Access profile

Given the multidisciplinary nature of the scientific field of the programme, there are a wide range of degrees that qualify applicants for admission. For the near future, the applicants considered most suitable for admission to the doctoral programme in Civil Engineering will be bachelor’s degree holders with a scientific and technological background who have completed a master's degree in Civil Engineering or one related to the scientific field of the programme (i.e. in structural engineering and construction, geotechnical and earthquake engineering, water and environmental engineering, maritime engineering, transport engineering and regional planning, environmental engineering and sustainability, or computational engineering).

In addition to having suitable academic qualifications, it is considered important that applicants have certain personal characteristics—namely, an interest in the research projects carried out within the framework of the programme; critical and analytical skills; initiative, perseverance and persistence in their academic work; the ability to work in a team; and the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.

Therefore, to gain admission to the doctoral programme in Civil Engineering for the research period of their studies, applicants must submit:
• An official master’s degree in the field of Civil Engineering. Exceptionally, applicants with a master’s degree in a related field may be considered for admission.
• A degree equivalent to a master’s degree, issued by an EHEA member country.*
• A degree issued by a country outside the EHEA (after its equivalence has been verified).*

* The degree held by an applicant must qualify them for admission to postgraduate studies in their country of origin.

Output profile

Doctoral candidates who complete a doctoral degree will have acquired the following competencies, which are needed to carry out quality research (Royal Decree 99/2011, of 28 January, which regulates official doctoral studies):

a) A systematic understanding of the field of study and a mastery of the research skills and methods related to the field.
b) An ability to conceive, design or create, put into practice and adopt a substantial process of research or creation.
c) An ability to contribute to pushing back the frontiers of knowledge through original research.
d) A capacity for critical analysis and an ability to assess and summarise new and complex ideas.
e) An ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and with society in general as regards their fields of knowledge in the manner and languages that are typical of the international scientific community to which they belong.
f) An ability to foster scientific, technological, social, artistic and cultural progress in academic and professional contexts within a knowledge-based society.

The award of a doctoral degree must equip the graduate for work in a variety of settings, especially those requiring creativity and innovation. Doctoral graduates must have at least acquired the personal skills needed to:

a) Develop in contexts in which there is little specific information.
b) Find the key questions that must be answered to solve a complex problem.
c) Design, create, develop and undertake original, innovative projects in their field.
d) Work as part of a team and independently in an international or multidisciplinary context.
e) Integrate knowledge, deal with complexity and make judgements with limited information.
f) Offer criticism on and intellectually defend solutions.

a) have acquired advanced knowledge at the frontier of their discipline and demonstrated, in the context of internationally recognised scientific research, a deep, detailed and well-grounded understanding of theoretical and practical issues and scientific methodology in one or more research fields;
b) have made an original and significant contribution to scientific research in their field of expertise that has been recognised as such by the international scientific community;
c) have demonstrated that they are capable of designing a research project that serves as a framework for carrying out a critical analysis and assessment of imprecise situations, in which they are able to apply their contributions, expertise and working method to synthesise new and complex ideas that yield a deeper knowledge of the research context in which they work;
d) have developed sufficient autonomy to set up, manage and lead innovative research teams and projects and scientific collaborations (both national and international) within their subject area, in multidisciplinary contexts and, where appropriate, with a substantial element of knowledge transfer;
e) have demonstrated that they are able to carry out their research activity in a socially responsible manner and with scientific integrity;
f) have demonstrated that they are able to participate in scientific discussions at the international level in their field of expertise and disseminate the results of their research activity to audiences of all kinds;
g) have demonstrated, within their specific scientific context, that they are able to make cultural, social or technological advances and promote innovation in all areas within a knowledge-based society.

Number of places

15

Duration of studies and dedication regime

Duration
The maximum period of study for full-time doctoral studies is three years, counted from the date of admission to the programme to the date of submission of the doctoral thesis. The academic committee of the doctoral programme may authorise a doctoral candidate to pursue doctoral studies on a part-time basis. In this case, the maximum period of study is five years, counting from the date of admission to the programme to the date of submission of the doctoral thesis. For calculating these periods, the date of admission is considered to be the date of the first enrolment for tutorials, and the date of submission the moment in which the Doctoral School officially deposits the doctoral thesis.

