Martin Kroon

Martin Kroon is a Professor in Material Mechanics at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Linnaeus University. His research focuses on fracture mechanics, material mechanics, and constitutive modeling of materials, with particular expertise in polymer mechanics and computational methods.

His primary research interests include:

• Fracture mechanics and failure analysis
• Constitutive modeling of polymers and other materials
• Finite element method and computational mechanics
• Solid mechanics and material behavior
• Welding mechanics and residual stress analysis

Professor Kroon leads research in several key areas, with a strong focus on developing advanced constitutive models for semi-crystalline polymers using Eulerian frameworks. His work bridges theoretical mechanics with practical engineering applications, particularly in the analysis of injection-molded polymer structures, welding mechanics, and material failure prediction. Recent research has increasingly incorporated machine learning techniques to enhance traditional constitutive models.

His research group actively investigates the mechanical behavior of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE), with applications ranging from marine structures to industrial components. The group's work combines experimental testing with sophisticated numerical modeling to understand complex material behaviors under various loading conditions.

Professor Kroon has received significant research funding for projects including:

• Seaworthiness assessment of WAAM manufactured marine propellers
• FEA of residual stresses in welded structures
• Fitness For Service assessment of metallic structures
• In-line visual inspection using unsupervised learning
• Smart Industry educational initiatives

He is affiliated with multiple research groups at Linnaeus University:

• Mechanical Engineering research group
• Smart Industry Group (SIG)
• Welding Mechanics Laboratory (WML)
• Scientific Computing and Partial Differential Equations