Dr Afshin Anssari-Benam
Biography
Having studied Mechanical Engineering for my BSc and Biomechanics in my MSc, I obtained my PhD in Medical Engineering from Queen Mary, University of London in 2012. The subject of my PhD research was the experimental investigation and mathematical modelling of the structure-function relationships in the aortic heart valve. I then took a postdoctoral research associate position at University College London (UCL) and subsequently joined the University of Portsmouth as a lecturer. I am currently a member of the Biomedical Engineering research group and lead the Cardiovascular Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL). My research interests centre on continuum mechanics and constitutive modelling of the mechanical behaviour of soft solids, including biological tissues, and cardiovascular biomechanics. I am the course leader for Biomedical Engineering, and am also involved with delivering various modules on topics of Solid Mechanics, Biomechanics Modelling and Fracture Mechanics, from L4 to L7.
Research interests
Continuum mechanics and constitutive modelling
- Developing novel hyperelastic strain energy functions for modelling nonlinear elastic finite deformations of soft solids.
- Modelling inelastic mechanical behaviours in soft materials including softening/damage, rate-dependency and viscoelasticity.
Cardiovascular biomechanics
- Multiscale characterisation and mathematical modelling of the mechanical behaviour of cardiovascular tissues.
- Developing new strain-energy functions for modelling hyperelastic/viscoelastic behaviours of soft tissues.
Research outputs
2025
Further developments in the constitutive theory of the family of models with higher order rational approximant response functions for application to isotropic compressible soft solids
Anssari-Benam, A.
14 Jul 2025, In: International Journal of Engineering Science. 216, 24p., 104336
Research output: Article
Modelling the finite deformation of thermoplastic polymers via hyperinelasticity, Part II: An amorphous polymer with varying rubber content-, rate- and temperature-dependency
Anssari-Benam, A., Zaïri, F.
4 Jul 2025, In: International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics. 178, 14p., 105182
Research output: Article
Modelling the finite deformation of thermoplastic polymers via hyperinelasticity. Part I: A semi-crystalline polymer under varying crystallinity ratios and deformation rates
Anssari-Benam, A., Zaïri, F.
25 Mar 2025, In: International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics, 16p., 105091
Research output: Article
Large isotropic elastic deformations: on a comprehensive model to correlate the theory and experiments for compressible rubber-like materials
Anssari-Benam, A., Saccomandi, G.
26 Feb 2025, In: Journal of Elasticity. 157, 25p., 31
Research output: Article
2024
Generalised invariants and pseudo-universal relationships for hyperelastic materials: A new approach to constitutive modelling
Anssari-Benam, A., Goriely, A., Saccomandi, G.
1 Dec 2024, In: Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids. 193, 15p., 105883
Research output: Article
Hyperinelasticity: An energy-based constitutive modelling approach to isothermal large inelastic deformation of polymers. Part I
Anssari-Benam, A.
1 Nov 2024, In: Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids. 192, 28p., 105790
Research output: Article
A model for capturing the rate-dependent mechanical behaviour of liquid crystal elastomers
Anssari-Benam, A., Saccomandi, G.
1 Nov 2024, In: Mechanics of Materials. 198, 13p., 105108
Research output: Article
Hyperinelasticity. Part II: A stretch-based formulation
Anssari-Benam, A.
1 Nov 2024, In: Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids. 192, 24p., 105825
Research output: Article
Modelling the rate-dependent mechanical behaviour of the brain tissue
Anssari-Benam, A., Saccomandi, G.
1 May 2024, In: Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials. 153, 12p., 106502
Research output: Article
Continuous softening as a state of hyperelasticity: Examples of application to the softening behaviour of the brain tissue
Anssari-Benam, A., Saccomandi, G.
6 Apr 2024, In: Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
Research output: Article