Within the framework of this special issue in honour of Prof. Manuel Elices, the authors
present some reflections concerning research, knowledge, its management and its relation with
industry and society. The intention is to emphasize the pioneering and enterprising aspects of the
Prof. Elices career, given that it has stood out not only for its scientific excel- lence, but also
for establishing in Spain several decades ago a model of interaction between university and
industry with high consequences in knowledge management and progress. This paper particularises the
presentation to Materials Science and Engineering, and more specifically, to Fracture Mechanics and
Structural Integrity, gathering examples of how these Scientific and Engineering Disciplines had
provided new knowledge and tools for
the treatment of industrial and social problems worldwide.
analyses, no parameter calibration was required on the particular concrete type, except for the
uniaxial strengths and tensile crack energy which are to be defined case-by-case. The results illus-
trate the reliability and numerical robustness of the model. Also, they suggest that satisfactory
prediction of structural behavior in fire can be obtained when no additional data is available on
the specific properties of the particular concrete mix that is used in the project, as is often the
case in practice, by
using standard values of parameters.