Behnam Sobhaniaragh

Dr Behnam Sobhaniaragh is a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering whose research addresses a central challenge in modern engineering: how to design lighter, safer, and more efficient structures and materials for a low-carbon future. A Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), he develops advanced computational models for the mechanics of lightweight materials and structures, including bio-inspired cellular, composites/nanocomposites structures, metamaterials, and additively manufactured components. His work helps reveal how material architecture, microstructure, and geometry influence stiffness, stability, fatigue resistance, and structural performance, supporting innovation in UK sectors such as advanced manufacturing, transport, healthcare, and clean technology. He also integrates simulation with optimisation, machine learning, and physics-informed AI to accelerate design and enable the development of high-performance, manufacturable engineering systems.

A second major strand of his research is computational fracture mechanics and structural integrity in multiphysics environments. He has developed predictive modelling frameworks for hydrogen-assisted cracking, fluid-driven fracture, and coupled damage processes in advanced materials and geological systems, with applications in hydrogen infrastructure, carbon management, subsurface energy systems, and service-critical components. This work contributes to the scientific foundations needed for safer hydrogen transport and storage, resilient energy infrastructure, and sustainable engineering solutions aligned with the UK’s Net Zero ambitions. Before joining Teesside University, he held postdoctoral fellow positions in Germany and Brazil, and he holds a PhD from Ghent University and a DSc in Computational Mechanics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where his thesis was recognised with a Best Thesis award.

Latest Publications

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Jw74L-Sjm80C&hl=en (h-index= 25, Citations= 1,900, Updated on May 2026)

ReseachGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Behnam-Sobhaniaragh (h-index= 21, Citations= 1,499)

ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3580-9577 

Web of Science: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/G-5898-2011 (h-index= 24)

Dr Sobhaniaragh’s research develops next-generation engineering approaches that combine computational mechanics, advanced design, and data-driven methods to enable high-performance, sustainable systems. His work integrates modelling with design, manufacturing, and application, addressing key challenges in lightweight structures, structural reliability, and low-carbon technologies. His research interests include:

i. Lightweight and Architected Materials for Advanced Manufacturing

• Design and optimisation of bio-inspired, cellular, and metamaterial structures with tailored mechanical performance
• Integration of computational modelling with additive manufacturing and design-for-manufacture principles
• Development of scalable, high-efficiency structures for applications in transport, healthcare, and energy systems

ii. Fracture Mechanics and Structural Integrity in Energy Systems

• Predictive modelling of damage, fatigue, and crack growth under coupled mechanical and environmental loading
• Research on hydrogen-assisted degradation and reliability of materials for hydrogen infrastructure
• Application to safety-critical components and resilient systems supporting the UK’s Net Zero transition

iii. Physics-Informed AI and Digital Engineering

• Integration of machine learning with mechanics-based models for accelerated simulation and inverse design
• Development of surrogate models, optimisation frameworks, and digital twins for complex engineering systems
• Bridging simulation, data, and experimental insight to enable intelligent and manufacturable design solutions

Membership

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
• Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and Chartered Engineer (CEng)
• EPSRC Peer Review college

Guest Editor

• Guest Editor: Special issue on "Advanced Metallic Materials for Hydrogen Production, Storage and Transportation: Design, Degradation and Reliability" by Metals. (2026- Present) (Link)
• Guest Editor: Special issue on "Programmable Metallic Metamaterials: Innovations in Sustainable Design and Smart Architectures" by Metals. (2025- Present) (Link) 
• Guest Editor: Special issue on "Phase-Field Modeling of Damage and Fracture" by Metals. (2024- Present) (Link)

Editorial Service

• Reviewer of International Journals (Link):

International Journal of Mechanical Sciences; Engineering Fracture Mechanics; Applied Mathematical Modelling; Journal of Materials Science; Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements; Journal of Materials Research and Technology; Advances in Engineering Software; Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering; Meccanica; Thin-Walled Structures; Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures; Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part L: Journal of Materials: Design and Applications; ACS Omega.

• Module leader - Machine Design (Level 7 - MSc & MEng Mechanical Engineering)
• Module leader - Continuum Mechanics (Level 7 - MSc & MEng Mechanical Engineering)
• Module leader - Aircraft Structures (Level 5 - BEng (Hons) Aerospace Engineering)
• Module leader - Applied Mathematical Methods (Level 5 - BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering)
• Module Tutor - Structural Mechanics (Level 4 - BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering)
• Module Tutor - Manufacturing Processes (Level 5 - BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering)
• Module Leader - Mechanics of Materials ( Level 5 Mech. Eng NCWU China - TU Collaboration) 
• Module Leader - Structural Mechanics ( Level 4 Mech. Eng. Beihua China - TU Collaboration)
• Mentor for Degree Apprenticeship students
• Supervisor of BEng final year projects and MSc/MEng research projects