The Higher Technical School of Engineering (ETSi) has awarded the Prize for Scientific Article of the Quarter (January-March 2025) to the work entitled “Longitudinal fibre/matrix debonds in CFRP ultra-thin plies: TT cyclic testing and numerical prediction”, signed by Serafín Sánchez Carmona, Carlos Sandino de Benito, Elena Correa Montoto, María Luisa Velasco Pérez and Alberto Barroso Caro.

The award-winning article, Longitudinal fiber/matrix debonds in CFRP ultra-thin plies: TT cyclic testing and numerical prediction, presents a damage study of cross-ply laminates made of carbon fiber and epoxy resin composite material, a material widely used industrially, especially in high-impact sectors such as aerospace and automotive. This work delves into the microscopic level of the material to understand its mechanical behavior, combining experimental techniques and numerical analysis. The main objective is to obtain a correlation between the initiation and propagation of fiber/matrix debonds under cyclic tensile-tensile loading. Longitudinal fiber/matrix debonds, which occur aligned with the applied load due to a phenomenon known as the "edge effect," help us understand the micromechanical behavior of the material. Numerical-experimental correlation allows estimation of the energy release rate of the fiber/matrix interface in Mode I, GIc, an essential parameter to be used in numerical design tools that aim to include the micromechanical reality of the composite material.

This article was published in the prestigious journal Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing in the area of ​​composite materials, which has an impact factor of 8.9 in 2024 and is ranked Q1 in 2 JCR categories.

The competition jury highlighted the high quality of the submitted publications, emphasizing both the scientific rigor of the journals in which they were published and the significance of the citations received by the various works. In this context, and after applying several bibliometric indicators, the winning work was unanimously selected for its theoretical contribution to the field of engineering.

This recognition is part of the ETSi's effort to promote and highlight excellence in the scientific production of its research community.