For full-time doctoral candidates, the minimum period of study is two years, counted from the date of an applicant's admission to the programme until the date on which the doctoral thesis is deposited; for part-time doctoral candidates it is four years. When there are justified grounds for doing so, and the thesis supervisor and academic tutor have given their authorisation, doctoral candidates may request that the academic committee of their doctoral programme exempt them from the minimum period of study requirement.

The calculation of periods of study will not include periods of absence due to illness, pregnancy or any other reason provided for in the regulations in force. Students who find themselves in any of these circumstances must notify the academic committee of the doctoral programme, which, where appropriate, must inform the Doctoral School. Doctoral candidates may also temporarily withdraw from the programme for up to one year, and this period may be extended for an additional year. Doctoral candidates who wish to interrupt their studies must submit a justified request to the academic committee of the doctoral programme, which will decide whether or not to approve the request. Each programme will establish conditions for readmission to doctoral studies.

Extension
If full-time doctoral candidates have not applied to deposit their thesis by the end of the three-year period of study, the academic committee of the programme may authorise an extension of up to one year. In exceptional circumstances, a further one-year extension may be granted, subject to the conditions established by the corresponding doctoral programme. In the case of part-time doctoral candidates, an extension of two years may be authorised. In both cases, in exceptional circumstances a further one-year extension may be granted by the Doctoral School's Standing Committee, upon the submission of a reasoned application by the academic committee of the doctoral programme.

Dismissal from the doctoral programme
A doctoral candidate may be dismissed from a doctoral programme for the following reasons:

• The doctoral candidate submitting a justified application to withdraw from the programme.
• The maximum period of study and of extensions thereof ending.
• The doctoral candidate not having enrolled every academic year (unless he or she has been authorised to temporarily withdraw).
• The doctoral candidate failing two consecutive assessments.
• The doctoral candidate having disciplinary proceedings filed against him or her that rule that he or she must be dismissed from the UPC.

Dismissal from the programme implies that doctoral candidates cannot continue studying at the UPC and the closing of their academic record. This notwithstanding, they may apply to the academic committee of the programme for readmission and the committee must reevaluate them in accordance with the criteria established in the regulations.

Organization

• Cervera Ruiz, Miguel

• Casas Rius, Joan Ramon
• Cervera Ruiz, Miguel
• Chiumenti, Michele
• Jimenez Quintana, Jose Antonio
• Ledesma Villalba, Alberto
• Robuste Anton, Robus
• Rodriguez Ferran, Antonio

• Barcelona School of Civil Engineering (PROMOTORA)
• Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Office 202 – Building C2 (North Campus)
Tel.: 934 017 094
E-mail: doctorat.ec.camins@upc.edu

Agreements with other institutions

Research centres

Several high-level applied research centres and laboratories renowned for their excellence also carry out research and technology transfer in the field of civil engineering and the environment:

- International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE)
- Centre for Innovation in Transport (CENIT)
- International Centre for Coastal Resources Research (CIIRC)

Access profile

Given the multidisciplinary nature of the scientific field of the programme, there are a wide range of degrees that qualify applicants for admission. For the near future, the applicants considered most suitable for admission to the doctoral programme in Civil Engineering will be bachelor’s degree holders with a scientific and technological background who have completed a master's degree in Civil Engineering or one related to the scientific field of the programme (i.e. in structural engineering and construction, geotechnical and earthquake engineering, water and environmental engineering, maritime engineering, transport engineering and regional planning, environmental engineering and sustainability, or computational engineering).

In addition to having suitable academic qualifications, it is considered important that applicants have certain personal characteristics—namely, an interest in the research projects carried out within the framework of the programme; critical and analytical skills; initiative, perseverance and persistence in their academic work; the ability to work in a team; and the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.

Therefore, to gain admission to the doctoral programme in Civil Engineering for the research period of their studies, applicants must submit:
• An official master’s degree in the field of Civil Engineering. Exceptionally, applicants with a master’s degree in a related field may be considered for admission.
• A degree equivalent to a master’s degree, issued by an EHEA member country.*
• A degree issued by a country outside the EHEA (after its equivalence has been verified).*

* The degree held by an applicant must qualify them for admission to postgraduate studies in their country of origin.

