Thesis authorised for defence

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN AEROSPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• SHAHBAZI, SAEEDEH: Differential Deformation Maps Using EGMS Data
  
  Author: SHAHBAZI, SAEEDEH
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN AEROSPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
  Department: Department of Physics (FIS)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 22/06/2026
  Reading date: 23/07/2026
  Reading time: 11:00
  Reading place: Parc Mediterrani de la Tecnologia, Castelldefels, sala C4-001PG.
  Thesis director: CROSETTO, MICHELE | BARRA, ANNA
  Thesis abstract: Investigating building deformation due to differential settlements is a challenging task, particularly over large areas; however, with the advancement of remote sensing techniques, such investigations have now become feasible. The European Ground Motion Service (EGMS), a component of the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, represents the largest wide-area Interferometric SAR (InSAR) service ever developed that provides a fully open and free-access data availability. In order to exploit the EGMS results, the challenge lies in finding appropriate methodologies and tools to effectively utilize this wealth of information and create easy-to-read and interpretable maps for building damage assessment and urban risk mitigation procedures. This PhD thesis proposes a methodology and a novel software tool that transform InSAR-based displacement data into comprehensive geospatial maps through a building-scale spatial differential deformation analysis, enabling the identification and classification of urban buildings susceptible to damage due to differential movements. We focus on spatial differential deformation (i.e., the spatial gradient of deformation) for individual buildings, because most of the significant damage to man-made structures/infrastructures is associated with spatial differential deformation. The final output of the proposed methodology is the so-called “Building Differential Deformation Map” (BDD). This methodology is novel because it provides the advantage of enabling wide-area mapping while keeping the building-level details. The procedure requires two input data: InSAR-derived displacement maps, regardless of the data source, as well as a vector map of building footprints.This research illustrates the use of EGMS Basic products to perform a multi-scale analysis, including the metropolitan area of Barcelona, the Catalonia region, and ultimately the Spanish nationwide BDD map. This latter map identifies 2,958 buildings vulnerable to damage due to differential settlements. Given the large spatial extent of the Spanish BDD map, a web-based platform has been developed to facilitate visualization and enhance the accessibility of relevant information for all users. In a further step, to enhance the analysis, additional data have been considered. The BDD map has been combined with deformation velocity, building age, considered as an indicator of vulnerability, and population data to provide an initial assessment of the potential impact on residents. This integration has led to the development of a so-called “Potential Impact Map,” which identifies areas that need prioritized attention and resources for risk mitigation. The robustness of the proposed methodology has been evaluated through a dedicated assessment procedure. This assessment has examined the methodology and its results across different acquisition geometries, demonstrating that the spatial deformation gradient is independent of geometry and across varying time spans. Similarly, validation has been conducted through field surveys to assess building damage, focusing on indicators of differential deformation, such as cracks and fractures in walls and around windows.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN ARCHITECTURAL, BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND URBANISM TECHNOLOGY

• CASTILLO DE LEON DE ROMERO, ROSNERY NAYARITH: Desarrollo de un módulo de celosía para envolvente en clima húmedo tropical (Panamá), mediante hormigón con árido de reciclado de Residuo mixto de la Construcción y Demolición (RCD) y Neumáticos Fuera de Uso (NFU).
  
  Author: CASTILLO DE LEON DE ROMERO, ROSNERY NAYARITH
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN ARCHITECTURAL, BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND URBANISM TECHNOLOGY
  Department: Department of Architectural Technology (TA)
  Mode: Article-based thesis
  Deposit date: 22/06/2026
  Reading date: 21/07/2026
  Reading time: 11:00
  Reading place: ETSAB (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona) - Planta Baja - Sala de GradosAv. Diagonal, 649-651 - 08028 - Barcelona
  Thesis director: BOSCH GONZÁLEZ, MONTSERRAT | PARIS VIVIANA, ORIOL
  Thesis abstract: This doctoral thesis investigates the development of a latticework for building envelopes in humid tropical climates. The module is made from microconcrete that incorporates recycled aggregates derived from mixed Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) and End-of-Life Tires (ELT), in the form of granulated Crumb Rubber (CR). The study addresses two complementary lines of research: 1) the development and characterization of a microconcrete incorporating recycled aggregate from CDW and ELT, with potential application in small-format latticework facade modules; and 2) the analysis and development of the latticework module and system as a passive envelope strategy.The methodology includes a bibliometric and systematic review of the use of ELT in the development of concretes; two experimental campaigns to characterize the physical, mechanical, thermal, and fire-reaction properties of the material; the development of a taxonomy for parameterizing latticework systems in building energy modeling (BEM) tools; a study of the thermal performance of latticework systems in Panama through on-site monitoring and dynamic simulation; and, finally, the evaluation of a small-scale latticework system manufactured with the developed micro-concrete, verifying its thermal performance.The findings of this study suggest that mixtures incorporating recycled aggregates can be used in building envelopes through self-supporting systems. In the case of the lattice, the mixture that exhibited the most favorable performance among the results obtained was selected. The findings also show thatthe thermal performance of the latticework is influenced by multiple factors, including its intrinsic material characteristics, geometry, percentage of openings, building envelope configuration, and the natural ventilation of the space between the two skins.The thesis concludes that it is possible to advance toward more sustainable façade solutions from a circular economy perspective by integrating high percentages of waste with the design of climate-adapted passive components.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN AUTOMATIC CONTROL, ROBOTICS AND VISION

• HAUBENSAK, LUKAS: Optimization and control of multiple fuel cell systems
  
  Author: HAUBENSAK, LUKAS
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN AUTOMATIC CONTROL, ROBOTICS AND VISION
  Department: Department of Automatic Control (ESAII)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 28/05/2026
  Reading date: 21/07/2026
  Reading time: 12:00
  Reading place: Aula Capella, Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeria Industrial de Barcelona (ETSEIB),Planta Baixa, Av. Diagonal, 647 08028 Barcelona
  Thesis director: COSTA CASTELLO, RAMON | STRAHL, STEPHAN
  Thesis abstract: Decarbonizing heavy-duty transportation is a pressing challenge in mitigating climate change. Fuel cell electric vehicles offer a promising zero-emission solution that combines the extended range of chemical fuels with the rapid refueling capabilities required by the freight industry. Commercial trucks increasingly adopt multi-stack fuel cell systems to meet power and redundancy demands. However, the commercial viability of these vehicles depends on minimizing the total cost of ownership. This economic metric directly reflects hydrogen fuel consumption and the degradation of all fuel cell stacks and the traction battery.Minimizing this total cost of ownership requires optimal control strategies that balance fuel economy against component longevity. This control problem is challenging due to stiff system dynamics with widely distributed time scales. Conventional rule-based control strategies react to present conditions and fail to anticipate future loads. Consequently, they schedule start-stop transitions poorly, struggle to prevent thermal derating, and cannot adapt to a declining state-of-health.To overcome these limitations, this dissertation develops a computationally tractable and lifetime-adaptive hierarchical model predictive control framework. A Planning Layer solves a multi-horizon mixed-integer problem to optimize the inter-stack power split, start-stop scheduling, and thermal management over the remaining driving route. Simultaneously, a fast-sampled Operational Layer manages constrained air-system dynamics to satisfy power demands while balancing fuel efficiency against electrochemical surface area loss. A closed-loop estimation scheme monitors stack degradation and automatically refits the internal prediction models to maintain controller accuracy.Simulations on standardized driving cycles demonstrate that this hierarchical controller approximates the global optimum. It consumes only 1.3% more hydrogen than an in-hindsight benchmark while maintaining real-time feasibility. Integrated thermal and energy management preconditions the cooling circuit to prevent thermal derating and enables less conservative component sizing. Furthermore, the proposed adaptive controller shifts its operating strategy over the fuel cell stack's lifetime. At the Begin-of-Life, the controller minimizes fuel cell degradation and reduces electrochemical surface area loss by up to 96.8% As the stack ages and voltage sensitivities decrease, the strategy transitions toward minimizing hydrogen consumption.This framework translates physical degradation mechanisms directly into an economic control objective, integrating electrochemical state-of-health into system-level powertrain management. It shows that predictive and integrated control of thermal, fluid, and power dynamics is a prerequisite to exploit the full hardware potential of hybrid multi-stack powertrains. Resolving these conflicts between fuel economy, component longevity, and computational limits lowers the economic barriers to widespread fuel cell electric vehicle adoption.
  
• URBANIAK, DOMINIK: Autonomous and Collaborative Robotic Systems in 5G Smart Factories
  
  Author: URBANIAK, DOMINIK
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN AUTOMATIC CONTROL, ROBOTICS AND VISION
  Department: Institute of Industrial and Control Engineering (IOC)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 23/06/2026
  Reading date: 22/07/2026
  Reading time: 11:00
  Reading place: Aula 28.8 de l'Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeria Industrial de Barcelona (ETSEIB)Campus Diagonal Sud, Av. Diagonal, 647, 08028 Barcelona
  Thesis director: ROSELL GRATACOS, JOAN | SUAREZ FEIJOO, RAUL | ROSELL GRATACOS, JOAN | SUAREZ FEIJOO, RAUL | SUPPA, MICHAEL
  Thesis abstract: Autonomous and collaborative mobile manipulators are expected to play a central role in future Smart Factories by enabling flexible, human-centered production. Achieving this vision requires robotic systems that can safely react to dynamic human behavior while efficiently executing complex manipulation tasks. These requirements impose high computational demands on perception, planning, and control, which can exceed the capabilities of mobile robotic platforms. Distributed control architectures leveraging edge computing and wireless communication offer a promising solution by enabling computational offloading. However, their effectiveness depends on tightly coupled and interdisciplinary factors spanning communication, computer vision, and control. Beyond computational offloading, distributed control systems also enable distributed perception by integrating external visual sensors, extending the robot’s perceptual field beyond onboard sensing limitations.This thesis investigates how distributed control architectures for autonomous and collaborative mobile manipulators can be designed to safely and efficiently exploit wireless communication and edge computing in industrial environments. Two complementary architectures are developed and evaluated, differing fundamentally in perception placement, control strategy, and the role of communication latency.The first architecture, an Edge-Enabled system, targets safety-critical collaborative scenarios using onboard RGB-D sensing with optional edge offloading. A complete distributed perception-control loop is implemented over private 5G networks, integrating wireless communication, edge-based image processing, and closed-loop Cartesian velocity control. Extensive simulated and real experiments analyze how sensing rate, image resolution and compression, computation latency, communication technology, and quality-of-service settings jointly affect end-to-end reaction time. The results show that edge computing reduces latency only under specific conditions and that robust safety behavior requires explicit mechanisms to handle jitter and perception failures.The second architecture, an Edge-Dependent system, addresses deliberative manipulation under fixed distributed constraints, where perception and planning are performed externally. A learning-based motion planning framework is introduced that generates smooth, near-optimal, collision-free 3D trajectories with low online computation time using external visual data. Simulation and real-robot experiments demonstrate generalization across obstacle configurations and competitive performance compared to established planning baselines.Together, these contributions clarify when wireless edge computing enhances robotic performance and when it introduces fundamental constraints, providing practical system designs and conceptual insights for distributed robotic control in next-generation industrial environments.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

