About

I am an Associate Professor in Integrated Computational Materials Engineering, in the School of Engineering, at the College of Science and Engineering.

I am also an academic researcher for the Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Engineering (IISE), at the University, and support local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under the Zero-Carbon theme projects.

I completed my studies as an Aerospace Engineer in 2013 at the Polytechnic of Turin, Italy. I obtained a PhD fellowship in 2014 and I discussed my PhD Thesis in 2017 receiving an award as the best PhD thesis for the Mechanical Engineering Doctorate at the  Polytechnic of Turin, Italy. I improved my research background at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Polytechnic of Turin, Italy, working on two different European projects involving the advanced modelling of composite materials for aerospace applications.

In 2018 I obtained the role of Assistant Professor at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Enna Kore, Italy. I led and taught the following modules: Fundamentals of Aeronautics, Numerical Models for aerospace problems, Aerodynamics, Aeronautical Materials.

In 2022 I started to work as Researcher in Hydrogen Storage Systems, at the Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Engineering (IISE) of the University of Derby, on the ATI (Aerospace Technology Institute) funded project AETHER (Advanced Solutions for Hydrogen Zero Emission Fuel), and on ATLAS (Advanced Design of High Entropy Alloys Based Materials for Space Propulsion) European project.

In September 2023 I obtained the role of Associate Professor in Integrated Computational Materials Engineering at the University of Derby.

My research interests include Composite materials, Sandwich structures, Numerical methods, Smart materials systems and structures, Thermoelastic modelling, Multifield analysis, Viscoelastic materials, Optimization analysis and algorithms, Modelling and control of vibroacoustic systems, Thermal-stress analysis in cryogenic environment, High-entropy alloy materials for space applications.

For my most recent research, take a look at my ResearchGate profile and Scopus profile.

If any of these research areas, is of interest to you, for a PhD study, please feel free to contact me, and we can discuss this further. For more information on PhD studentship and application, see our research degrees page.

Professional interests

I have served as a Reviewer for more than 40 international journals. Among others: Shock and Vibration, Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, Composite Structures, Composites Part B: Engineering, Aerospace Science and Technology, Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, Thin-Walled Structures.

I have been a symposium organiser in 5 international conferences. One of them was the symposium ”Mathematical Problems in Aerospace Science”,14th World Congress in Computational Mechanics and ECCOMAS Congress WCCM 2020, 19-24 July 2020, Paris, France.

I have served as an Editorial Board member of various international journals: Facta Universitatis Series: Mechanical Engineering, Journal of Aircraft and Spacecraft Technology, Journal of Mechatronics and Robotics, Aerospace, Curved and Layered Structures, Reports in Mechanical Engineering, Mathematical Problems in Engineering, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science (Associate Editor), Frontiers in Built Environment (Associate Editor), High-Tech and Innovation Journal, Military Technical Courier, Scientific Journal of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces, Composite Materials and Engineering An International Journal, Applied Sciences.

I currently have active collaborations with some external research groups between the Polytechnic of Turin, Polytechnic of Milan, ESA, DLR.

Research interests

• Composite materials
• Sandwich structures
• Numerical methods
• Smart materials systems and structures
• Thermoelastic modelling
• Multifield analysis
• Viscoelastic materials
• Optimization analysis and algorithms
• Modelling and control of vibroacoustic systems
• Thermal-stress analysis in a cryogenic environment
• High-entropy alloy materials for space applications

Qualifications

• BSc in Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
• MSc in Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
• PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
• Professional Examination for Aerospace Engineering sector, March 2014. Chartership as Aerospace Engineer. Professional body of Engineers of Turin, Italy
• Italian Associate Professorship, October 2022. Italian National Qualification for Associate Professorship in Aerospace Engineering

Recent conferences

Valvano S, Maligno A (2023), ”Thermo-mechanical structural optimization of a chemical propulsion satellite thruster using lattice structures”, X International Conference of Computational Methods for Coupled Problems in Science and Engineering (COUPLED2023), Chania, Crete, Greece, 5-7 June.

Valvano S, Canale G, Maligno A, Wood P (2023), ”Ultimate and low cycle fatigue predictions of a space thruster built with a new refractory high entropy alloy”, Fourth International Conference on Damage Mechanics (ICDM4), Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, 15-18 May.

Tumino D, Alaimo A, Orlando C, Valvano S, Vindigni C R (2022), ”Lattice Core FEM Simulation with a Modified-Beam Approach”, International Joint Conference on Mechanics, Design Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing (JCM 2022), Ischia, Italy, 1-3 June.

Valvano S, Alaimo A, Orlando C, Tumino D (2022), ”Higher-order plate elements for the analysis of passive damped hybrid lattice sandwich panels with composite skins with curvilinear fibres”, 10th International Conference on Design, Modelling and Experiments of Advanced Structures and Systems (DeMEASS 2020), Scopello, Italy, 1-4 May.

