Professor Michael Wisnom
B.Sc.(Lond.), Ph.D.(Bristol), FREng, FIMechE
Current positions
Professor of Aerospace Structures
School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
Prof. Wisnom is Director of Bristol Composites Institute (ACCIS). His interests are mainly concerned with failure of composites and the application of finite element analysis to understand and predict the behaviour of materials and structures under load:
Failure mechanisms in compositesFibre direction and transverse tension, compression, shear, delamination, bending. Test methods. Notched strength. Size effects. Fatigue. Modelling of failure mechanisms. Micromechanics. High performance ductile composites.
Finite element analysisModelling techniques. Non-linear analysis. Progressive damage modelling. Buckling. Strain energy release rate analysis. Residual stresses and distortions
Predicting behaviourFailure criteria. Use of fracture mechanics. Statistical methods. Fatigue crack propagation. Influence of defects. Simulating manufacturing processes.
Postgraduate research student supervisor in the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Composites for Innovation and Science (ACCIS CDT)
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Next generation fibre-reinforced composites: a full scale redesign for compression (NextCOMP)
Principal Investigator
Role
Principal Investigator
Description
High performance fibre-reinforced polymer composites are the current state-of-the-art for lightweight structures and their use is rising exponentially in a wide range of applications from aerospace to sporting goods. They…Managing organisational unit
Dates
01/07/2020 to 30/06/2025
Bristol-Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Bonded Structures Project
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Dates
01/09/2016 to 31/03/2019
8034 EPSRC EP/I02946X/1 linked to RB1582
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Dates
01/08/2016 to 30/06/2018
Composites Innovation from Atoms to Applications EP/K035746/1
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Dates
01/03/2014
HiPerDuCT - Programme Grant
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Dates
01/07/2011 to 31/12/2017
Thesis supervisions
Separation of process induced distortions in curved composite laminates
Supervisors
Modelling Stress and Damage Interaction in Fibre Reinforced Composite Laminates
Supervisors
Effect of Ply Drop Method on Delamination in Tapered Laminated Composite under Compression Loading
Supervisors
Behaviour of pseudo-ductile thin-ply angle-ply laminates under different loading conditions
Supervisors
Cellulose Composite Fibres for Potential Engineering and Bio-medical Applications
Supervisors
Understanding the Effects of Environmental Conditions on the Failure of Bonded Joints
Supervisors
Understanding the influence of consolidation in automated fibre placement and its effect on design for manufacture decisions
Supervisors
Realising the Potential of Carbon Fibre Composites in Compression
Supervisors
WrapToR composite truss structures
Supervisors
Failure of Notched Stiffened Structures Under Tension
Supervisors
Effect of high velocity oblique impacts on carbon/epoxy laminates
Supervisors
Hybrid Composites for Improved Impact Performance
Supervisors
The combined influence of through-thickness compression and shear on the longitudinal fibre dominated tensile strength of CFRP
Supervisors
Toughening composite laminates using hierarchical electrospun fibrous veils
Supervisors
Compressive Behaviour of Longitudinal Hybrid Composites
Supervisors
Exploiting thin-ply materials to establish controlled failure in carbon composites
Supervisors
Pseudo-ductility of Unidirectional Thin-Ply Hybrid Composites
Supervisors
Plasma surface modification of UHMWPE fibres and its effects on adhesion and wettability
Supervisors
Novel Tape Termination for Delamination Suppression
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
01/01/2026Failure Mechanisms in Composites How and Why Continuous Fibre Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composites Fail
Failure Mechanisms in Composites How and Why Continuous Fibre Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composites Fail
The Experimental Investigation of the Compressive Performance of Pultruded Rod Composite Struts
Compressive properties of thin tow-based discontinuous composites
Composites Part B: Engineering
Damage tolerance of double lap joins under transverse impact
Journal of Composite Materials
Hybrid effect in multi-directional carbon/glass composites
Composites Science and Technology
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