• GARCIA RIVERA, JUAN PABLO: ESTUDIO EXPERIMENTAL DE LA CONFLUENCIA DE LOS RÍOS TOLTÉN Y ALLIPÉN (CHILE): RESULTADOS HIDRODINÁMICOS
  
  Author: GARCIA RIVERA, JUAN PABLO
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
  Department: Barcelona School of Civil Engineering (ETSECCPB)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 20/05/2026
  Reading date: 28/07/2026
  Reading time: 10:30
  Reading place: UPC Campus Nord, ETSECCPB, C/ Jordi Girona 1-3, edificio C1, Sala 002, Barcelona
  Thesis director: MARTÍN VIDE, JUAN PEDRO | FERRER BOIX, CARLES
  Thesis abstract: This thesis was motivated by the need to understand the hydrodynamic behavior of the confluence of the Toltén and Allipén rivers (Chile), where a bedload measurement campaign was conducted over 90 days in 2013 using a Helley-Smith sampler. During this campaign, gravel and sand transport was recorded with a non-uniform transverse spatial distribution in the measurement section (transect), referred to in this thesis as section 9. However, the lack of simultaneous hydrodynamic measurements prevented the establishment of cause-and-effect relationships between flow and sediment transport distribution.During the field campaign, individual and total flow rates were also recorded, with values ​​between 180 and 900 m³/s. This information served as the basis for developing experimental scenarios in the physical model.The overall objective of this thesis was to understand the hydrodynamic behavior (three-dimensional velocity field) of this confluence in order to identify patterns that can be generalized to confluences with similar characteristics. The physical model was constructed in the Hydraulics Laboratory of the University of Piura (Peru), with a geometric scale of 1:57.9 defined, conditioned by spatial constraints of the model site. The range of flow rates tested in the model varied between 7.7 and 32.8 l/s.The experiments were designed considering different flow combinations, characterized by a Q_tributary/Q_main flow ratio, whose values ​​ranged between 0.33 and 3.97.The experimental campaign included the calibration of triangular weirs for flow control and the definition of boundary conditions through one-dimensional modeling, using information from the prototype.Sixteen cross-sections were measured, with special emphasis on sections 6, 8, 9, and 11, near the reference transect. A total of 1641 three-dimensional velocity measurements (u, v, w) were taken, recorded at 25 Hz for 120 seconds per point, generating more than 3000 data points per measurement.Data processing was performed in Matlab using proprietary algorithms that included correlation and noise filtering (AADV and CADV), application of the Space-Phase Thresholding method, and Wavelet decomposition. The latter allowed the signal to be separated into low-frequency components (pulsations) and high-frequency components (turbulent fluctuations), facilitating a more in-depth analysis of the flow's temporal structure.Additionally, low-frequency pulsations were identified in each measurement; over a 2-minute period, these pulsations were observed to repeat 6 times. The application of dyes visually confirmed these periodic mixing patterns.From the three-dimensional velocity field, different stress components were estimated: Reynolds stress, low-frequency stress, total stress, cross stresses, and near-bottom stresses. The stresses obtained were compared with the critical stress at the onset of movement for a dimensionless Shields parameter of 0.03 (sands and gravels), allowing the identification of potential bed mobilization zones.Finally, the main contribution of this thesis lies in the detailed experimental characterization of the three-dimensional hydrodynamic field at a confluence with morphological unconformity, through the direct measurement of the three instantaneous velocity components and the analysis of their fluctuations. The results obtained provide physical and methodological criteria transferable to the study of river confluences with similar geometric and hydraulic characteristics.
  
• KALLINGER, MAGNUS DANIEL: Layout Optimization in Floating Offshore Wind with Focus on Subsea Components
  
  Author: KALLINGER, MAGNUS DANIEL
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
  Department: Barcelona School of Civil Engineering (ETSECCPB)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 06/07/2026
  Reading date: pending
  Reading time: pending
  Reading place: pending
  Thesis director: DOMÍNGUEZ GARCÍA, JOSÉ LUIS | TRUBAT CASAL, PAU
  Thesis abstract: Floating offshore wind is regarded as a key technology for exploiting deep-water wind resources where bottom-fixed foundations become economically uncompetitive. Yet, large-scale floating wind deployments remain constrained by high cost, limited maturity, and strong multidisciplinary coupling among subsystems that jointly determine farm feasibility and performance. Subsea components are central to this coupling: station-keeping systems and dynamic/static power cables govern not only structural response and electrical performance, but also impose first-order constraints on wind-farm design (turbine placement, anchoring footprints, cable topology and routing corridors). In addition, the limited practicality of subsea instrumentation motivates monitoring strategies that can reduce O&M burden and support condition-based operation. In this context, this thesis addresses layout optimisation for floating wind with a focus on subsea components. The thesis is organised around three research lines, aligned with the subsequent contribution chapters. First, it develops an early-stage optimisation framework for station-keeping design that combines computationally efficient frequency-domain simulations with customised particle swarm optimisation to screen large design spaces (layouts, materials, and ancillary components). The framework is applied both to conventional floating wind platforms and to a single-point moored weathervaning concept. Second, it investigates virtual sensing for floating wind turbines to estimate critical mooring and structural loads from accessible measurements, motivated by the high installation and maintenance effort of subsea sensors and by the need for scalable monitoring. Third, it advances floating wind inter-array design through (i) farm-level topology optimisation that incorporates floating-specific cable length effects and techno-economic performance, and (ii) physically informed routing that explicitly accounts for floater offsets, mooring-cable interaction constraints, touchdown feasibility, and three-dimensional bathymetry. The results show, first, that early-stage station-keeping optimisation can be carried out efficiently while producing technically meaningful and cost-effective designs, and it highlights the importance of line-specific functionality, substructure type, and site-dependent choices. Second, the virtual sensing studies demonstrate that critical loads can be estimated with useful accuracy and improved robustness when physical structure is embedded into the learning process, enabling reduced reliance on subsea instrumentation. Third, in the electrical domain, the proposed topology and routing methods improve the physical consistency and feasibility of floating wind cable layouts and yield measurable reductions in cable length and investment cost, which propagate to lower levelized cost of energy. Relative improvements are modest, but the absolute savings become significant at farm scale.
  
• MONTERO VEGA, MARIANA: Joint Operations of Autonomous Delivery Robots and Mobile Micro Hubs: A Continuous-Approximation and Game-Theoretic Assessment for Urban E-Commerce Logistics
  
  Author: MONTERO VEGA, MARIANA
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
  Department: Barcelona School of Civil Engineering (ETSECCPB)
  Mode: Article-based thesis
  Deposit date: 03/07/2026
  Reading date: pending
  Reading time: pending
  Reading place: pending
  Thesis director: ESTRADA ROMEU, MIGUEL ANGEL
  Thesis abstract: Last-mile logistics is one of the most resource-intensive and externality-generating segments of urban freight systems, yet market forces consistently fail to align private incentives with social objectives. This thesis investigates the conditions under which Autonomous Delivery Robots can serve as a catalyst for a more sustainable and equitable urban logistics paradigm, examining the problem through the Desirability-Feasibility-Viability framework across four interconnected studies.On the desirability side, a global survey of 1,344 e-commerce users across Europe, Asia, and North America reveals that acceptance of ADRs is real but structurally uneven. Socio-demographic factors, particularly gender, age, and urbanity shapes delivery preferences in ways that have direct implications for infrastructure design and deployment strategy. Parcel lockers emerge as the most preferred delivery modality globally, a finding that motivates their inclusion as a full market participant in the subsequent viability analysis. A multi-regional acceptance study combining structural equation models with an ordered logit model identifies perceived competence as the central mediating variable driving behavioral intention across all regions, while revealing that risk sensitivity and price barriers are significant only in markets where ADRs have not yet achieved commercial deployment. On the feasibility side, the moving micro hub (MMH) concept, a two-echelon system combining Autonomous Hub Vehicles with ADRs is introduced and evaluated through a continuous approximation model across multiple urban demand scenarios. The system reduces delivery costs by 40–55% relative to business-as-usual (BaU) while significantly lowering global warming potential, with ADR body capacity emerging as the dominant cost lever and operational speed as essentially irrelevant. User-derived design constraints from the desirability studies including robot height preferences, multi-compartment design, and off-peak delivery windows are incorporated directly as operational parameters, establishing a quantitative link between stated user preferences and system cost structure.On the viability side, a two-stage game-theoretic model demonstrates that cooperation among business-as-usual, moving micro hub, and parcel locker operators never emerges endogenously under market conditions: the ε-core is strictly positive across all Monte Carlo simulations when there is little to no taxation , establishing that public subsidy is a structural necessity rather than a transitional feature. A Stackelberg regulatory layer shows that Pigovian and diversified tax schemes achieve near-subsidy-free coalition stability at substantially lower fiscal effort than flat entry tolls, while producing fairer profit distributions and maintaining the viability of all three operators. Critically, the minimum subsidy required is shown to be substantially smaller than the monetized externality savings generated by the demand shift toward cleaner technologies, reframing public investment in coalition support as a fiscally efficient instrument for urban sustainability rather than a transfer to private operators. Taken together, the findings establish that the future of last-mile logistics will not be decided by technology alone. ADRs are operationally viable and environmentally beneficial, but their transformative potential depends on the willingness of regulators to price externalities, of system designers to align operational parameters with real user needs, and of policymakers to accept that stable cooperation among heterogeneous operators is a governance achievement, not a market outcome.
  
