Engineering Research · Intelligent CAE
Rafael Arturo Rubio Ruiz, PhD
Designing engineering systems that endure.
Agentic CAE·Fatigue & Durability·Lifetime-Informed Design Optimization
I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Tampere Institute for Advanced Study and Tampere University, where I lead LIDO-SuMa, a project that brings fatigue and wear physics into sustainability-driven design optimization. My background combines materials engineering, applied mathematics, and computational mechanics, together with industrial R&D at Wärtsilä, where I ran large-scale simulations of marine engines and automated CAE workflows. Today I build agent-based CAE workflows that automate, orchestrate, and optimize simulations, so engineering teams can design products that use less material and still last. What drives me is research that grows from a good idea into tools used at industrial scale, with real impact for society.
Industrial Competences
Plug-and-play engineering support for CAE automation, material modelling, and nonlinear mechanics.
Education
A technical path from materials engineering, through applied mathematics, to computational mechanics.
Leadership
Technical leadership, project coordination, and supervision in academic and industrial contexts.
Awards & Impact
Recognitions, funded projects, and measurable technical impact.
Industrial Competences
Agent-Based CAE Orchestration & Optimization
Agentic workflows where specialized agents, backed by deterministic CAx functions, run material selection, manufacturability checks, simulation set-up, and design optimization, with full logging and human oversight at every step.
Simulation Workflow Automation
Design and deployment of automated CAE pipelines (Python, Abaqus, SimLab, Apex) that replace manual pre- and post-processing with standardized, repeatable simulation workflows.
Material Model Calibration & Inverse Methods
Calibration of fatigue, plasticity, and damage models using experimental data (extensometers, strain gauges, DIC, IRT, XRD) to ensure predictive reliability under real operating conditions, including extreme regimes such as impact and high temperature.
Static & Dynamic Numerical Analysis of Mechanical Systems
Numerical analysis of static, cyclic, and impact loading, contact mechanics, and thermo-mechanical coupling in metals and geomaterials.
CFD Analysis of Industrial Systems
Numerical analysis of fluid flows including multiphase, granular, reactive, and thermal phenomena.
Industrial Domains
- Marine & Energy Systems
- Geotechnical & Rock Engineering
- Metallic Structures
- Air Quality and Conditioning
The Educational Story
Built the physical foundation: crystal structures, metallurgy, and mechanical behaviour of materials.
Acquired the mathematical tools: finite elements, optimization, and numerical methods for industrial-scale problems.
Integrated physics and mathematics into predictive simulation frameworks, focusing on fatigue, damage evolution, and inverse methods.
Leadership & Responsibility
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Project Lead – LIDO-SuMa (Tampere IAS & Tampere University)
Leads a two-year research project on lifetime-informed, agent-assisted design optimization, including industrial demonstrators and international collaboration. -
Technical Lead – CASEMATE Project (Business Finland)
Technical leadership of work package activities related to fatigue, wear, and material modelling. Responsible for defining modelling strategies. -
Project Manager – Academic & Industrial R&D Collaboration
Led academic and industrial collaboration with a leading European company to develop virtual validation strategies for drilling equipment. -
Research Supervision & Mentoring
Supervisor of three M.Sc. theses and co-supervisor of a PhD researcher. Mentored multiple doctoral researchers. -
Co-Founder & Technical Board Member – Engineering Consultancy
Led a team of four engineers working on modelling and optimization of CO₂ sequestration and mineralization devices.
Honors & Impact
Tampere Institute for Advanced Study · Two-year fellowship for the LIDO-SuMa project
Pentti Kettunen Foundation · Materials Science
Contributor to multi-partner EU research projects bridging academia and industrial R&D.
Research & Publications
Physics, data and AI for products built to last.
Peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, datasets, ongoing manuscripts, and my current project at Tampere IAS, LIDO-SuMa.
Explore my Research →