learn fundamental mechanics and materials principles by applying them to authentic engineering problems, progressing from analysis through design, testing and evaluation.

  • A distinctive feature of Dr Goh's teaching is that sustainability is treated as an engineering constraint shaping materials and design decisions, rather than as a separate topic added to the curriculum.
  • Across more than two decades of university teaching, he has developed this approach through undergraduate materials, mechanics and design education, research-led projects and postgraduate supervision. His emphasis is on enabling students not simply to reproduce established knowledge, but to use evidence to develop and evaluate engineering solutions.

RESEARCH-LED ENGINEERING EDUCATION

  • A distinctive strand of Dr Goh’s teaching uses authentic engineering problems as vehicles for research-led education through his Research- & Industry-Integrated Pedagogy. Final-year student projects that he developed in mechanical design and composite repair progressed through design, prototyping, experimentation and critical evaluation to produce original engineering outcomes. These projects subsequently resulted in peer-reviewed publications in the International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education.
  • Their significance extended beyond student learning. The Wankel pump work was subsequently used by independent researchers as a design precedent in later pump development, while the portable composite-repair work has been used as a technical reference and benchmark in subsequent composite-repair research. This provides evidence that the educational approach can generate durable engineering knowledge as well as student learning.

CURRICULUM LEADERSHIP IN SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING

  • From 2022, Dr Goh redesigned core Stage 1 and Stage 2 materials teaching around a sustainability-led approach. Rather than treating sustainability as an additional topic, students apply materials science within constraints of life cycle, resource use, manufacture and end-of-life options. Life-cycle assessment is used as an engineering decision tool within assessed design work, connecting material selection with circularity and manufacturing choices.
  • The approach was commended through curriculum review for its relevance to sustainability in the Singapore context. Student feedback following the redesign increased from 3.4/5.0 to 4.0–4.6/5.0, while participation in curriculum-linked guest teaching rose above 95% when external contributions were integrated directly into assessed work.
  • The approach has also extended beyond the original materials modules through incorporation of life-cycle assessment into assessed mechanical-system design work, demonstrating transfer of the pedagogy across the curriculum.

STUDENT DEVELOPMENT & SUPERVISION

  • Dr Goh’s approach emphasises independence, evidence-based reasoning and progression from student work towards professional or research practice. Undergraduate projects have produced prototypes and peer-reviewed publications, while postgraduate researchers he has supervised have progressed into academic, research and senior-scientist roles. He was a finalist for the NUSSU Education Awards for Research Supervisor of the Year in 2022 and 2024.

EXTERNAL EDUCATIONAL CONTRIBUTION

  • Dr Goh's educational contribution extends beyond Newcastle through invited teaching, curriculum review and professional education. As Visiting Professor (2024, 2025) and Adjunct Professor (2026) at Kasetsart University, he reviewed and advised on advanced polymers teaching for sustainability, including curriculum content, assessment and the relevance of sustainable material selection to the Thai context. He has also contributed invited teaching and educational engagement at universities in China, Malaysia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, as well as continuing professional development for engineering organisations.




















Publications