• MOODE, SESHADRI NAIK: Platooning of Connected Autonomous Vehicles on Freeways: Microscopic Modelling and Management Strategies
  
  Author: MOODE, SESHADRI NAIK
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
  Department: Barcelona School of Civil Engineering (ETSECCPB)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 03/07/2026
  Reading date: 29/07/2026
  Reading time: 11:00
  Reading place: UPC Campus Nord, ETSECCPB, C/ Jordi Girona 1-3, edifici C1, Sala 002, Barcelona
  Thesis director: SORIGUERA MARTÍ, FRANCESC
  Thesis abstract: Platooning Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) via V2X communications is a transformative freeway strategy. Coordinated road trains with short space-gaps increase capacity, harmonize traffic, and reduce emissions. Realizing these benefits in mixed traffic requires integrating microscopic platoon dynamics with macroscopic corridor management. This thesis develops novel vehicle-level models and freeway management strategies to address this.Microscopically, the thesis introduces Platoon Adaptive Cruise Control (PACC), a safe space-gap car-following framework. PACC optimizes efficiency, stability, and safety, maintaining asymptotic stability across diverse contexts. Under severe incidents, its emergency braking averts collisions for instantaneous decelerations up to 1g. In extreme scenarios, residual collisions are strictly localized to immediate followers, proving PACC substantially improves safety over human driving.Macroscopically, four lane-management policies for CAV platoons in mixed traffic (0–75% penetration) are evaluated: strict left-lane dedication (D1), left-lane shared (S1), hybrid dedicated-plus-shared (D1S1), and two-lane shared (S2). Using a hybrid PACC/CACC architecture, throughput benefits prove policy-dependent. Dedicated control (D1) achieves highest peak flows but induces cross-lane imbalance, bursty platoons, staggered breakdown, and turbulence. Shared policies (S1, S2) yield compact, predictable traffic. The hybrid policy (D1S1) balances capacity and stability at intermediate penetrations but exhibits erratic platooning at high penetrations, requiring stage-specific tuning.Environmental impacts are assessed using a physics-based tractive power and VT-Micro chain. Normalizing against 0% CAV baselines to isolate automation effects, the thesis proves environmental benefits depend on actual local platoon formation (r = -0.92 for energy versus platoon rate), not nominal corridor penetration. Broad two-lane sharing (S2) delivers robust reductions up to 14.6% in energy/CO2 and 68.3% in NOx. Conversely, strict dedication (D1) amplifies aggressive catch-up maneuvers; occupying 3–6% of distance, they contribute up to 43% of NOx emissions, yielding an 8.6% energy benefit and a 1.8% NOx increase.For dynamic CAV integration, a hierarchical optimal control framework for discretionary lane-changing in non-cooperative mixed traffic is proposed. The tactical layer uses a physics-informed Dynamic Programming (DP) planner, penalizing incipient shockwaves and speed mismatches. The operational layer employs a longitudinal Optimal Control Problem (OCP) with adaptive uncertainty buffers, alongside a continuous-time Control Barrier Function (CBF) safety filter. Operating without V2V negotiation, this DP+OCP+CBF architecture maximizes throughput and minimizes shockwaves. Though computationally viable online, metrics reveal an efficiency-comfort trade-off.Overall, the thesis demonstrates that systemic CAV platooning benefits depend fundamentally on the joint design of robust vehicle control, adaptive lane policies, and local CAV sorting, not just market penetration. These frameworks provide a blueprint for safe, sustainable CAV deployment.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN COMPUTATIONAL AND APPLIED PHYSICS

• ALVAREZ GALERA, EDGAR: HELIUM NUCLEATION IN LIQUID ALKALI METALS AND LEAD–LITHIUM ALLOYS
  
  Author: ALVAREZ GALERA, EDGAR
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN COMPUTATIONAL AND APPLIED PHYSICS
  Department: Department of Physics (FIS)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 25/06/2026
  Reading date: 22/07/2026
  Reading time: 09:00
  Reading place: Sala de Juntes de la FIB, Edifici B6, planta 1, Campus Nord UPC
  Thesis director: MARTÍ RABASSA, JORDI | BATET MIRACLE, LLUIS
  Thesis abstract: In this thesis, the mixing of helium with liquid metals is studied from atomistic and computational perspectives using classical molecular dynamics methods. The main objective is to understand the microscopic mechanisms governing helium nucleation in various liquid metals, with particular emphasis on the lead--lithium eutectic.The obtained results contribute to a better understanding of processes occurring in metal--gas systems, with applications in materials science and nuclear engineering. These mixtures are relatively exotic and have been scarcely studied due to the experimental difficulties associated with handling them. The work compiled in this thesis was motivated by the need to characterize tritium breeding blankets in future nuclear fusion reactors, where free neutrons interact with lithium atoms present in the lead--lithium eutectic alloy. In this process, not only is tritium produced, but helium is also released as a by-product. The reportedly low solubility of helium in various liquid metals suggests a strong tendency towards nanobubble formation within breeder modules. Consequently, understanding the underlying microscopic mechanisms governing helium dissolution, transport, and aggregation is essential for improving the efficiency, reliability, safety, and long-term sustainability of fusion energy conversion systems.Interactions between helium and metal atoms, as well as the physical mechanisms governing noble-gas segregation, were analysed through numerical simulations. Throughout this thesis, the effects induced by thermodynamic conditions (temperature and solvent composition) were investigated. Although the main focus was placed on the lead--lithium eutectic system, the study was not restricted to this composition: various lead/lithium ratios and other pure liquid alkali solvents were also investigated.In the first part of the thesis, interaction models for liquid metals and their mixtures with helium were proposed. At this stage, the effects of tritium on the nucleation process were neglected as a first approximation. Force fields describing all interactions within the mixtures were adapted from interatomic potentials available in the literature. The liquid-metal models incorporated the effective contribution of electron clouds, and the evaluation of thermodynamic, structural, and volumetric properties was used to assess their performance. Additionally, helium was treated, as a second approximation, without explicit electronic contributions. We successfully reproduced many thermophysical properties, thereby partially validating the proposed model. Consequently, the resulting force fields relied on the assumed transferability of interatomic potentials to the thermodynamic conditions investigated in this work.In the second part of the thesis, the most innovative studies are presented. These correspond to the analysis of helium solubilities (Henry’s law constants) in alkali metals and lead--lithium alloys, as well as interfacial tensions and pressure inhomogeneities at their dividing surfaces. Under the assumption that these processes are governed by classical nucleation theory, these two sets of studies allow the determination of the volumetric and interfacial contributions involved in the work of bubble formation. The former is determined by the degree of supersaturation in a mixture in which helium is initially dissolved and is intrinsically linked to solubility. The latter is proportional to the area of the dividing surface, with interfacial tension acting as a multiplicative factor.Finally, for completeness and to obtain a more accurate representation of the mixtures, tritium was included through potential models developed in this work in order to predict the effects of the hydrogen isotope on the previous results.
  
• GANCIO VAZQUEZ, JUAN: Characterizing and detecting changes in complex multidimensional data with permutation entropy
  
  Author: GANCIO VAZQUEZ, JUAN
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN COMPUTATIONAL AND APPLIED PHYSICS
  Department: Department of Physics (FIS)
  Mode: Article-based thesis
  Deposit date: 25/06/2026
  Reading date: 30/07/2026
  Reading time: 11:00
  Reading place: Sala de conferencias, Edificio TR5, puerta 1.41, Campus Terrassa
  Thesis director:
  Thesis abstract: The analysis of signals obtained from complex dynamical systems is very important, not only from the point of view of many practical and interdisciplinary applications, but also, from the point of view of fundamental science, for elucidating the underlying mechanisms that generate complex behaviors. On one side, large amounts of data are currently used for purposes that have significant impact on society, for example, the detection and prediction of epidemic spreads, the analysis of trends in mobility and transportation networks, weather forecasting, to name a few. On the other side, many of the most challenging scientific endeavors intend to untangle many of these complex systems, such as the global climate and the human brain, and rely on the analysis of the signals that can be extracted from them. The analysis of these signals, even using modern approaches like machine learning and artificial intelligence, is based on the extraction of features that encode the relevant information that one needs for the specific end. One of the possible techniques used to extract features is ordinal analysis, which was proposed more than 20 years ago and looks at the relative ordering of data points to determine different aspects of the systems, like how predictable, complex, or efficient they are. Although it has been extensively applied to a wide variety of systems, and generalized to include additional aspects of the data, as well to extract temporal and spatial features, there are still aspects of its implementation to be addressed. The main goal of this thesis is to demonstrate new applications of ordinal pattern analysis for uncovering temporal and spatial structures in real world complex data. Specifically, I analyze experimental recordings obtained during the turn-on of a complex multimode laser; I analyze EEG signals recorded from healthy subjects in different conditions (eyes open or eyes open) and I analyze and compare sea surface temperature anomalies of two well-known climate datasets, in two important geography regions (El Niño and Gulf Stream). In the first chapter of the results section, I present the experimental analysis of a long cavity semiconductor laser in order to anticipate and identify the threshold bifurcation that occurs during its turn on. In the second chapter of the results section, I present the analysis of brain data obtained from electroencephalograms (EEG): recordings of the brains electrical activity obtained from the scalp in two conditions, the subjects having their eyes open (EO) or their eyes closed (EC). Here I show how the temporal and spatial features perform in the classification between the EO and EC states, and how, for the spatial features, evaluating the correlations with specific orientations can improve this performance. Finally, in the final chapter of the results section, I analyze two datasets of sea surface temperature anomaly, and I show how the spatial features allow the detection of transitions caused by changes in the acquisition and processing methodology of these datasets, showing also how their agreement improves with time. Taken together, the studies carried out in this thesis demonstrate that ordinal analysis offers great flexibility, allowing the selection of different time scales, different spatial scales, or different shapes and orientations of patterns, which allows to obtain relevant features that encapsulate complementary information to characterize complex spatio-temporal data.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE

• ÁLVAREZ ROBERT, DAVID: On the co-design of runtimes, systems and programming interfaces for HPC
  
  Author: ÁLVAREZ ROBERT, DAVID
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
  Department: Department of Computer Architecture (DAC)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 25/06/2026
  Reading date: 28/07/2026
  Reading time: 11:30
  Reading place: Sala d'Actes de la FIB, Edifici B6, planta 0, Campus Nord UPC
  Thesis director: BELTRAN QUEROL, VICENÇ
  Thesis abstract: High-performance computing (HPC) platforms are evolving towards increasingly complex architectures: many-core CPUs with multi-level NUMA hierarchies, heterogeneity with multiple classes of accelerators and higher-capacity interconnects. The increasing complexity and variety of resources in these machines make it harder for application programmers to use them efficiently and effectively. As a result, many resources in modern HPC clusters remain underutilized, limiting energy efficiency and the potential throughput of the machine.This thesis argues that addressing these challenges requires co-design across the software stack, from runtime mechanisms and programming interfaces to system-level policies. We first study task-based runtimes and identify opportunities to reduce overheads and improve scalability on many-core machines, introducing novel scheduling and dependency-management techniques that maintain throughput under extreme concurrency. We then tackle programmability and performance in heterogeneous systems, proposing runtime and interface support to better overlap data movement, accelerator offloading, and CPU computation.We also make a case for the effective co-design of applications and programming models through the study of an increasingly common application class: iterative data-flow computations, commonly used in simulations, iterative solvers, and AI. Through this study, we propose specific optimizations for this application class, showing how holistic co-design approaches can lead to significant speedups.Finally, we present the nOS-V library with the goal of improving system-wide utilization through application co-scheduling, and we later apply the same methodology to obtain truly interoperable programming models, enabling multiple runtimes and parallel libraries to coexist within a single application with reduced mutual interference.Overall, the contributions of this thesis provide a set of runtime techniques, programming abstractions, and system mechanisms that jointly improve throughput, efficiency, and composability on next-generation HPC systems.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING

