We are a research group at IMDEA Materials working on computational solid, fluid, and structural mechanics. Our activity spans nonlinear mechanics, computational mechanics, numerical analysis, and applied mathematics. We work on the development of robust numerical methods for the solution of complex problems arising in mechanical, aerospace, civil, and materials engineering.
Recent News
New article: A correction method for crack area overestimation in phase-field fracture
New article: Castillón, M., Segurado, J. and Romero, I. (2026). A correction method for crack area overestimation in phase-field fracture, Computational Mechanics. (link).
Phase-field fracture models systematically overestimate the crack area, a consequence of the diffuse crack representation and of numerical artifacts such as strain localization, where the phase-field variable saturates artificially across finite elements. In this article we propose a correction framework built on the principle of energy equipartition: as the length-scale parameter vanishes, the contributions of the phase field and of its gradient to the fracture energy become equal. Since the numerical artifacts affect mainly the phase-field term while leaving the gradient term largely unperturbed, the crack area can be approximated as twice the gradient-dependent energy. The resulting estimate is mesh-independent, applies to the whole domain, and extends naturally to three dimensions. The method is validated against benchmarks with analytical solutions, compared with skeletonization algorithms, and applied to complex geometries with curvilinear crack paths and to a three-dimensional simulation.
PhD defense of Miguel Castillón
Today, Miguel Castillón successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled Numerical Methods and Algorithms for Phase-Field Fracture Modeling, co-advised by J. Segurado and Ignacio Romero. Congratulations!
Talk at CMN 2026 conference
Ignacio Romero gave a talk entitled A regularized formulation of the Neumann problem in elasticity: theory and finite element approximation (with M. A. Kaleem and C. Gebhardt) at the Congress on Numerical Methods in Engineering (CMN 2026) in Gijón, Spain.
Talk at CMN 2026 conference
Néstor Rossi gave a talk entitled Addressing Remeshing-Induced Internal Variable Diffusion in Solids Using a Mixed Finite Element Approach (with I. Romero) at the Congress on Numerical Methods in Engineering (CMN 2026) in Gijón, Spain.
Talk at CMN 2026 conference
Yufei Liu gave a talk entitled Bayesian Calibration of Steel Creep Model with ACBICI (with C. Schenk and I. Romero) at the Congress on Numerical Methods in Engineering (CMN 2026) in Gijón, Spain.
Talk at CMN 2026 conference
A. Kaleen gave a talk entitled Thermomechanical Simulations of Additive Manufacturing Processes with Temperature-Dependent Material Properties (with N. Rossi and I. Romero) at the Congress on Numerical Methods in Engineering (CMN 2026) in Gijón, Spain.
Talk at CMN 2026 conference
David Portillo gave a talk entitled A Flexible Coupling Strategy for Incompatible Meshes: A Structural-Arlequin Approach (with N. Rossi) at the Congress on Numerical Methods in Engineering (CMN 2026) in Gijón, Spain.
Talk at the International Workshop on Perspectives in Nonlinear Continuum Theories
Jacobo Ayensa-Jiménez gave a talk entitled Rate-Independent Epigenetics: A thermodynamically consistent framework for epigenetic evolution at the International Workshop on Perspectives in Nonlinear Continuum Theories (eds. J. Merodio and R. Ogden), held in Castro Urdiales, Spain, June 29 – July 3, 2026. Co-author: I. Romero.