Research Domains
Two domains. One method.
We work where conventional engineering tools run out of resolution. Our research concentrates on two domains where deeper physics creates disproportionate value.
Materials Science
Computational modeling of material behavior from atomic structure to component service life. We combine density functional theory, molecular dynamics, and finite element methods to predict performance, degradation, and failure across conditions that are too expensive, too slow, or too dangerous to test empirically.
Problems we solve
Predicting how electrode materials derived from Southern African cobalt, copper, and lithium processing routes perform at the electrochemical level
Quantifying remaining service life of mining components under complex thermomechanical loading
Modeling capacity fade and degradation mechanisms in battery cells linked to specific mineral feedstock chemistry
Assessing fracture risk and fatigue life in structural and rotating equipment for mining and industrial operations
Energy Systems
Computational design of thermoelectric materials and energy recovery systems. We apply density functional theory, Boltzmann transport theory, and phonon engineering to design materials that convert thermal gradients directly into electrical power. No moving parts, no working fluid, no turbine. The physics of charge carriers and phonons in crystalline solids, optimized to turn waste heat into useful energy.
Problems we solve
Computationally screening candidate thermoelectric compositions for high figure of merit across operating temperature ranges relevant to smelter and industrial exhaust
Optimizing the trade-off between electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity in novel thermoelectric materials through phonon scattering engineering
Modeling thermoelectric generator module performance under real thermal boundary conditions from copper smelting, mineral processing, and power generation waste streams
Predicting long-term degradation of thermoelectric materials under sustained high-temperature operation and thermal cycling
KROOT collaborates with academic research groups and maintains active partnerships with university laboratories across the region.
Contact
Bring us your
hardest problem.
If you are facing a materials science or energy systems problem, we would like to hear about it.
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