• DENIA BERROCOSO, ANGEL: Towards characterization improvement and design optimization of steel fibre reinforced concrete elements for underground structures: experimental study and non-linear analysis
  
  Author: DENIA BERROCOSO, ANGEL
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DECA)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 26/06/2026
  Reading date: 23/07/2026
  Reading time: 11:30
  Reading place: Sala B1-005 ( UPC Campus Nord - Barcelona)
  Thesis director: DE LA FUENTE ANTEQUERA, ALBERTO | MONSERRAT LOPEZ, ANDREA
  Thesis abstract: Underground transport infrastructure has become a defining challenge of modern civil engineering, driven by growing urban demand and the need for efficient, durable solutions. Mechanised tunnelling with Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) has become the dominant construction method, and precast segmental linings its primary structural solution. The design of these linings is not governed by global ring behaviour alone. Localised effects at radial joints, including concentrated load transfer during TBM thrust and service stages, confinement under partially loaded contact areas, and internal force redistribution under accidental actions such as fire, frequently determine performance. Capturing these mechanisms accurately in design has direct consequences for material use, construction cost, and structural reliability.Fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) is well established as a structural material for segmental linings, with a solid normative basis and extensive practical application. Its most relevant benefits are: post-cracking ductility for splitting control at joints, crack width limitation under service hoop forces, and residual tensile capacity under fire-induced spalling. At radial joints specifically, the response under concentrated loading is governed by two distinct confinement-like mechanisms: a geometry-related contribution associated with the biaxial compressive stress state developing beneath the loaded area, and a material-related contribution driven by fibre bridging and toughness that stabilises post-peak behaviour and delays cracking. Translating these mechanisms into consistent and optimised structural design remains an open problem where the potential for efficiency gains is significant but validated methodologies linking material characterisation to structural response are still needed.This thesis addresses these challenges through an integrated experimental and numerical programme. The experimental component characterises both confinement-like contributions under partially loaded conditions representative of radial joints, quantifying their dependence on fibre content and loading eccentricity. These results provide the constitutive basis for non-linear finite element models calibrated through inverse analysis and validated against independent experimental data at specimen and structural scale. The validated framework is then applied within a reliability-based design context to assess the structural efficiency achievable when post-cracking behaviour and confinement effects are explicitly accounted for. The fire component extends this framework through sequentially coupled thermo-mechanical analysis with explicit joint modelling and parametric treatment of spalling depth, providing the internal forces at radial joints under the accidental combination and contributing to a verification procedure for this design scenario based on the experimental and numerical framework developed throughout the thesis.
  
• KOMARIZADEH ASL, SEYED MAHYAD: Real-Time Temperature-Compensated Atmospheric Corrosion Monitoring at Low Cost: The CORTEX System and a Validated IoT Framework for Structural Health Monitoring
  
  Author: KOMARIZADEH ASL, SEYED MAHYAD
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DECA)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 01/07/2026
  Reading date: 28/07/2026
  Reading time: 11:00
  Reading place: UPC Campus Nord, ETSECCPB, C/ Jordi Girona 1-3, edific C2, Sala 212 (Sala Conferències), Barcelona
  Thesis director: TOSIC, NIKOLA | TURMO CODERQUE, JOSE
  Thesis abstract: Civil infrastructure forms the physical substrate of contemporary economic activity, yet the metallic components of its load-bearing skeleton are continuously deteriorating under atmospheric attack at an annual cost approaching 3 to 4 percent of gross domestic product in every industrialized economy. Despite this scale, approximately 98 percent of the global bridge inventory is currently assessed exclusively through periodic visual inspection rather than continuous instrumented monitoring. Electrical resistance (ER) measurement has been the proven standard for service-condition corrosion monitoring in the petroleum industry for decades, but its adaptation to civil infrastructure has been obstructed by the cost of the dedicated commercial data-acquisition systems required to interrogate the probes, priced between 1,800 and 11,700 US dollars per channel.This dissertation develops and validates a low-cost open-source alternative. The Low-cost Electrical Resistance Ohm analYzer (LEROY), developed in the early phase of the doctoral program, achieved 7 to 30 microohm practical resolution on Arduino-class hardware and was validated against gravimetric mass loss within 3.31 percent over a 125-day accelerated test. The LEROY testing program also quantified why basic Arduino-class hardware cannot handle the temperature dependence of resistance under continuous field conditions and confined such hardware to static readings.Virtually every commercial ACM instrument addresses the temperature problem in hardware, by adding a coated reference probe. The strategy is structurally fragile because the reference probe's thermal mass and surface heat-transfer characteristics differ from those of the exposed active probe, producing phase-dependent compensation errors precisely when temperature is changing most rapidly. The central scientific decision was to address the temperature problem algorithmically: to eliminate the reference probe entirely and reformulate compensation as a real-time firmware operation grounded in the solid-state physics of metallic resistivity. This led to the CORrosion Temperature EXpert (CORTEX) system, the central technical contribution of the dissertation and the subject of European Patent Application EP25382628.CORTEX integrates an 18-bit delta-sigma ADC co-designed with a 156.23 mA precision current source so that one least significant bit corresponds to 0.1 milliohm, a four-wire Kelvin signal path, and an SHT35 digital temperature sensor co-located with the probe. A 12-stage autonomous firmware pipeline executes a real-time temperature compensation algorithm derived from first principles and validated across a 30-test program spanning laboratory, field, and isothermal regimes. The temperature coefficient was confirmed as a stable AISI 1010 material property (mean 0.448 plus or minus 0.007 percent per degree Celsius); the thermal lag was shown to be environment-dependent. Allan deviation analysis per IEEE Std 952-1997 established a field detection limit of 0.038 ± 0.009 μm (3σ). The platform completed 22.4 days of autonomous IoT-enabled field deployment in Barcelona with energy neutrality maintained by a 100 W solar panel.The dissertation closes with an accelerated wet-and-dry cycling campaign per ASTM G44 over 11 days, in which AISI 1010 probes were subjected to alternating immersion in 3.5 weight-percent NaCl electrolyte. The corrosion-progression measurement obtained from the temperature compensation algorithm, after correction for partial-immersion geometry and time-of-wetness scaling, reconciled with the independent ASTM G1 gravimetric mass-loss measurement to within 2.0 percent under ISO 9223 Category CX exposure. The work supports the central claim that a low-cost open-source framework can deliver commercial-grade quantitative atmospheric corrosion monitoring of metallic civil infrastructure.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

• MONTALÀ PALAU, MONTSERRAT: Resilience in Power Systems: From Technology to System-Level Perspectives
  
  Author: MONTALÀ PALAU, MONTSERRAT
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Electrical Engineering (DEE)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 17/06/2026
  Reading date: 28/07/2026
  Reading time: 10:00
  Reading place: Aula Capella - ETSEIB-UPC
  Thesis director: GOMIS BELLMUNT, ORIOL | CHEAH MAÑÉ, MARC
  Thesis abstract: This thesis is structured around a concept that has recently been linked to electrical systems: resilience. These systems have become fundamental for the functioning of modern societies, and, for this reason, it is necessary to continue transforming them while ensuring their proper operation. This thesis addresses the concept of resilience in electrical systems from two complementary perspectives. The first focuses on the development of a methodology, implemented in an open-source tool, that allows the assessment of the power system resilience and the analysis of how the deployment of different technologies can modify it. The second focuses on specific technologies and is articulated around the concept of ramp rate limit. Regarding the first part, the concept of resilience in electrical systems is relatively recent and has emerged to overcome the limitations of the traditional concept of reliability. Resilience aims to consider a wide range of events that may affect the electrical system, including those with low probability but high impact, and to quantify their consequences in energy, social, and economic terms. Although the concept of resilience has been incorporated into new policies, roadmaps, and technological developments, its measurement and quantification remain a challenge.In this context, the development of resilient electrical systems requires both the collection of data on current systems and the identification of possible future events that may affect them. This makes it necessary to have methodologies capable of integrating and evaluating this information in a coordinated manner. To address this challenge, the thesis proposes a methodology that combines traditional tools for the analysis of electrical systems, such as Optimal Power Flows (OPF), with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). In this approach, resilience is quantified in terms of the total energy at risk in a given power system when exposed to specific hazards. This methodology has been implemented in a tool whose objective is to facilitate its use with basic electrical knowledge, so that it can be used by a wide range of users. As for the second part, the ramp rate limit, adopted by several countries, is defined as a strategy to control the speed of variations in the rate of change of active power from generation plants, mainly wind and photovoltaic solar plants. In addition, since renewable plants may operate without dedicated voltage control and at constant power factor, limiting active power variations also slows down reactive power changes, giving the system additional time to activate alternative voltage control resources.Despite its relevance, the implementation of ramp rate limits continues to represent a challenge for the different agents of the electrical system. In this sense, the thesis proposes a methodology that allows system operators to determine the required ramp rate limit based on system parameters such as inertia, damping, and response time constants. Likewise, a methodology is presented for renewable energy plant developers to design installations that comply with these requirements. Since this often involves the incorporation of energy storage systems, the proposed methodology is flexible and allows the exploration of the use of different storage technologies.Each section includes case studies that have allowed for the validation of the robustness of the developed methodologies and tools, showing how different strategies and technologies affect the resilience and stability of the electrical system.Overall, this doctoral thesis makes a significant contribution to the development of resilient electrical systems, aiming to ensure their proper functioning and, in doing so, to support life and essential activities in contemporary societies.
  
