The objectives to be achieved and the work plan of this project are included in the following research lines:

a) NUMERICAL MODELING OF INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

Metal forming processes: arc welding, friction and shake soldering, deposition of different layers of metal through welding arc.

The objective is to develop, implement, and validate methodologies for analysis and simulation of various welding processes of industrial interest. Likewise, it is intended to study the feasibility of the process as well as the stress resistance of the welded structure.

Foundry processes: filled with molds, solidification and cooling process, unmoulding.

The objective is the simulation of all the stages of the process of manufacturing parts for foundry.

Virtual processes of forging metal forming.

The objective is the development and optimization of forging metal forming processes, combining knowledge and experience in various scientific fields, such as metallurgy, material science, lubrication, heat transfer, thermal treatments, industrial mechanics, automation, tool design and numerical modeling on a large scale for the virtual simulation of the process sequence.

Development of numerical simulation tools for the optimization of industrial machining processes

The main objective is to provide, in the industrial sector of the machining, a predictive tool for simulation of machining that allows the obtaining of pieces of higher quality and more efficiently way.

b) NUMERICAL MODELING OF THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES

- Composite materials - Resolution of the behavior through the theory of mixtures and the theory of homogenization

- Fatigue in metals and composites with continuous media mechanics

- Biomechanics and constitutive formulations of biological tissues

- Development of new tools for the numerical simulation of fracture, fragmentation and instability processes of solid and granular materials.

- Modeling of the thermomechanical and electromagnetic-mechanical coupling for the design and analysis of structural components of an experimental fusion nuclear reactor.

- Modeling of the behavior and the risk of structural failure due to seismic hazard

- Optimal design of structures by numerical methods

- Study of new forms of vertical docks for waves cushioning

- Numerical simulation of excavation of underground structural projects.

c) ADVANCED TOOLS FOR COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS

The lines of research are developed within the "Advanced Tools for computational design of engineering materials" project (Advanced grant ERC-2012-AdG 320815, from the European Research Council).

The general objective of the study is to contribute to the consolidation of the nascent and revolutionary philosophy of "Shape design" of materials, using the enormous power provided by the computational techniques available today. Development aims to break barriers which currently prevent the development and application of computational design of materials, through the exploration and development of three families of complementary synergistic methods:

1. Computational modeling of material through multi-scale techniques with a description of the structure of the material at different levels.

2. Development of a new generation of reduced-order modeling techniques (HP-ROM), in order to reduce computer costs to affordable levels.

3. New computational strategies and methods for the optimum design of the layout and topology of the meso / micro structure in engineering materials.

This study is expected to lead to a strong link between Computational Mechanics and Materials Science, resulting in new opportunities for many innovative engineering areas that are currently blocked by the complexity and limitations in the computational design of materials.