Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023. Time: 12 noon

Hybrid - O.C. Zienkiewicz Conference Room, C1 Building, UPC Campus Nord, Barcelona / 

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ABSTRACT

Material degradation challenges at the interface between mechanics, chemistry and materials science are hindering the energy transition. Examples include the degradation of Li-Ion batteries, the embrittlement of metals exposed to hydrogen, and the early cracking of offshore wind turbines due to corrosion. New experimental insight, increasing computer power, multi-physics modelling paradigms and the development of techniques capable of handling evolving interfaces (e.g., phase field) have opened new horizons in the simulation and prediction of these technologically-relevant phenomena.

In this talk, the speaker will overview some of his team recent work in developing theoretical and computational models capable of predicting degradation phenomena in the areas of hydrogen embrittlement, Li-Ion batteries (conventional and all-solid-state) and metallic corrosion. Emphasis will be placed on the development of new electro-chemo-mechanical schemes that can explicitly simulate the underlying physical processes. Also, he will showcase how phase field methods enable predicting complex interfacial phenomena: from fracture mechanics to corrosion. The predictive capabilities of these formulations will be showcased by benchmarking against experimental data. Large-scale case studies of engineering interest will also be addressed to demonstrate the potential of phase field multi-physics modelling in enabling Virtual Testing in the energy sector.

SPEAKER CV

Dr. Emilio Martinez-Pañeda is an Associate Professor (UK Senior Lecturer) in Mechanics of Materials at Imperial College London, where he leads the Mechanics of Infrastructure Materials Lab. Prior to joining Imperial College as an Assistant Professor (UK Lecturer) in September 2019, Dr. Martinez-Pañeda was an 1851 Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge.

His research interests span a wide range of topics within computational mechanics, from the prediction of crevasse growth in large ice-sheets to the micro-scale modelling of battery materials. Dr. Martinez-Pañeda has published more than 80 scientific papers in the best journals of computational and applied mechanics and received numerous prestigious awards and fellowships for his contributions. Among others, Dr. Martinez-Pañeda is the recipient of SEMNI’s Simó Prize, RILEM’s Gustavo Colonetti Medal, Spain’s Royal Academy of Engineering Young Investigator Medal and the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering Young Engineer of the Year award.

Seminar Programme 2023