Composite Materials

• Interfacial fracture and damage mechanics across different length-, and time scales
• Durability, damage tolerance and reliability of layered materials
• Adhesive bonding

Architected Materials and Metamaterials

• Materials by design
• Design of crack growth paths by local physical, chemical and mechanical modifications of surfaces
• Architected interfaces

Mechanics and Physics of Interface Fracture

• Fracture along homogeneous and heterogeneous interfaces.
• Effects of surface topography on fracture energy, work of adhesion and friction
• Crack onset from bimaterial corner and wedges
• Material and geometrical non-linearity effects pre- and post- failure
• Crack front pinning-depinning.

Mechanical Adhesion

• Increase of work of adhesion through through geometrical modifications of substrates
• Bioinspired and biomimicking mechanical adhesion

Additive Manufacturing of polymers and composites

• Modelling of AM composite materials and structures
• Correlation beween manufacturing parameters and mechanical performance indicators
• Applications of Fused Deposition Modelling, Stereolithography and Selective Laser Sintering

Modelling, Design and Evaluation

•   Theoretical models and analysis: algebraic, asymptotic and perturbation methods, homogenization, differential and integral equations
•   Numerical  models and analysis: finite element analysis, damage models (extended FEM, damage plasticity), Cohesive Zone Modelling (CZM), Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT), Virtual Crack Extension Method (VCEM), Phase Field Modelling (PFM)
• Design of experiments and evaluation methods
• Data reduction schemes