• MOSHARI MAMAGHANI, VAHID: Grid-forming converter control for modern high-voltage transmission networks
  
  Author: MOSHARI MAMAGHANI, VAHID
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Electrical Engineering (DEE)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 17/06/2026
  Reading date: 27/07/2026
  Reading time: 10:00
  Reading place: Aula 28.8 Sala de Conferències. ETSEIB-UPC
  Thesis director: GOMIS BELLMUNT, ORIOL | PRIETO ARAUJO, EDUARDO
  Thesis abstract: The voltage source converter (VSC) operating in grid-forming (GFM) mode is one of the promising control approaches for the integration of renewable energy sources in future power systems. GFM technology offers numerous advantages due to its inherent voltage-source behavior, enabling improved system stability as well as support for grid restoration services. Technologies capable of providing GFM functionalities include high voltage direct current (HVDC) systems, flexible alternating current transmission systems (FACTS), power park modules (PPMs), and battery energy storage systems (BESS).In recent years, the GFM control concept has gained significant attention due to its potential benefits in grid stabilization and auxiliary services. Several manufacturers are already offering assets with GFM control capabilities; however, the associated control strategies, limitations, and system-level interactions have yet to be comprehensively addressed in the literature. This work focuses on the application of GFM control to HVDC system and static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) integrated with energy storage.First, detailed electromagnetic transient (EMT) models and control implementations of STATCOMs operating in both GFM and grid-following (GFL) modes are presented, along with a generic synchronous condenser model for comparison. Different configurations of voltage and current control loops are analyzed. A complete converter control scheme, including grid-side and internal energy controllers for the MMC topology, is developed and tuned according to TransnetBW GFM requirements, including AC current and DC voltage limiting functions.The system-level performance is evaluated using a developed 9-bus benchmark grid based on the TransnetBW network. Initial time-domain simulations are conducted to improve and refine the GFM-STATCOM control. The impact of different fault locations on the fault ride-through (FRT) performance of the GFM-STATCOM is analyzed and compared using both time-domain simulations and scanning methods.Finally, based on the experience and results obtained from PSCAD modeling, control tuning, and development of the 9-bus benchmark, a set of conformity tests for GFM-STATCOMs is proposed.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING

• BATET XAUS, GERARD: Contributions to Acoustic Biotelemetry Technologies for Tracking Underwater Species
  
  Author: BATET XAUS, GERARD
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Electronic Engineering (EEL)
  Mode: Article-based thesis
  Deposit date: 29/06/2026
  Reading date: 24/07/2026
  Reading time: 10:30
  Reading place: aula VGE202 - Sala Polivalent ( Neàpolis)
  Thesis director: DEL RIO FERNANDEZ, JOAQUIN | MASMITJÀ RUSIÑOL, IVAN
  Thesis abstract: Due to the increasing impacts of climate change and human activities, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been established as high-value zones that require continuous monitoring to preserve marine habitats and evaluate ecological shifts.To accurately assess the state of conservation within these MPAs, there is a critical need for tracking marine species and observing their behaviours. However, current state-of-the-art acoustic tagging systems face operational limitations, as they are traditionally restricted to simple detection mechanisms that only provide basic data on the absence or presence of a species within a targeted area.Currently, determining the precise positions of these tagged species relies heavily on the deployment of large receiver arrays and extensive, fixed infrastructure. Implementing a bidirectional system ensures an easier and more accurate position calculation process. When combined with different state-of-the-art receiving technologies, the tracking of a bidirectional acoustic tag (BTAG) becomes highly dynamic and can be achieved with a significantly smaller infrastructure footprint.To address the identified gaps in current monitoring frameworks, this thesis proposes a novel BTAG system. The contribution presents both the design of the tag's electronic topology and its firmware architecture, focused on ultra-low power. Furthermore, the proposed system is designed to maximise interoperability, ensuring full compliance and functional integration with existing state-of-the-art commercial acoustic telemetry equipment.Finally, to validate the usability and operational reliability of the proposed BTAG system, comprehensive evaluations are conducted. The device and its communication capabilities are tested through controlled laboratory experiments, operational field trials, and oceanographic campaigns where autonomous vehicles are introduced, successfully demonstrating the BTAG viability for modern marine biotelemetry.
  
• GAMEL, MANSUR MOHAMMED ALI: Development of Epitaxial-free c-Ge Thermophotovoltaic Devices: from Double-Side Towards Interdigitated Back Contacted Structures
  
  Author: GAMEL, MANSUR MOHAMMED ALI
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Electronic Engineering (EEL)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 22/06/2026
  Reading date: 23/07/2026
  Reading time: 11:00
  Reading place: Aula de Teleensenyament, edifici B3
  Thesis director: MARTIN GARCIA, ISIDRO | GARIN ESCRIVA, MOISES
  Thesis abstract: Meeting global electricity demand while mitigating climate change requires technologies that overcome renewable intermittency. Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) conversion is a promising solid-state solution for applications including thermal storage and waste heat recovery. Recent TPV devices exceed 40% efficiency, rivaling Stirling and Brayton engines, but they rely on expensive III–V semiconductors and epitaxial growth, limiting economic viability.This thesis focuses on crystalline germanium (c-Ge) as a low-cost alternative absorber and develops non-epitaxial fabrication methods (PECVD, ALD, laser processing) for Ge TPV cells, progressing from double-side contacts to interdigitated back contact (IBC) structures.First, selective contacts for p-type c-Ge are developed. For hole-selective contact, a novel ohmic contact uses a dielectric passivation stack (a-SiCₓ/Al₂O₃/a-SiC) with UV laser processing (355 nm), achieving a spot radius of ~6 µm, recombination velocity 1.7×10³ cm/s, contact resistivity 0.057 mΩ·cm², and >90% sub-bandgap reflectance. For electron-selective contact, we develop n-type nanocrystalline silicon layers (nc-Si(n)) on c-Ge(p) exhibits high conductivity (42 Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹), low activation energy (0.013 eV), and doping ~1×10²⁰ cm⁻³. A thin amorphous silicon interfacial layer improves passivation but severely impedes carrier transport; thus, nc-Si(n) without this layer is chosen for device integration.Following the development and characterization of the electron- and hole-selective contacts, the second part of this thesis is focused on fabricating c-Ge-based TPV devices. In a systematic study comparing c-Ge substrates with high (2 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻³) and medium (2 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻³) doping levels, each integrated with either a full rear contacted (FRC) or a passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) architecture. The electrical and optical performance of each design is characterized and the results demonstrate that high substrate doping is essential for minimizing series resistance. However, photon recycling enabled by the PERC architecture emerged as the dominant factor for efficiency enhancement, with the high-doped PERC cell achieving a peak estimated conversion efficiency of 8.41% at an emitter temperature of 1500 K. Finally, a compatible fabrication process was designed, and the first batch of IBC structures was produced with promising results. To improve IBC TPV devices, we propose to incorporate nanotextured black germanium (b-Ge) at the front surface. To do so, we resolve the critical passivation challenge for b-Ge on highly doped substrates, enabling its integration into IBC TPV cells. While standard Al₂O₃ passivation degrades at the required doping levels (>10¹⁵ cm⁻³), an a-SiCₓ(i)/Al₂O₃ stack successfully provides both chemical and field passivation, achieving surface recombination velocities well below 100 cm/s for b-Ge. Device simulations incorporating the passivated b-Ge front surface indicate a superior output power density, surpassing that of state-of-the-art of TPV c-Ge cells.Overall, the results obtained in this thesis demonstrate the first c-Ge-based TPV cell with a non-epitaxial heterojunction, contributing significantly to the advancement of cost-effective TPV technology.
  
• GARCÍA LIMÓN, JOSÉ ALBERTO: Diseño e implementación de un sistema de medida no invasiva de parámetros cardiovasculares en calzado
  
  Author: GARCÍA LIMÓN, JOSÉ ALBERTO
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Electronic Engineering (EEL)
  Mode: Change of supervisor
  Deposit date: 29/06/2026
  Reading date: pending
  Reading time: pending
  Reading place: pending
  Thesis director: CASANELLA ALONSO, RAMON | ALVARADO SERRANO, CARLOS
  Thesis abstract: Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of mortality worldwide, driving the development of technologies for continuous monitoring. Among the most relevant biomarkers are heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), and pulse transit time (PTT), which is closely related to arterial stiffness and blood pressure. However, accurate estimation of PTT in wearable devices remains a challenge, mainly due to the difficulty of obtaining proximal references unaffected by the cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP).This thesis proposes a novel approach for cardiovascular monitoring based on plantar acquisition of physiological signals through sensors integrated into a shoe insole. A measurement system based on a piezoelectric sensor in the heel region was developed to capture the ballistocardiogram (BCG), a mechanical signal associated with blood ejection. Widely accepted physiological models relate its morphology to pressure gradients in the aorta, enabling the extraction of both proximal and distal information along the aortic segment. The proposed system was validated against the standard weighing scale BCG and employed to estimate several cardiovascular parameters.In addition, a continuous wavelet transform (CWT)-based algorithm was validated for robust J-wave detection in BCG signals. Evaluated using multiple datasets with different sensors, body positions, and mechanical interfaces, it yielded the following sensitivity (Se) and positive predictive value (P+): chair (99.87% and 98.48%), bed (99.64% and 97.60%), and weighing scale (99% and 88%) over a total of 9,266 heartbeats, demonstrating robust performance for HR estimation. This behavior was also observed using the proposed plantar BCG system, achieving P+ and Se values of (97.07% and 84.85%) and (98.20% and 93.42%) during standing and seated conditions, respectively, with coverage factors above 95%. Furthermore, robust estimation of temporal HRV parameters was achieved in the seated position, and a significant correlation (r = 0.8, p < 0.001) was observed between the plantar BCG I–J interval and carotid–femoral pulse transit time, suggesting its potential as an indirect marker of arterial stiffness.As a complementary approach, this work explored impedance plethysmography (IPG) for distal pulse arrival time (PAT) detection at the foot. Results showed that, although photoplethysmography generally provides higher signal quality, its performance is more sensitive to sensor contact pressure and peripheral vasoconstriction. In contrast, the IPG enabled robust pulse detection under realistic operating conditions, including the presence of textile layers, making it particularly suitable for footwear-based systems.Finally, combining BCG and IPG signals enabled the estimation of whole-body pulse transit time (wb-PTT), showing a significant correlation (r = 0.72, p = 0.001) with the reference system based on carotid tonometry and photoplethysmography. This approach overcomes the limitations of conventional wearable devices based on short arterial paths and enables continuous, non-invasive cardiovascular monitoring compatible with daily activities. Overall, the results demonstrate the feasibility of a new generation of smart insoles. Integrating BCG and IPG into a single platform enables a comprehensive characterization of cardiovascular status and opens new opportunities for applications in digital health, preventive medicine, and remote clinical monitoring.
  