Access requirements

Applicants must hold a Spanish bachelor’s degree or equivalent and a Spanish master’s degree or equivalent, provided they have completed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits on the two degrees (Royal Decree 43/2015, of 2 February)

In addition, the following may apply:

• Holders of an official degree awarded by a university in Spain or any other country in the European Higher Education Area, pursuant to the provisions of Article 16 of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of 29 October, which establishes official university course regulations, who have completed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits on official university degrees, of which at least 60 must be at the master's degree level.
• Holders of an official Spanish bachelor’s degree comprising at least 300 credits, as provided for by EU regulations. Holder of degrees of this kind must complete bridging courses unless the curriculum of the bachelor’s degree in question included research training credits equivalent in value to those which would be earned on a master's degree.
• Holders of an official university qualification who, having passed the entrance examination for specialised medical training, have completed at least two years of a training course leading to an official degree in a health-sciences specialisation.
• Holders of a degree issued under a foreign education system. In these cases, homologation is not required, but the UPC must verify that the degree certifies a level of training equivalent to an official Spanish master's degree and qualifies the holder for admission to doctoral studies in the country where it was issued. Admission on this basis does not imply homologation of the foreign degree or its recognition for any purpose other than admission to doctoral studies.
• Holders of a Spanish doctoral qualification issued under previous university regulations.

Note 1: Doctoral studies entrance regulations for holders of an undergraduate degree awarded before the introduction of the EHEA (CG 47/02 2014)

Note 2: Governing Council Decision 64/2014, which approves the procedure and criteria for assessing the fulfilment of academic admission requirements for doctoral studies by holders of non-homologated foreign degrees (CG 25/03 2014)

Admission criteria and merits assessment

The Doctoral Programme Committee is responsible for deciding which students are admitted to the doctoral programme in Civil Engineering based on each applicant’s curriculum vitae and how well their thesis proposal aligns with the research areas of the programme. Students may be admitted on the condition that they complete bridging courses (determined on a case-by-case basis) offered within the framework of the official postgraduate programme or other official programmes.

Before presenting their doctoral thesis, students must successfully complete any bridging courses specified as a condition for admission.

Students admitted to the doctoral programme in Civil Engineering will be attached to one of the research areas for the programme and assigned a thesis supervisor.

Admission decisions will be made based on each applicant’s curriculum vitae (with particular consideration to their academic record during the training period, ability to work in a team, and participation in research projects, conferences and publications), the degree of alignment between their doctoral thesis proposal and the research areas of the programme, and the extent to which a research group has made a commitment to fund the applicant’s work on their thesis.

All procedures related to academic administration will be governed by the UPC’s General Academic Regulations for Doctoral Studies, approved by the Office of the Vice-Rector for Research.

Admission criteria and weighting
Degrees that qualify applicants for direct admission (no bridging courses required):
• Master's degree in Civil Engineering
 • A master's degree related to the scientific field of the programme

Degrees that qualify applicants for admission subject to successful completion of bridging courses:
There is no group of degrees for which it is possible to define specific bridging courses. If the Doctoral Programme Committee decides to admit an applicant with a master's degree that is not one of those which qualify applicants for direct admission, it will specify the bridging courses that the student must complete.

In general, the Committee will base its decisions on the following criteria:
• Academic record (weighting of 60%)
• Motivation (20%)
• Knowledge of languages (10%)
• Research experience (10%)

Training complements

Enrolment period for new doctoral students

Ordinary enrolment: September and October

Extraordinary enrolment: February

More information at the registration section for new doctoral students

Enrolment period

September and October

More information at the general registration section

Procedure for the preparation and defense of the research plan

Doctoral candidates must submit a research plan, which will be included in their doctoral student activity report, before the end of the first year. The plan may be improved over the course of the doctoral degree. It must be endorsed by the tutor and the supervisor, and it must include the method that is to be followed and the aims of the research.

At least one of these annual assessments will include a public presentation and defence of the research plan and work done before a committee composed of three doctoral degree holders, which will be conducted in the manner determined by each academic committee. The examination committee awards a Pass or Fail mark. A Pass mark is a prerequisite for continuing on the doctoral programme. Doctoral candidates awarded a Fail mark must submit a new research plan for assessment by the academic committee of the doctoral programme within six months.

