Emilio Paneda-Martinez

Abstract:

The phase field method has emerged as a promising mathematical model for solving interfacial problems. First proposed for modelling microstructural evolution, phase field is now the de facto tool in a wide variety of physical problems, from viscous fingering to vesicle dynamics. One of the areas where the phase field method is enjoying a remarkable success is fracture mechanics, a discipline that has long attracted a great deal of interest from the computational mechanics community.
In this talk, I will describe the theoretical foundations of phase field fracture methods, discuss implementation details and showcase some of the pioneering applications pursued by my group. Emphasis will be placed on the application of phase field models to multi-physics problems, with particular focus on hydrogen embrittlement – a long-standing scientific challenge that has come very much to the fore in recent years due to the need of developing structures for (hydrogen) energy storage. Moreover, I will show how our phase field models for hydrogen embrittlement have been benchmarked against experimental results and are currently being used by industrial partners to conduct Virtual Testing, for the first time in the energy sector (wind energy and Oil&Gas). Finally, I will show how the phase field paradigm can also open new modelling horizons in another scientifically-challenging phenomenon of notable technological importance: corrosion damage.