Structural Composites
The Structural Composites research group (SC) is leaded by Prof. Joaquim Barros and has the following main research areas: fibre reinforced concrete and fibre reinforced polymers for new construction and for the retrofitting of the built environmental; bituminous materials, road infrastructures and their conditions for connected and autonomous vehicles, including systems for safe protection of pedestrians; computational mechanics; BIM and digital processes in construction.
Overview
Group SC - Structural Composites
This research involves multidisciplinary and complementary fields and has been supported by the high capacity of SC to get projects funded by FCT, EU, in co-promotion and demonstration with the industry, and from specialized consultancy. SC has members in several technical committees of fib, ACI and RILEM, and has organized regularly national and international events, some of them of highest reputation in SC’s key-research areas.
The SC coordinates the European Master BIM A+ and FRP++. SC has had an excellent record on forming PhD and MSc students, with a high percentage supported by PhD-grants obtained in competitive regime. Since SC formation, the publication per staff member in ISI journals varied between 1.7 to 4.
Clusters
Projects
Latest News
🔬 ISISE at the European Researchers’ Night 2026!
Last September, ISISE took part in the European Researchers’ Night – Noite Europeia dos Investigadores 2026, held at Forum Braga.
It was a great opportunity to bring research closer to the public and, in particular, to younger audiences, through interactive demonstrations, hands-on activities and conversations with our researchers.
Visitors had the chance to discover some of the work being developed at ISISE in areas related to structural engineering, sustainability, digital technologies, innovative materials and the built environment, showing how research can contribute to safer, more sustainable and more resilient communities.
A big thank you to everyone from ISISE who contributed to preparing and running the activities, and to all those who stopped by, asked questions, experimented and shared their curiosity with us!
Events such as the European Researchers’ Night are an important opportunity to open the doors of research to society and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. 🌍🏗️🔬
#ISISE #EuropeanResearchersNight #NEI2026 #ResearchersNight #ScienceCommunication #Research #Engineering #StructuralEngineering #Sustainability #Innovation #UMinho #Braga
🌙 𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚
On 25 September, ISISE participated in the 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, held in downtown Coimbra, with the stand:
🏗️ 𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐁 – 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝, 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦
Throughout the event, visitors had the opportunity to explore interactive activities and demonstrations related to the research developed at ISISE, including:
🖨️ 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 – discovering how polymer and steel 3D printing can transform the manufacturing of materials and construction solutions.
🎶 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 – exploring vibration, sound and science through fine granular material placed on a vibrating metal plate.
🏗️ 𝐒𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 – building small structures with wooden sticks and marshmallows and testing their behaviour on a shake table.
♻️ 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝… 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧! – showing how beams and columns can be reused to create new buildings, contributing to more sustainable construction, within the scope of the C4C project.
The stand also included educational videos and research projects developed at ISISE, bringing structural engineering, sustainability and innovation closer to the public.
A big thank you to everyone who visited our stand and to all ISISE members involved in preparing and supporting the activities throughout the event.
#ISISE #UCoimbra #DEC #FCTUC #EuropeanResearchersNight #NEI2026 #ScienceCommunication #StructuralEngineering #Sustainability #Innovation #3DPrinting #SeismicEngineering #CircularConstruction #Connect4C #Research
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🌿 ISISE Day-Out 2026 | Science, community and a great day together!
Last July, the ISISE community came together for our 2026 Day-Out, held in the beautiful setting of Solar das Bouças.
The day combined science, networking and plenty of fun, bringing together ISISE members and collaborators outside our usual research environment. The programme included scientific presentations by our PhD researchers, providing an opportunity to share ongoing work, exchange ideas and discover the wide range of research being developed across the Institute.
🏆 Congratulations to Kasra Mostofi, who received the Best Presentation Award for his presentation “Recycled fibre-reinforced concrete floating docks for sustainable offshore renewables”.
And, of course, an ISISE Day-Out would not be complete without some time away from the slides and research discussions! The afternoon brought everyone together for traditional Portuguese games, a walk around the venue and plenty of good moments along the way.
The ISISE Directors would like to thank all our members and collaborators for taking part in the day and, above all, for their continued contribution to the growth and success of the Institute.
A great opportunity to strengthen connections, celebrate our community and enjoy being together. See you at the next ISISE Day-Out! 🙌
#ISISE #SC #SMCT #HMS #FP #Research #StructuralEngineering #CivilEngineering #ResearchCommunity #PhDResearch #Science #TeamBuilding #UMinho #UCoimbra
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📢 New publication by ISISE researchers!
A new study has been published in Construction and Building Materials:
📄 “Determining the coefficient of thermal expansion of FRP–concrete hybrid structural system constituents: Implementation and validation of a strain gauge–based method”
The work presents and validates a practical methodology for determining the coefficient of thermal expansion of materials used in FRP–concrete hybrid structural systems. Based on strain-gauge measurements, a low-expansion reference material and dedicated post-processing, the proposed approach offers a robust and cost-effective alternative for structural engineering laboratories.
The methodology was applied to the constituents of a hybrid sandwich panel composed of pultruded GFRP, polyurethane foam and steel fibre-reinforced self-compacting concrete. Full-scale experimental testing and numerical analyses confirmed that the material-level properties obtained with the proposed method can successfully reproduce the thermal response of the complete structural system.
👥 Authors: Marco Abreu Filho, João M. Pereira, Miguel Azenha and José Sena-Cruz
🔗 Read the open-access paper:
buff.ly/d3SiJCL
#ISISE #SC #FRP #ARISE #UniversityOfMinho #StructuralEngineering #CompositeMaterials #FRP #Concrete #ThermalBehaviour #ExperimentalResearch #OpenAccess
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📢 The ISISE Newsletter N30 is out!
In this 30th biannual edition, we share some of the latest highlights from our research community, including:
🔹 ISISE Day Out 2025 in Tomar
🔹 A new Impact Story featuring Mohammadali Rezazadeh
🔹 Completed and newly started R&D projects
🔹 Recently completed PhD theses
🔹 Awards, prizes, events, upcoming conferences and courses
This edition once again reflects the strong scientific activity, collaboration and impact of the ISISE community across structural engineering, sustainability, heritage, digitalisation and innovation.
📖 Read the full newsletter here:
buff.ly/z4syrMY
#ISISE #StructuralEngineering #Research #Innovation #Sustainability #CivilEngineering #ScienceCommunication
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📢 New publication in Construction and Building Materials!
“Durability of NSM CFRP-to-concrete bond after six years of exposure to laboratory and outdoor environments”
This study provides rare long-term experimental evidence on the durability of near-surface mounted (NSM) CFRP strengthening systems for reinforced concrete structures. The work followed specimens exposed for six years to laboratory-controlled conditions and to real outdoor environments in Portugal, including Lisbon, Serra da Estrela, Elvas, and Viana do Castelo.
The results show that CFRP laminates maintained their mechanical performance after ageing, while the epoxy adhesive was more sensitive to environmental exposure, particularly under water immersion. These findings contribute to more reliable durability assessment and long-term design of CFRP strengthening systems.
👏 Congratulations to the authors: Luís Correia, Aloys Dushimimana, Sayed Adeel Jawed, João Miguel Pereira, Susana Cabral-Fonseca, and José Sena-Cruz.
🔗 Read the paper: buff.ly/s3pXTsf
#ISISE #SC #FRP #ARISE #UniversityOfMinho #LNEC #CivilEngineering #StructuralEngineering #CFRP #FRP #Concrete #Durability #Infrastructure #Research
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