Fracture & Damage Mechanics

My work in fracture and damage mechanics focuses on variational and computational approaches to model crack initiation and propagation in brittle materials. This includes the use of shape optimization and topological derivatives to predict material failure.

A significant part of this research was developed during my postdoctoral work at École Polytechnique in collaboration with G. Allaire and F. Jouve, and published in the paper Damage and crack evolution by shape optimization methods. The methodology was later extended to hydro-mechanical fracture modeling, in collaboration with A. Novotny (LNCC, Brazil). Here, our approach was to consider and use only the topological derivative to predict crack initiation and propagation (see the papers Crack Nucleation Sensitivity Analysis, conceived after but published before JCP paper). Our work on hydraulic fracture was published in Hydro-mechanical fracture modelling governed by topological derivatives

In parallel, I have collaborated with engineers, such as P. Areias (Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon), on computational approaches to fracture and damage, which are more applied and engineering-focused.

Some related Publications