Research
Six main lines of work and the points where they connect.
Low-velocity impact on composite structures
Contact force, energy absorption and rebound response of CFRP and GFRP laminates as a function of lamination architecture.
Damage mechanics and interface modelling
Combined use of Hashin-based intralaminar continuum damage models and cohesive interface elements, delamination and mesh objectivity.
Computational fluid dynamics
Pressure loss, flow coefficient and hydrodynamic load decomposition in butterfly valves, irrigation hydrants and distribution manifolds.
Structural vibration and buckling
Effect of stacking sequence, curvature and defect geometry on free vibration frequencies and critical buckling load.
Topology optimisation
Mass reduction at preserved load-carrying capacity, redesign of cast components under multi-physics constraints.
Casting and plastic region behaviour
Influence of die preheating temperature on the microstructure of aluminium alloys, plastic region response at different velocities and energy levels.
Approach
I do not treat a numerical result as a result until mesh independence has been shown, the energy balance has been checked and the artificial energy fraction has been bounded. In composite impact models I build the formulation in stages so that the contributions of intralaminar damage and delamination remain separable. In flow problems the turbulence model choice, the y+ distribution and the convergence of residuals are information that must be reported before any pressure loss value.
I keep the distinction between verification and validation. A model that is internally consistent does not thereby reproduce physical reality. Wherever experimental data are available I therefore make the comparison quantitatively, through relative error.