• VILELLA VEGA, MANEL: Enhanced modulation strategies for a high-efficiency energy conversion system for electric vehicles
  
  Author: VILELLA VEGA, MANEL
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Electronic Engineering (EEL)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 22/04/2026
  Reading date: 28/07/2026
  Reading time: 11:00
  Reading place: Sala de Conferències (TR1-085), campus de Terrassa
  Thesis director: ZARAGOZA BERTOMEU, JORDI | BERBEL ARTAL, NÉSTOR
  Thesis abstract: The global transition toward electric vehicles (EVs) has intensified the demand for high-efficiency power electronics. On-Board chargers (OBCs) and bidirectional energy conversion systems are essential to manage the flow between the grid and the vehicle battery. These systems must be compact, lightweight, and capable of high-power density to satisfy modern automotive requirements. In this context, isolated bidirectional DC-DC conversion, specifically the Dual Active Bridge (DAB) converter, has emerged as a key technology due to its inherent galvanic isolation and high performance. To achieve high power density and efficiency, this research utilizes WBG semiconductors, specifically GaN devices, which allow for higher switching frequencies compared to traditional silicon.The primary objective of this doctoral work is to optimise control and modulation techniques to exploit the full potential of GaN semiconductors while mitigating high-frequency operation challenges, such as parasitic effects, thermal management, and EMI. The research is structured around four main contributions.First, the thesis experimentally evaluates a GaN-based non-resonant DAB converter, analysing the trade-offs between switching frequency, efficiency, and EMI. It demonstrates that increasing the switching frequency up to 200 kHz maintains high efficiency while enabling a significant reduction in the size of passive components without compromising electromagnetic compatibility.Secondly, a mathematical quantification of the steady-state DC current in non-resonant DAB converters is introduced. The formulation, which accounts for semiconductor resistance variations and timing mismatches, is validated experimentally and coupled with a closed-loop voltage compensation control strategy to effectively mitigate these parasitic DC currents.Thirdly, a variable frequency modulation is developed to reduce transient surge currents during start-up and load variations. Finally, the thesis explores the modular series-parallel connection of converters to scale the system for different EV battery voltages.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

• COLLADO CIPRÉS, VERÓNICA: Hot deformation behaviour of WC–Co cemented carbides
  
  Author: COLLADO CIPRÉS, VERÓNICA
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Materials Science and Engineering (CEM)
  Mode: Article-based thesis
  Deposit date: 03/06/2026
  Reading date: 10/09/2026
  Reading time: 11:30
  Reading place: ESCOLA D'ENGINYERIA BARCELONA ESTC/Eduard Maristany, 16 (08019 Barcelona)EDIFICI A planta 0, SALA D'ACTEShttps://meet.google.com/pcm-czdv-rxr
  Thesis director: LLANES PITARCH, LUIS MIGUEL | GARCÍA, JOSÉ LUIS
  Thesis abstract: This PhD thesis presents a systematic approach to describe, model, and understand the hot deformation behaviour of cemented carbides—composite materials based on tungsten carbide (WC) and cobalt (Co), commonly known as hardmetals—under service-like conditions. The work aims to bridge the gap between traditional room-temperature studies and the complex mechanical demands encountered at elevated temperatures.Hardmetals are used in applications requiring extreme mechanical performance, such as cutting tools, mining equipment, and forming dies. Historically, research has concentrated on their room-temperature properties, mainly hardness and fracture toughness. However, such studies do not capture the complex mechanical behaviour at elevated temperatures, where plastic deformation becomes a dominant wear mechanism.Previous investigations into high-temperature deformation have primarily relied on creep testing, which is conducted under very low strain rates and constant stress. While these studies have helped to identify deformation regimes and mechanisms such as grain boundary sliding and binder infiltration, they do not reflect the dynamic, high-strain-rate conditions experienced during actual service, such as in machining operations. Similarly, research on hot hardness has shown that fine-grained WC structures tend to retain higher hardness at lower temperatures but may soften more rapidly at elevated temperatures—highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of microstructural effects under thermal stress.This thesis addresses these critical knowledge gaps by systematically studying the hot deformation behaviour of WC–Co cemented carbides under service-like conditions, with strain rates ranging from 0.0005 to 0.1 s⁻¹ and temperatures from 700 °C up to 1000 °C. The research unfolds in three interconnected stages. The first study investigates sintered cobalt, the binder phase in WC–Co. Through hot compression testing, the deformation mechanisms were characterised, revealing a creep exponent of n = 5 and an activation energy consistent with self-diffusion in face-centered cubic Co. These findings indicate that deformation is governed by dislocation glide and climb.A physically based constitutive equation was developed to describe the peak stress in WC–Co as the sum of three components: stress carried by the binder, stress accommodated by the WC, and stress arising from the interaction between the two phases. The WC phase exhibited an activation energy of 585 kJ/mol, attributed to W pipe diffusion, and a high stress exponent (n = 19), indicating minimal sensitivity to temperature and strain rate—typical of ceramic materials. The interaction term was modelled using the binder mean free path and carbide skeleton stiffness, revealing its significant influence on overall mechanical resistance.The final study incorporated WC grain size into the constitutive model. Experimental results demonstrated that fine-grained WC structures exhibit higher resistance to plastic deformation at lower temperatures due to grain boundary strengthening. However, this advantage diminishes rapidly at elevated temperatures, where grain boundary sliding and binder infiltration become dominant deformation mechanisms. Coarser WC grains, while less resistant at room temperature, maintain structural integrity more effectively under thermal stress. Microstructural analysis via electron back-scattered diffraction confirmed these trends, highlighting the role of grain boundaries, phase transformations, and interface behaviour.These studies provide a framework for understanding and optimizing the high-temperature mechanical behaviour of WC–Co cemented carbides. By bridging the gap between microstructural characterisation and physical modelling, this thesis advances the field beyond traditional room-temperature and creep-based analyses, offering practical tools for designing hardmetals capable of withstanding extreme service conditions.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN MECHANICAL, FLUIDS AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

• CHÁVEZ PEREDA, ERICK DAVID: Study and identification of mechanical parameters while cutting tissues with vibrating hypodermic needles
  
  Author: CHÁVEZ PEREDA, ERICK DAVID
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN MECHANICAL, FLUIDS AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Mechanical Engineering (EM)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 10/06/2026
  Reading date: 21/07/2026
  Reading time: 11:00
  Reading place: Biblioteca del Museu Víctor Balaguer de Vilanova i la Geltrú.
  Thesis director: SÁNCHEZ EGEA, ANTONIO JOSÉ
  Thesis abstract: Robot-assisted needle insertion is currently under active development for minimally invasive percutaneous procedures due to its potential for high precision and repeatability. However, despite these advantages, the interaction between the needle and soft tissue inherently causes tissue damage, which can compromise targeting accuracy and overall performance. Friction at the needle–tissue interface is the main factor influencing the degree of damage. Therefore, this thesis investigates and models the role of friction in needle–tissue interaction to identify insertion conditions that minimize tissue damage.The factors influencing friction and tissue damage considered in this study were the needle insertion speed and the vibratory relative motion of the needle. To evaluate their effects in ex vivo turkey breast, selected as the tissue model, two tissue damage criteria were employed: the hole size remaining in the tissue after needle withdrawal and the friction force measured during needle withdrawal. A dynamic friction model of the needle–tissue interaction, based on the Dahl model, was developed using these criteria. First, the influence of insertion speed on tissue damage was investigated through controlled experiments at constant speeds. The model parameters were identified from experimental data using the least-squares method. Subsequently, a model-based optimization was performed to determine the insertion speed that minimizes tissue damage, obtaining an optimal value of 4.4 mm/s. Second, the effect of vibration-assisted insertion on tissue damage was analyzed using the same two damage criteria. A custom-designed vibratory actuator was developed to generate axial oscillations during needle insertion. The dynamic friction model was extended to account for the vibratory relative motion, and the corresponding parameters were identified using the least-squares method. A model-based optimization of the extended model was then carried out to determine the optimal vibration frequency, resulting in an optimal range of 800–1100 Hz. This optimization was performed while keeping the optimal insertion speed fixed. Overall, the combination of an insertion speed of 4.4 mm/s and a vibration frequency of 800–1100 Hz was identified as the optimal condition for minimizing tissue damage in ex vivo turkey breast.This thesis proposes a methodology for optimizing needle insertion parameters in soft tissues, based on fundamental principles of needle–tissue interaction. The developed dynamic friction model can be extended to other soft tissues by applying the same experimental procedure to identify the corresponding interaction parameters. This enables the use of a model-based optimization framework to determine optimal insertion conditions in different case studies.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

• MULERO JIMÉNEZ, LORENA: Bosc i Sostenibilitat: proposta educativa a l’entorn dels serveis ecosistèmics del bosc i els ODS amb pedagogia de ciència oberta a secundària
  
  Author: MULERO JIMÉNEZ, LORENA
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
  Department: Department of Mining, Industrial and ICT Engineering (EMIT)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 18/06/2026
  Reading date: 03/09/2026
  Reading time: 12:00
  Reading place: Sala de Juntes de l'EPSEM
  Thesis director:
  Thesis abstract: We live in a society that normalizes crises. These crises affect the very pillars of civilization, and education is the engine that moves the world. Furthermore, what would become of society and the education of new generations without caring for the environment and nature?This thesis develops a series of actions related to forests and their contribution to sustainability through their connection with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is a process of raising awareness among secondary school students regarding their essential role in the journey toward a sustainable and respectful society. Likewise, it analyzes the impact of implementing the "Forest and Sustainability Project," applying the innovative teaching methodology known as Open Science Schooling. The study focuses on how this approach fosters students' awareness of their role as key agents in changing society and steering it toward sustainability.A case study is conducted using teaching materials created and developed within this thesis. The activities are implemented in secondary schools across Catalonia. Additionally, activities are carried out within the framework of the Exploratori dels Recursos de la Natura that aims to promote science and technology among youth and conducts activities addressed to both secondary school teachers and students.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN NUCLEAR AND IONISING RADIATION ENGINEERING

• TOBAJAS ASENSIO, LUIS MIGUEL: ANÁLISIS DE LA INFORMACIÓN INSTITUCIONAL Y EL TRATAMIENTO DE LA PRENSA DE LOS INCIDENTES NUCLEARES ESPAÑOLES (1989-2009)
  
  Author: TOBAJAS ASENSIO, LUIS MIGUEL
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN NUCLEAR AND IONISING RADIATION ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Physics (FIS)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 17/06/2026
  Reading date: 18/09/2026
  Reading time: 11:30
  Reading place: Aula I 28.8 de l'Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeria Industrial de Barcelona, ETSEIB
  Thesis director: REVENTOS PUIGJANER, FRANCESC-JOSEP | PONT SORRIBES, CARLES
  Thesis abstract: The general objective of this research is to analyze the safety of the nuclear power plants in Spain during the period between 1989 and 2009, through a comprehensive analysis of institutional information and press coverage of nuclear incidents.The methodology employed includes a mixed qualitative and quantitative model. Scientific production on nuclear incidents has been analysed through technical information databases, academic databases (Wos and Scopus), and newspaper archives.The newspapers ABC, La Vanguardia, and El País were selected based on the criterion of being among the most widely followed newspapers in Spain during the period studied, considering the press as the best means of monitoring incidents at the end of the 1980s.In 1990, following the Chernobyl accident, the INES Scale was introduced, created by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency, with the aim of facilitating international communication to the public and the media. This study analyses incidents classified as level two or higher according to IAEA criteria. The results of this work consider the use of the INES Scale in institutional information and in the media.The conclusions allow for a deeper understanding of the treatment of information provided to the public and the media coverage of nuclear incidents. The analysis of lessons learned from the four incidents studied and their follow-up makes it possible to conclude that there have been advances in nuclear safety and in institutional and public information, with the consolidation of the INES Scale in nuclear communication in Spain. However, it is determined that the completion of corrective actions does not reach public opinion despite its relevance.The research provides proposals for improvement with the aim of promoting better communication in the future, including the participation of experts. Communication is one of the most relevant issues in nuclear crises and must be clear, timely, accurate, transparent, and proactive.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN OPTICAL ENGINEERING