The committee assesses the research plan every year, in addition to all of the other activities in the doctoral student activity report. Doctoral candidates who are awarded two consecutive Fail marks for the research plan will be obliged to definitely withdraw from the programme.

If they change the subject of their thesis, they must submit a new research plan.

Formation activities

Activity: Tutorial.
Hours: 288.
Type: compulsory.

Activity: Courses and seminars (organised within each research group, weekly).
Hours: 30.
Type: optional.

Activity: Workshops (linked to the research projects that are the framework for the doctoral student’s activity; average of one per year).
Hours: 60.
Type: optional.

Activity: Publications (by the time a doctoral student finishes their degree, it is recommended that they have three papers published in journals with impact factors).
Hours: 120.
Type: optional.

Activity: Mobility.
Hours: 480.
Type: optional.

Activity: Research plan, document preparation, preparation of public defence.
Hours: 40.
Type: compulsory.

Activity: Research methodology.
Hours: 12.
Type: optional.

Activity: Language and communication skills.
Hours: 18.
Type: optional.

Activity: Assessment based on doctoral student activity report (DAD) and research plan.
Hours: 4.
Type: compulsory.

Procedure for assignment of tutor and thesis director

The academic committee of the doctoral programme assigns a thesis supervisor to each doctoral candidate when they are admitted or enrol for the first time, taking account of the thesis supervision commitment referred to in the admission decision.

The thesis supervisor will ensure that training activities carried out by the doctoral candidate are coherent and suitable, and that the topic of the candidate’s doctoral thesis will have an impact and make a novel contribution to knowledge in the relevant field. The thesis supervisor will also guide the doctoral candidate in planning the thesis and, if necessary, tailoring it to any other projects or activities undertaken. The thesis supervisor will generally be a UPC professor or researcher who holds a doctoral degree and has documented research experience. This includes PhD-holding staff at associated schools (as determined by the Governing Council) and UPC-affiliated research institutes (in accordance with corresponding collaboration and affiliation agreements). When thesis supervisors are UPC staff members, they also act as the doctoral candidate’s tutor.

PhD holders who do not meet these criteria (as a result of their contractual relationship or the nature of the institution to which they are attached) must be approved by the UPC Doctoral School's Standing Committee in order to participate in a doctoral programme as researchers with documented research experience.

The academic committee of the doctoral programme may approve the appointment of a PhD-holding expert who is not a UPC staff member as a candidate’s thesis supervisor. In such cases, the prior authorisation of the UPC Doctoral School's Standing Committee is required. A UPC staff member who holds a doctoral degree and has documented research experience must also be proposed to act as a co-supervisor, or as the doctoral candidate’s tutor if one has not been assigned.

A thesis supervisor may step down from this role if there are justified reasons (recognised as valid by the committee) for doing so. If this occurs, the academic committee of the doctoral programme will assign the doctoral candidate a new thesis supervisor.

Provided there are justified reasons for doing so, and after hearing any relevant input from the doctoral candidate, the academic committee of the doctoral programme may assign a new thesis supervisor at any time during the period of doctoral study.

If there are academic reasons for doing so (an interdisciplinary topic, joint or international programmes, etc.) and the academic committee of the programme gives its approval, an additional thesis supervisor may be assigned. Supervisors and co-supervisors have the same responsibilities and academic recognition.

The maximum number of supervisors of a doctoral thesis is two: a supervisor and a co-supervisor.

For theses carried out under a cotutelle agreement or as part of an Industrial Doctorate, if necessary and if the agreement foresees it this maximum number of supervisors may not apply. This notwithstanding, the maximum number of supervisors belonging to the UPC is two.

More information at the PhD theses section

Permanence

The academic committee of the programme may authorise an extension of up to one year for full-time doctoral candidates who have not applied to deposit their thesis by the end of the three-year period of study, in the terms outlined in the Academic Regulations for Doctoral Studies of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. In the case of part-time candidates, an extension of two years may be authorised. In both cases, in exceptional circumstances a further one-year extension may be granted by the Doctoral School's Standing Committee, upon the submission of a reasoned application by the academic committee of the doctoral programme.