Alaimo A, Mantegna G, Orlando C, Tumino D, Valvano S (2021), ”Design of multi-layered VAT panels by means of higher-order plate elements”, Aerospace Europe Conference 2021, Warsaw, Poland, 23-26 November.

Tumino D, Alaimo A, Orlando C, Valvano S (2021), ”A preliminary study on the effect of strut waviness on the mechanical properties of BCC lattice unit cells”, ADM 2021 International Conference, Rome, Italy, 9-10 September.

Alaimo A, Milazzo A, Valvano S (2021), ”Nonlocal analytical solution for multi-layered composite shells”, ICCS24 - 24th International Conference on Composite Structures, Porto, Portugal, 14-18 June.

Fazzi L, Valvano S, Groves R M, Alaimo A (2021), ”Fully coupled thermo-mechanical analysis of fibre Bragg gratings embedded in composite panels”, 14th World Congress on Computational Mechanics (WCCM) & ECCOMAS Congress 2020, Paris, France, 11-15 January.

Valvano S, Alaimo A, Orlando C (2021), ”Advanced kinematic models for the passive damping analysis of variable-angle-tow composite shells”, 14th World Congress on Computational Mechanics (WCCM) & ECCOMAS Congress 2020, Paris, France, 11-15 January.

Valvano S, Alaimo A, Orlando C (2020), ”Analytical solution for viscoelastic composite shells”, ICCS23 - 23rd International Conference on Composite Structures & MECHCOMP6 - 6th International Conference on Mechanics of Composites, Porto, Portugal, 1-4 September.

International experience

• In 2013 I was a Research Assistant at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Polytechnic of Turin, Torino,
  Italy, working on the structural analysis of lander in the Amalia space project
• I obtained a PhD fellowship in 2014 at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Polytechnic of Turin, Torino,
  Italy. I discussed in 2017 my PhD thesis on the Development of computational efficient shell formulation for analysis
  of multi-layered structures subjected to mechanical, thermal, and electrical loadings. I received the Quality Awards 2016 for first place in the Mechanical Engineering Doctorate at the Polytechnic of Turin, Italy
• Between 2017 and 2018, I won two Postdoctoral fellowships at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Polytechnic of Turin, Torino, Italy, working on two European projects; the CASTLE (CAbin Systems design Toward passenger welLbEing) project on the advanced modelling of the dynamic response of multi-layered composite and smart plates and shells with viscoelastic layers, thermoelastic vibrations, modelling and control of vibroacoustic systems, active control of noise; in the H2020-NMBP-COMPOSELECTOR project, on the development of a Multi-scale Composite Material Selection Platform with a Seamless Integration of Materials Models and Multidisciplinary Design Framework
• From May 2018 to August 2022 I obtained the role of Assistant Professor at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Enna Kore, Italy. I led and taught the following modules: Fundamentals of Aeronautics, Numerical Models for aerospace problems, Aerodynamics, Aeronautical materials
• I was Visiting Researcher between June 2021 - May 2022 at the Department of Aerospace Structures and Materials (ASM), Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands, working with Professor Roger Groves on the modelling of optical fibres sensors embedded in composite panels

Additional interests and activities

• Piano and acoustic guitar player (teaching experience)
• Tennis player, professional activity (regional champion Basilicata (Italy) 2002 (U18), Italian tennis federation instructor) 

Recent publications

Valvano S, Alaimo A, Orlando C (2023), ”Higher-order models for the passive damping analysis of variable-angle-tow composite plates”, Computers and Structures 280: 106992, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruc.2023.106992 

Mantegna G, Vindigni C R, Valvano S, Esposito A, Tumino D, Alaimo A, Orlando C (2023), ”Representative volume element homogenisation approach to characterise additively manufactured porous metals”, Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures 30(5) :1073-1082, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15376494.2022.2124002

Alaimo A, Mantegna G, Orlando C, Tumino D, Valvano S (2022), ”Design of multi-layered VAT panels by means of higher-order plate elements”, CEAS Aeronautical Journal 13(3): 677–688, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13272-022-00588-0

Fazzi L, Valvano S, Alaimo A, Groves R M (2021), ”A simultaneous dual-parameter optical fibre single sensor embedded in a glass fibre/epoxy composite”, Composite Structures 270: 114087, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2021.114087

Alaimo A, Marino F, Valvano S (2021), ”BCC lattice cell structural characterization”, Reports in Mechanical Engineering 2(1): 77-85, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.31181/rme200102077v

Alaimo A, Orlando C, Valvano S (2021), ”Analytical higher-order-theories for noise reduction analysis of viscoelastic composite multi-layered shells”, Proceedings of the IMechE Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science 235(14): 2629-2636, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0954406220982334

Valvano S, Alaimo A, Orlando C (2020), ”Analytical analysis of sound transmission in passive damped multi-layered shells”, Composite Structures 253: 112742, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2020.112742

