Understanding and predicting failure in critical composite structures is essential for improving the safety and performance of aerospace components, vehicles, and high-tech systems. The damage model proposed by Óscar Rodera represents solid damage mechanisms in layered joints optimally, accurately capturing delamination results in global structural performance and detailed fracture surface patterns. This is directly relevant to critical composite structures and multi-layer components used in the aeronautical sector.
In his doctoral dissertation, Oscar Rodera developed an advanced constitutive damage model based on continuum damage mechanics (CDM), offering a powerful new way to simulate how layered composite materials and adhesive joints fail under complex stresses. His model closely tracks thickness-size effects and matrix damage — the dominant mechanisms behind delamination and fracture — achieving remarkable accuracy in reproducing both the global structural response and detailed fracture surfaces observed in experimental tests.
"One of my key achievements is that the model captures not only the time and method of failure, but also replicates the fracture surfaces with a high degree of fidelity, bringing simulation much closer to reality," says Oscar Rodera.
This breakthrough is particularly important for industries like aeronautics, where multi-layer composite components must endure challenging loads while remaining lightweight and reliable. With accurate virtual predictions, engineers can design safer, more efficient structures while reducing the need for costly physical testing.
Rodera’s research contributes directly to global efforts in lightweight design, digital engineering, and structural health monitoring — areas that are becoming increasingly critical as industries seek sustainable and cost-effective solutions. His work also supports the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) and simulation-based design optimisation, offering a strong foundation for integrating damage prediction into smarter engineering systems.
Óscar Rodera-García, originally from Madrid, Spain, is currently working as a Structural Engineering Scientist in the AI & FEA division at Huawei Technologies.
Public defence on Friday 23 May
The doctoral dissertation of MSc (Tech) Óscar Rodera-García in the field of Computational Materials Mechanics titled Damage Mechanics and Predictive Modelling of Failure in Laminated Fiber-Reinforced Composites and Adhesive Layers: A Continuum Approach will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at Tampere University at 12 o’clock on Friday 23 May 2025 at Hervanta campus, in the Rakennustalo building (Korkeakoulunkatu 5, Tampere, Finland).
The Opponents will be Associate Professor Pere Maimi Vert from University of Girona (AMADE, Spain) and Professor Sotirios Grammatikos from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU, Norway). The Custos will be Professor Mikko Kanerva from the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at Tampere University.