A doctoral candidate may be dismissed from a doctoral programme for the following reasons:

• The doctoral candidate submitting a justified application to withdraw from the programme.
• The maximum period of study and of extensions thereof ending.
• The doctoral candidate not having enrolled every academic year (unless he or she has been authorised to temporarily withdraw).
• The doctoral candidate failing two consecutive assessments.
• The doctoral candidate having disciplinary proceedings filed against him or her that rule that he or she must be dismissed from the UPC.

Dismissal from the programme implies that doctoral candidates cannot continue studying at the UPC and the closing of their academic record. This notwithstanding, they may apply to the academic committee of the programme for readmission and the committee must reevaluate them in accordance with the criteria established in the regulations.

International Mention

The doctoral degree certificate may include International Doctorate mention. In this case, the doctoral candidate must meet the following requirements:

a) During the period of study leading to the award of the doctoral degree, the doctoral candidate must have spent at least three months at a respected higher education institution or research centre outside Spain to complete courses or do research work. The stays and activities carried out must be endorsed by the thesis supervisor and authorised by the academic committee of the programme. The candidate must provide a certifying document issued by the person responsible for the research group of the body or bodies where the stay or activity was completed. This information will be added to the doctoral student’s activity report.
b) Part of the thesis (at least the summary and conclusions) must be written and presented in one of the languages commonly used for science communication in the relevant field of knowledge, which must not be an official language of Spain. This rule does not apply to stays and reports in Spanish or to experts from Spanish-speaking countries.
c) At least two PhD-holding experts belonging to a higher education institution or research centre outside Spain must have issued officially certified reports on the thesis.
d) The thesis examination committee must have included at least one PhD-holding expert from a higher education or research institution outside Spain who was not responsible for the candidate’s stay abroad (point a) above).
e) The thesis defence must have taken place on UPC premises or, in the case of joint programmes, at the location specified in the collaboration agreement.

List of authorized thesis for defense

• GONZALEZ GUZMAN, CARLOS ALBERTO: REDISTRIBUCIÓN DEL USO DEL ESPACIO VIARIO COMO GESTOR EFICIENTE DE LA MOVILIDAD
  
  Author: GONZALEZ GUZMAN, CARLOS ALBERTO
  Thesis file: (contact the Doctoral School to confirm you have a valid doctoral degree and to get the link to the thesis)
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
  Department: (DECA)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 01/02/2021
  Reading date: 18/03/2021
  Reading time: 16:30
  Reading place: VIDEOCONFERENCIA Estat alarma Covid-19 - ETSECCPB, aula C2-001, Campus Nord, C/ Jordi Girona 1-3, 08034 BCN - enllaç: meet.google.com/pfg-eqyp-xk
  Thesis director: ROBUSTÉ ANTÓN, FRANCESC
  Committee:
       PRESIDENT: MONZÓN DE CACERES, ANDRÉS
       SECRETARI: ESTRADA ROMEU, MIGUEL ANGEL
       VOCAL: SARMIENTO ORDOSGOITIA, IVÁN REINALDO
  Thesis abstract: The efficient and equitable use of urban road space considered as a public good and a scarce resource, leads to giving priority to sustainable transport modes (walking, cycling and public transport). Private vehicle sees its space reduced due to its negative externalities (space consumption, in addition to pollution, noise, accidents, barrier effect, etc.).This trend is international and has been applied progressively since the last decades (with the time lag and graduation conditioned by the prevailing type of local urban planning). It still does not have a methodological formulation that brings the scientific support: decisions are made on the political ground or based on "road/street supply models", which do not always have technical background.This thesis develops the conceptual and methodological bases of an alternative mobility management instrument called ¿ Road Space Retribution Charge by Congestion Costs¿. We obtain the quantity (supply) of urban road space currently used by the private vehicle that must be transferred to sustainable transport modes using principles of transportation microeconomics. In a similar way but a century ago, Pigou formulated a tax to internalize the traffic congestion externalities.The restriction of space to vehicular traffic entails increases in travel times for the private vehicle, but even so it can favor the global mobility of the city: alternative modes enjoy more space for exclusive use and increase their commercial speed and their modal share, while the remaining traffic can be reassigned in the network more efficiently. The social welfare improves and the disincentive in the use of the private vehicle is similar to the Pigouvian tax.The methodological development is applied to the historic center of Santiago de Cali (Colombia), resulting in that a hybrid scheme of "Reallocation of the Use of Road Space" and "Traffic Management and Control" is the most appropriate for the internalization of externalities due to congestion.The results of the practical application suggest that the social benefits of the desirable scenario with respect to the baseline scenario include a 26% reduction in polluting emissions and an increase of 52 percentage points in the participation of sustainable transport modes in the use of urban road space.The research carried out finds general application in cities or parts of them that intend to humanize and recover part of the space currently occupied by the wheeled traffic of private vehicles. It can also be used to decide to implement urban projects such as ¿ super-blocks¿ (restriction of access and through traffic in few contiguous blocks) or in embodiments of ¿ tactical urbanism¿ such as the new post-pandemic Covid19 ¿ normality¿.Future research should link the methodology developed here with the ¿ Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram¿ of urban traffic (relationship between traffic flow and density at the zone level), it could include other positive environmental and social effects, improvements in the simulation model, and a systemization for the generation of ¿ packages¿ of street sections and their continuity at the zone / neighborhood level.Keywords: mobility management, redistribution of road space, Santiago de Cali, Pigou rate, tactical urban planning, traffic calming, sustainable mobility.
  