Alaimo A, Orlando C, Valvano S (2019), ”An alternative approach for modal analysis of stiffened thin-walled structures with advanced plate elements”, European Journal of Mechanics/A Solids 77: 103820, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.euromechsol.2019.103820

Alaimo A, Orlando C, Valvano S (2019), ”Analytical frequency response solution for composite plates embedding viscoelastic layers”, Aerospace Science and Technology 92: 429-445, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2019.06.021

Valvano S, Alaimo A, Orlando C (2019), ”Sound transmission analysis of viscoelastic composite multi-layered shells structures”, Aerospace 6(6): 69, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6060069

Carrera E, Valvano S (2019), ”A variable ESL/LW kinematic plate formulation for free-vibration thermoelastic analysis of laminated structures”, Journal of Thermal Stresses 42(4): 452-474, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01495739.2018.1474513

Valvano S, Orlando C, Alaimo A (2019), ”Design of a noise reduction passive control system based on viscoelastic multi-layered plate using PDSO”, Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing 123: 153-173, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ymssp.2019.01.011

Filippi M, Carrera E, Valvano S (2018), ”Analysis of multi-layered structures embedding viscoelastic layers by higher-order, and zig-zag plate elements”, Composites Part B: Engineering 154: 77-89, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2018.07.054

Carrera E, Valvano S, Filippi M (2018), ”Classical, higher-order, zig-zag and variable kinematic shell elements for the analysis of composite multi-layered structures”, European Journal of Mechanics / A Solids 72: 97-110, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.euromechsol.2018.04.015

Carrera E, Valvano S, Kulikov GM (2018), ”Electro-mechanical analysis of composite and sandwich multi-layered structures by shell elements with node-dependent kinematics”, International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials 9(1): 1-33, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19475411.2017.1414084

Keshava Kumar S, Harursampath D, Carrera E, Cinefra M, Valvano S (2018), ”Modal analysis of delaminated plates and shell using Carrera Unified FormulationMITC9 shell element”, Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures 25(8): 681-697, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15376494.2017.1302024

Pagani A, Valvano S, Carrera E (2018), ”Analysis of laminated composites and sandwich structures by variable-kinematic MITC9 plate elements”, Journal of Sandwich Structures and Materials 20(1): 4-41, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1099636216650988

Carrera E, Valvano S, Kulikov GM (2017), ”Multi-layered plate elements with node-dependent kinematics for electro-mechanical problems”, International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials 9(4): 279-317, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19475411.2017.1376722

Carrera E, Valvano S (2017), ”Analysis of laminated composite structures with embedded piezoelectric sheets by variable kinematic shell elements”, Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 28(20): 2959-2987, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1045389X17704913

Valvano S, Carrera E (2017), ”Multi-layered plate elements with node-dependent kinematics for the analysis of composite and sandwich structures”, FACTA UNIVERSITATIS, Series: Mechanical Engineering 15(1): 1-30, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22190/FUME170315001V

Carrera E, Pagani A, Valvano S (2017), ”Multi-layered plate elements accounting for refined theories and node-dependent kinematics”, Composites Part B, Engineering 114: 189-210, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2017.01.022

Carrera E, Pagani A, Valvano S (2017), ”Shell elements with through-the-thickness variable kinematics for the analysis of laminated composite and sandwich structures”, Composites Part B, Engineering 111: 294-314, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2016.12.001

Carrera E, Valvano S (2017), ”A variable kinematic shell formulation applied to thermal stress of laminated structures”, Journal of Thermal Stresses 40(7): 803-827, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01495739.2016.1253439

Cinefra M, Valvano S, Carrera E (2016), ”Thermal stress analysis of laminated structures by a variable kinematic MITC9 shell element”, Journal of Thermal Stresses 39(2): 121-141, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01495739.2015.1123591

Filippi M, Petrolo M, Valvano S, Carrera E (2016), ”Analysis of laminated composites and sandwich structures by trigonometric, exponential and miscellaneous polynomials and a MITC9 plate element”, Composite Structures 150: 103-114, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2015.12.038

Cinefra M, Valvano S (2016), ”A variable kinematic doubly-curved MITC9 shell element for the analysis of laminated composites”, Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures 23(11): 1312-1325, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15376494.2015.1070304

Cinefra M, Valvano S, Carrera E (2015), ”A layer-wise MITC9 finite element for the free-vibration analysis of plates with piezo-patches”, International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials 6(2): 85-104, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19475411.2015.1037377

Cinefra M, Valvano S, Carrera E (2015), ”Heat conduction and Thermal Stress Analysis of laminated composites by a variable kinematic MITC9 shell element”, Curved and Layered Structures 2: 301-320, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/cls-2015-0017

Cinefra M, Carrera E, Valvano S (2015), ”Variable kinematic shell elements for the analysis of electro-mechanical problems”, Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures 22(1-2): 77-106, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15376494.2014.908042