• EL GHARBI EL AOUFI, MARIAM: Análisis de los parámetros biométricos oculares en escolares de 8 a 11 años: Influencia de los factores refractivos, sociodemográficos antropométricos y perinatales. Proyecto CISViT
  
  Author: EL GHARBI EL AOUFI, MARIAM
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN OPTICAL ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Optics and Optometry (OO)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 06/07/2026
  Reading date: pending
  Reading time: pending
  Reading place: pending
  Thesis director: VILA VIDAL, NÚRIA | GUISASOLA VALENCIA, LAURA
  Thesis abstract: Myopia is one of the most prevalent visual disorders worldwide and an emerging public health issue, particularly in the pediatric population, where its early onset is associated with faster progression and a higher risk of complications in adulthood. In this context, it is crucial to have tools that enable the anticipation of myopia development prior to its clinical manifestation.This thesis addresses this issue through the analysis of ocular biometrics in a cohort of schoolchildren aged 8 to 11 from Southern Europe (CISViT project), evaluating the evolution of axial length (AL), corneal radius (CR), and the AL/CR ratio, as well as their association with refractive, sociodemographic, anthropometric, and perinatal factors.Through a longitudinal follow-up, specific ocular growth patterns and risk profiles have been identified within this population. The findings demonstrate that changes in ocular biometrics are detectable before the clinical onset of myopia. In particular, the AL/CR ratio emerges as a robust and consistent indicator, capable of integrating biometric data and identifying subgroups with greater vulnerability. Furthermore, it was found that while axial length and corneal radius are influenced by sociodemographic, anthropometric, and perinatal factors, the AL/CR ratio remains unaffected by these individual variables, thereby emerging as a universal predictive parameter.
  
• GALDÓN FLORES, ALBA: Estudio de la evolución del error refractivo y su asociación con factores protectores y de riesgo en una cohorte infantil (CISViT).
  
  Author: GALDÓN FLORES, ALBA
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN OPTICAL ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Optics and Optometry (OO)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 30/06/2026
  Reading date: 24/07/2026
  Reading time: 11:00
  Reading place: Auditorio del Centro Universitario de la Visión (CUV). Paseo 22 de Julio, 660. 08222 TerrassaMEET: meet.google.com/vnf-vxhz-tev
  Thesis director: VILA VIDAL, NÚRIA | GUISASOLA VALENCIA, LAURA
  Thesis abstract: This longitudinal study followed a cohort of 1,189 schoolchildren aged 8–9 years in Terrassa (Barcelona) over one and three years to analyze the evolution of refractive errors, the incidence and progression of myopia, as well as risk factors and socioeconomic inequalities in visual health. The results show a progressive increase in myopia with age, rising from 12.3% at baseline to 28.7% at age 11–12, accompanied by a decrease in emmetropia and hyperopia, with no significant sex differences in prevalence.The annual incidence of myopia was 5.4%, reaching 15.8% after three years. The progression of spherical equivalent was not linear but accelerated with age, especially from age 9–10 onward, with a mean slope of −0.29 diopters per year. Children who were myopic from the outset showed continuous progression, whereas non-myopic children remained stable at early ages and later tended toward myopia. The identification of an inflection point at +0.75 diopters allowed a better understanding of the emmetropization process and highlighted the clinical relevance of premyopia as a risk phase prior to the development of myopia.Among the risk factors, parental myopia, particularly maternal, stood out as the most powerful predictor, along with conditions such as lower socioeconomic status, lower maternal education level, non-Caucasian ethnicity, and distance esotropia. In contrast, increased time spent outdoors and longer sleep duration were confirmed as the main modifiable protective factors against myopia. No significant associations were found between near vision activities and myopic progression or incidence.Refractive astigmatism was common but unstable, while corneal astigmatism was more prevalent and stable, reflecting its anatomical basis. Anisometropia had low prevalence, although it was associated with high refractive errors. The study also evidenced socioeconomic inequalities, as children from more disadvantaged backgrounds presented worse corrected visual acuity, especially girls, suggesting barriers to accessing or using optical correction. Overall, the findings indicate that childhood myopia in Spain is increasing and that the age range between 8 and 10 years constitutes a key window for prevention, particularly through interventions aimed at increasing time outdoors and detecting premyopia early.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN POLYMERS AND BIOPOLYMERS

• HARO GUTIERREZ, PILAR ADRIANA: CONDUCTIVE AND INTERACTIVE MULTIFUNCTIONAL PLATFORMS FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS
  
  Author: HARO GUTIERREZ, PILAR ADRIANA
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN POLYMERS AND BIOPOLYMERS
  Department: Department of Chemical Engineering (EQ)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 23/06/2026
  Reading date: 27/07/2026
  Reading time: 10:30
  Reading place: Barcelona East School of Engineering (EEBE)C/ Eduard Maristany, 16 (08019 Barcelona)(Aula Polivalent del edifici A (A0.03)
  Thesis director: ALEMAN LLANSO, CARLOS ENRIQUE | PÉREZ MADRIGAL, MARIA DEL MAR
  Thesis abstract: Despite recent advances in the development of smart biomaterials for tissue engineering and controlled drug delivery, significant limitations still remain regarding the integration of electroactive properties, responsiveness to external stimuli, and adequate biocompatibility within biodegradable and structurally stable platforms. In this context, this doctoral thesis focused on the development and characterization of electroactive and electrosensitive biomaterials based on biodegradable polymers, mainly polylactic acid (PLA), hyaluronic acid (HA), and polycaprolactone (PCL), aimed at applications in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and controlled drug delivery systems. Multifunctional scaffolds and membranes capable of responding to external electrical stimuli were designed and fabricated to modulate the sustained release of bioactive compounds, such as lactate and chloramphenicol, with potential applications in cardiac regeneration and wound healing. The developed materials incorporated conductive polymers and hybrid magnetic particles, enabling the production of biocompatible structures with enhanced electroactive, magnetic, and mechanical properties suitable for interacting with biological tissues and dynamically responding to external stimuli.To optimize the performance of these systems, structural and surface modifications were implemented, including plasma treatments, enzyme immobilization, and PCL coatings, which enabled regulation of material degradation, modification of porosity, and adjustment of the release profiles of therapeutic compounds. In particular, the developed scaffolds demonstrated the ability to release lactate in a sustained manner over prolonged periods, reaching different concentrations depending on the temperature and electrostimulation conditions applied. Likewise, chloramphenicol-loaded membranes enabled both passive and electrically induced release while preserving the antimicrobial activity of the antibiotic against bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.The obtained results demonstrated that the application of electrical stimuli promotes the controlled, progressive, and prolonged release of bioactive molecules, while the integration of conductive and magnetic components improves the functionality and versatility of the biomaterials. Overall, this work demonstrates that the combination of multifunctional materials, structural modification strategies, and electrosensitive systems constitutes an innovative and promising approach for the development of smart platforms capable of responding precisely to specific therapeutic requirements, thereby opening new opportunities for the design of advanced biomedical devices in regenerative medicine and localized drug delivery.As future perspectives, the studies developed in this thesis open the possibility of exploring new electroactive stimulation strategies using more complex and dynamic electrical signals, as well as further advancing the biological validation of the materials through advanced cellular models and even in vivo studies. Furthermore, it may be of interest to evaluate the scalability and reproducibility of some of the most promising systems with a view toward their technological transfer and the development of clinical prototypes.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN SIGNAL THEORY AND COMMUNICATIONS

• CARRINO, CASIMIRO PIO: Multilingual and Cross-Lingual Machine Reading Comprehension in Few-Resource Settings: Synthetic Data, Cross-Lingual Transfer, and Domain-Specific Evaluation
  
  Author: CARRINO, CASIMIRO PIO
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN SIGNAL THEORY AND COMMUNICATIONS
  Department: Department of Signal Theory and Communications (TSC)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 06/07/2026
  Reading date: pending
  Reading time: pending
  Reading place: pending
  Thesis director: RODRIGUEZ FONOLLOSA, JOSE ADRIAN
  Thesis abstract: Machine Reading Comprehension (MRC) is a fundamental benchmark for evaluating natural language understanding systems, requiring models to generate answers grounded in context. Despite advances with transformer-based architectures and large language models (LLMs), challenges persist in multilingual and cross-lingual scenarios, especially under few-resource and domain-specific constraints. This thesis addresses these challenges through three principal contributions, spanning the progression from encoder-based extractive to generative MRC, and covering data regimes from large-scale in-language supervision to zero-shot cross-lingual transfer in domain-specific settings.The first contribution introduces the Translate-Align-Retrieve (TAR) methodology, which preserves answer span alignment during translation of extractive QA datasets. By integrating neural machine translation, unsupervised word alignment, and alignment-based answer retrieval, TAR enables systematic construction of high-quality multilingual training data for low-resource languages. This approach produced SQuAD-es v1.1, the first large-scale Spanish extractive QA dataset (87,599 question-answer pairs). Models trained on this resource achieve or surpass established baselines on Spanish QA benchmarks, demonstrating that alignment-based translation is effective for mitigating data scarcity.The second contribution develops a self-knowledge distillation framework with cross-lingual sampling to enhance transfer in few-resource settings with limited parallel data. This work addresses Cross-Lingual Transfer (XLT) and Generalised Cross-Lingual Transfer (G-XLT), where question and context are in different languages. The method integrates cross-lingual sampling as data augmentation with self-knowledge distillation as regularisation, introducing a mean Average Precision at k (mAP@k) coefficient to modulate distillation loss by teacher model quality. Evaluations on MLQA, XQuAD, and TyDiQA-GoldP demonstrate consistent improvements over standard fine-tuning, providing a robust alternative to machine translation-based augmentation when only limited parallel resources exist.The third contribution presents a semi-automatic methodology for constructing privacy-preserving multilingual QA benchmarks in sensitive, data-scarce domains, exemplified by the Human Resources (HR) domain with JobResQA. This combines data de-identification, LLM-based synthesis, and human-in-the-loop translation with MQM error annotations and post-editing. JobResQA comprises 105 synthetic résumé–job description pairs and 581 QA items across five languages and four question types. Baseline evaluation using the G-Eval LLM-as-judge metric across nine open-weight models reveals persistent cross-lingual challenges, with only the largest models attaining high accuracy across all languages. The methodology also enables bias and fairness investigations in high-stakes HR applications.Collectively, these contributions show that data scarcity, cross-lingual transfer, and domain specificity persist as central challenges across architectural paradigms, particularly in few-resource settings. All resources, including datasets, models, and code, are released as open-source. The TAR methodology has seen widespread adoption with over 100 citations, producing datasets for diverse languages and scripts. While performance has improved with LLMs, the core challenges addressed in this thesis remain central to advancing multilingual and cross-lingual MRC.
  