Last update: 06/03/2021 06:04:40.

List of lodged theses

Last update: 06/03/2021 06:03:56.

List of defended theses by year

• BARBAT VLAD, GABRIEL: Mixed finite elements with independent strain interpolation for isotropic and orthotropic damage
  
  Author: BARBAT VLAD, GABRIEL
  Thesis file: (contact the Doctoral School to confirm you have a valid doctoral degree and to get the link to the thesis)
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
  Department: (DECA)
  Mode: Article-based thesis
  Reading date: 11/02/2021
  Thesis director: CERVERA RUIZ, LUIS MIGUEL | CHIUMENTI, MICHELE
  

  Committee:
       PRESIDENT: SCOVAZZI, GUGLIELMO
       SECRETARI: CAICEDO SILVA, MANUEL ALEJANDRO
       VOCAL NO PRESENCIAL: JUHRE, DANIEL
  Thesis abstract: The numerical modelling of fracture has been an active topic of research for over five decades. Most of the approaches employed rely on the use of the Finite Element Method, which has shown to be an effective and cost-efficient tool for solving many physical phenomena. However, the issue of the spurious dependency of the computed solution with the mesh orientation in cracking problems has raised a great concern since its early reports in the 1980s. This matter has proved to be a major challenge in computational solid mechanics; it affects numerous methods employed to solve the problem, in which the computed crack trajectories are spuriously dependent on the arrangement of the finite element (FE) mesh employed. When performing a structural analysis and, in particular, when computing localized failure, it is fundamental to use a reliable and mesh objective method to be able to trust the results produced by the FE code in terms of the fracture paths, bearing capacity, collapse mechanism and nonlinear responses.In this doctoral thesis, the mixed e/u strain/displacement finite element method is used together with multiple isotropic and orthotropic damage constitutive laws for the numerical modelling of quasi-brittle fracture with mesh objectivity. The independent interpolation of the strains increases the accuracy of the computed solution, guaranteeing the local convergence of the stress and strain fields. This feature is a crucial improvement over the standard FE formulation in solid mechanics where the strains are computed as local derivatives of the displacements and the local convergence of the resulting stresses and strains is not ensured. The enhanced precision provided by the mixed formulation in the area near the crack tip is decisive for obtaining unbiased numerical results with regard to the orientation of the FE mesh.The strain-driven format of the mixed formulation enables to readily consider different constitutive laws defined in a stress-strain structure in the numerical simulations. The thesis includes the study of the effect of the material model employed in the resulting crack trajectories as well as the analysis of the relative performance of several isotropic and orthotropic damage behaviors in mode I, mode II, mode III and mixed mode fracture problems.In this work specific isotropic and orthotropic damage laws are proposed for the numerical modelling of fracture under cyclic loading, which include tensile and compressive damage, stiffness recovery due to crack closure and reopening, as well as irreversible strains. Also, the capacity of the proposed model in reproducing the structural size effect is examined, which is an essential requirement for models aiming at computing quasi-brittle behavior.In this thesis, a comprehensive comparison of the mixed FE formulation with other techniques employed for computing fracture, specifically the Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) and the Phase-field model, is made, revealing the cost-efficiency of the proposed Mixed Finite Element Method for modelling quasi-brittle cracking with mesh objectivity. This allows to perform the analysis of real-scale structures, in 2D and 3D, with enhanced accuracy, demonstrating the applicability of this method in the engineering practice. The validation of the model is performed with an extensive comparison of computed results with existing experimental tests and numerical benchmarks. The capacity of the mixed formulation in reproducing force-displacement curves, crack trajectories and collapse mechanisms with enhanced accuracy is demonstrated in detail.
  