• TSIAMAS, IOANNIS: Robust and Data-Efficient End-to-End Speech Translation: Segmentation, Cross-Modal Alignment, and Prosody-Aware Evaluation
  
  Author: TSIAMAS, IOANNIS
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN SIGNAL THEORY AND COMMUNICATIONS
  Department: Department of Signal Theory and Communications (TSC)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 15/05/2026
  Reading date: 18/09/2026
  Reading time: 15:00
  Reading place: Aula MERIT D5010, Campus Nord UPC, Barcelona
  Thesis director: RODRIGUEZ FONOLLOSA, JOSE ADRIAN | RUIZ COSTA-JUSSA, MARTA
  Thesis abstract: End-to-end (E2E) Speech Translation (ST) offers a streamlined alternative to traditional cascaded systems, promising lower latency and reduced error propagation. However, its adoption in real-world scenarios is currently hindered by three critical bottlenecks: input processing challenges (mismatch between static data and continuous audio), training data scarcity, and evaluation limitations regarding paralinguistic information.This dissertation addresses these limitations through a cohesive set of methodological and architectural innovations. First, we tackle the segmentation and input processing challenge. We introduce Supervised Hybrid Audio Segmentation (SHAS), a method that effectively bridges the gap between manual training segmentation and automatic inference segmentation, allowing E2E models to process continuous audio streams with minimal performance loss. Building on this, we propose SEGAUGMENT, a data augmentation strategy that utilizes training data re-segmentation to maximize the utility of existing datasets, significantly improving performance in low-resource settings.Second, we tackle data scarcity by developing methods for zero-shot speech translation through cross-modal alignment. We introduce ZEROSWOT, which leverages Optimal Transport to align speech encoders with massively multilingual machine translation models at the subword level, enabling translation without paired ST data. We further refine this approach with CHARSONAR, demonstrating that character-level modeling significantly improves cross-lingual and cross-modal transfer, achieving state-of-the-art results, despite being a zero-shot method.Finally, we investigate the semantic richness of E2E translations. We present a focused evaluation on prosody, revealing that while current E2E architectures possess the internal capacity to represent paralinguistic features like intonation and stress, they often fail to manifest these in the final translation.Collectively, these contributions advance the state of the art by creating E2E ST systems that are more robust to unsegmented inputs and more data-efficient, while also providing insights into the limitations of current E2E systems in preserving the nuances of spoken communication.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

• GONÇALVES JUNIOR, LUIS ANTONIO: Modeling the influence of manufacturing processes on the fatigue behavior of metallic materials through a continuum damage-based constitutive framework
  
  Author: GONÇALVES JUNIOR, LUIS ANTONIO
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
  Department: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DECA)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 29/06/2026
  Reading date: 07/09/2026
  Reading time: 14:00
  Reading place: Sala Zienkiewich (CIMNE) Building C1, UPC - Campus North Gran Capitan S/N 08034 Barcelona
  Thesis director: BARBU, LUCIA GRATIELA | OLLER MARTINEZ, SERGIO HORACIO
  Thesis abstract: Since the mid-19th century, the study of fatigue in metals has become a major field of interest for materials scientists and structural engineers because fatigue represents one of the principal failure mechanisms in metallic engineering structures. Initially based on empirical approaches such as the stress amplitude–life (S–N) curves derived from Wöhler’s pioneering studies, fatigue prediction capabilities have evolved significantly, leading to sophisticated numerical models capable of predicting not only fatigue life but also the progressive degradation of material properties associated with the fatigue phenomenon, including crack initiation and propagation up to the complete failure of the component.Despite these advances, the systematic incorporation of manufacturing process effects —such as machining, forming, trimming, and punching— into fatigue formulations remains limited. Most existing approaches still rely on simple modifications of S–N curves through reduction factors, restricting their applicability mainly to coupon-level specimens and preventing the accurate prediction of crack initiation and propagation patterns.In this context, the present thesis proposes a constitutive framework to incorporate manufacturing-induced effects into the fatigue response of metals in the high-cycle regime. The model is formulated in a general manner, allowing different manufacturing processes to be considered through suitable specializations based on relevant process-related data, such as residual stresses, surface roughness, porosity, and defect volume fraction.To develop this framework, several fatigue modeling approaches are reviewed, with particular emphasis on fracture mechanics, continuum damage mechanics, and phase-field formulations, commonly implemented using numerical methods such as the finite element method and the extended finite element method. Among them, a continuum damage mechanics-based high-cycle fatigue model is selected as the baseline framework due to its high computational efficiency and its ability to model complex stress–strain states throughout the material degradation process, from the intact condition to complete failure.The constitutive framework is first enhanced through the introduction of a novel hardening–softening stress–strain curve for damage. In addition, a methodology to convert average-based S–N data obtained from standardized fatigue tests into local material-point information is proposed to ensure a consistent calibration of the fatigue parameters with the local nature of the formulation. The enhanced model is validated against experimental data from stiffness-based rapid fatigue tests and durability tests performed on real automotive components, demonstrating strong predictive capabilities at both coupon and component levels while maintaining high computational efficiency.Finally, the framework is extended to explicitly account for manufacturing-induced effects. A residual stress relaxation model and a formulation to account for notch effects associated with manufacturing operations are introduced. The resulting model is specialized for shear-cutting operations, such as trimming and punching, using residual stresses obtained from process simulations and measured surface roughness as process-related inputs. The formulation is validated against uniaxial fatigue tests performed on trimmed and punched complex-phase steel specimens, demonstrating its ability to accurately predict fatigue life and crack initiation locations.
  
• GUO, ZHIMING: Study on HTPB propellant passivation, mixing, casting and curing processes by experiment and simulation
  
  Author: GUO, ZHIMING
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
  Department: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DECA)
  Mode: Article-based thesis
  Deposit date: 11/05/2026
  Reading date: 04/09/2026
  Reading time: 12:00
  Reading place: UPC Campus Nord, ETSECCPB, C/ Jordi Girona 1-3, edificio C1, Sala 002, Barcelona
  Thesis director: ROSSI BERNECOLI, RICCARDO | FU, XIAOLONG
  Thesis abstract: This study investigates the key physical issues involved in the four propellant production steps (passivation, kneading, casting, and curing) through a combination of experimental and numerical simulations.In this experimental study using HTPB propellant ingredients as raw materials, we first investigate the passivation and dehydration (similar to reduced pressure micro-boiling) of this raw material (N-butylnitroxyethylnitramine (BuNENA)). Next, we add other materials (including liquids and granules) to the passivated raw material and mix them in a vertical kneader. The resulting propellant slurry is then cast into a specific mold. Finally, we investigated the solidification of the propellant samples formed in the mold.In this numerical simulation study, First, the passivation process (bubble generation and movement) of the BuNENA material was studied through numerical simulation. Next, the mixing process of the propellant in a vertical kneader was investigated. The uniformity and flow characteristics of the HTPB propellant material were studied under stirring conditions.Finally, the slurry casting process was simulated, and finally, the curing of the cast propellant model was simulated.This paper contains the following research contents:(1) A passivation experimental device was established and experiments were carried out using a principle similar to reduced pressure micro-boiling; in the fluid dynamics simulation model, the Lagrangian framework was applied to track the formation and movement of bubbles, and the bubbles themselves were modeled as rigid spheres subjected to buoyancy and viscous forces. The Euler framework based on variational multiscale (VMS) was used to simulate the fluid around the bubbles. The bubble movement was analyzed. By combining experimental and simulation methods, the passivation process of BuNENA was analyzed in detail, which is of substantial significance in the field of passivation of composite solid propellants.(2) A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method was used to establish a digital simulation model of the mixing process of the vertical kneader. Changes in various flow field related characteristics of the vertical kneader were analyzed. The mixing performance of the propellant slurry in the kneader was studied by establishing a mixing uniformity index analysis method. The accuracy of the simulation results was verified by real kneading experiments, SEM-EDS and density experiments. (3) The vacuum casting process was optimized by combining experiments and numerical simulations. First, the shear thinning behavior was revealed through rheological tests, and the Herschel-Bulkley model parameters confirmed non-Newtonian fluid characteristics. The variational multi-scale finite element method was used to simulate and analyze the vacuum casting process of HTPB propellant slurry. Second, the flow rate and impact force of droplets under different vacuum pressures were studied by combining real-time image recognition with machine vision and Kalman filtering. (4) Finally, the curing reaction kinetic model of HTPB propellant was studied by the non-isothermal DSC method. The distribution and evolution of the internal temperature and temperature degree of the propellant during the molding process were analyzed using a thermochemical model. The temperature gradient and curing time variation of the propellant curing process were explored by the thermocouple-integrated method.
  

DOCTORAL DEGREE IN THEORY AND HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

• BRAU, GRAZIANO: Alejandro Zohn: Vivienda colectiva como proyecto urbano. Valores arquitectónicos en la construcción de lo social
  
  Author: BRAU, GRAZIANO
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN THEORY AND HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
  Department: Department of History and Theory of Architecture and Communication Techniques (THATC)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 26/06/2026
  Reading date: 27/07/2026
  Reading time: 12:00
  Reading place: ETSAB (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona) - Planta Baja - Sala de GradosAv. Diagonal, 649-651 - 08028 - Barcelona
  Thesis director: HERNÁNDEZ FALAGÁN, DAVID | MONTANER MARTORELL, JOSE MARIA
  Thesis abstract: The main objective of this research work is to analyze the contribution of the Mexican architect Alejandro Zohn Rosenthal to the field of collective housing. Through the study of his projects, the architectural, urban, and social values present in his housing production are identified.In a contemporary context characterized by mass production disconnected from its urban environment and from the needs of its inhabitants, this research recovers a series of design criteria present in Zohn’s work, whose relevance makes it possible to reconsider alternatives for the construction of more integrated, equitable, and inclusive urban environments.The thesis is structured into five major parts that make it possible to reconstruct, analyze, and critically project the thought and work of Alejandro Zohn in relation to collective housing:The first part corresponds to the methodological introduction, in which the object of study, resources, multiscalar approach, and expected results are established, thus defining the conceptual and operational foundations of the work.The second part constructs the historical, biographical, and disciplinary framework of the research, addressing the architect’s trajectory, the AZA office, and the context of collective housing across different scales and periods.The third part delves into the intellectual and operational dimensions of Zohn’s production through the analysis of projects, writings, and actions related to social housing and theoretical dissemination.The fourth part constitutes the analytical core, where the comparative study of six housing complexes is developed, making it possible to identify design strategies and modes of inhabitation.Finally, the thesis concludes with a synthesis of the results obtained and a critical reflection on the research process and its future projections.