Last update: 06/03/2021 06:03:27.

Research groups

• (MC)2-UPC-Computational continuum mechanics
• ANiComp-Numerical analysis and scientific computation
• ATEM-Structural and Materials Technology
• BIT-Barcelona Innovative Transportation
• CRAHI-Center of Applied Research in Hydrometeorology
• EC-Construction Engineering
• EGEO-Geomatics Engineering
• EnGeoModels-Monitoring and Modelling in Engineering Geology
• EScGD-Engineering Sciences and Global Development
• FLUMEN-River Dynamics and Hydrological Engineering
• GEMMA-Group of Environmental Engineering and Microbiology
• GHS-Hydrogeology Group
• GIES-Geophysics and Earthquake Engineering
• GMNE-Numerical Methods in Engineering Group
• LACAN - UPC-Numerical Methods for Applied Sciences and Engineering
• LESEC-Laboratori d'Estudis Socials de l'Enginyeria Civil
• LIM/UPC-Maritime Engineering Laboratory
• MATCAR-Construction Materials and Roads
• MECMAT-Mechanics of Materials
• MSR-Soil and Rock Mechanics
• RMEE-Strength of Materials and Structural Engineering Research Group

Teachers

• Aguado de Cea, Antonio
• Alarcon Fernandez, Daniel
• Arias Vicente, Irene
• Bateman Pinzon, Allen
• Blade Castellet, Ernest
• Casas Rius, Joan Ramon
• Cervera Ruiz, Miguel
• Chiumenti, Michele
• Codina Rovira, Ramon
• Diez Mejia, Pedro
• Espino Infantes, Manolo
• Estrada Romeu, Miquel
• Fernandez Garcia, Daniel
• Garcia Gonzalez, Alberto
• Gens Sole, Antonio
• Gomez Valentin, Manuel
• Grifoll Colls, Manuel
• Jimenez Quintana, Jose Antonio
• Ledesma Villalba, Alberto
• Martin Vide, Juan Pedro
• Molins Borrell, Climent
• Mujica Delgado, Luis Eduardo
• Olivella Pastalle, Sebastià
• Oñate Ibañez de Navarra, Eugenio
• Perez Foguet, Agusti
• Poblet Puig, Jordi
• Prat Catalan, Pere
• Robuste Anton, Robus
• Rodellar Benede, Jose
• Rodriguez Ferran, Antonio
• Rossi, Riccardo
• Sanchez Juny, Marti
• Sanchez Vila, Xavier
• Sanchez-Arcilla Conejo, Agustin
• Sarrate Ramos, Jose
• Sempere Torres, Daniel
• Soriguera Marti, Francesc
• Zlotnik Martinez, Sergio

• Baiges Aznar, Joan
• Berenguer Ferrer, Marc
• Campos Cacheda, Magin
• Candela Lledo, Lucila
• Dadvand, Pooyan
• de Pouplana Sarda, Ignasi
• Garcia Espinosa, Julio
• Gironella i Cobos, Xavi
• Gracia Garcia, Vicente
• Lantada Zarzosa, Nieves
• Romero Morales, Enrique
• Russo, Beniamino
• Saaltink, Maarten W.
• Sauri Marchan, Sergi
• Soudah Prieto, Eduardo
• Turro Calvet, Mateu
• Vaunat, Jean
• Vazquez, Mariano
• Zarate Araiza, Jose Francisco