Mechanical Engineering with Emphasis on Structural Engineering – (M.Sc.)

The aim of the program is to have the student prepare for participation in advanced product development or research within mechanical engineering. The aim is that the student after completed degree should master a coordinated working method at analysis for decision support in the product development process, the extensive modules of virtual and physical modelling, simulation and experimental investigation and optimisation.

Coordinated working method at analysis for decision support.

The student is expected to inform herself/himself about current field-relevant research and considerably increase her/his ability to communicate her/his own contributions with scientific facts and relations both orally and in writing by means of modern tools for visualisation and documentation.

The coordinated working method can in short be described according to: Virtual models for description of interesting product properties and behaviours are developed, verified and used for simulations of the functionality of the system. The Simulation result is compared with experimental results of studies on delimited parallelly developed physical models, or with experiences from earlier development, with the aim of validating the virtual models.

The coordination also implies that the virtual models are used to design good physical models and measurement strategies. This process is repeated until sufficient agreement is achieved. Simulation with the virtual model can then be used for optimisation. If the optimisation shows a need for changes that influence the relevance for the current model, the whole procedure is repeated. More detailed descriptions are, when necessary, gradually added to the model during the ongoing development of the analysed product. At the development of a completely new product, several iterations are usually required. When a new variant of a product is developed, earlier experiences can largely be reused.

Learning outcomes
In addition to the nationally regulated aims, which are found under point 8, the following aims apply to the education.
After completion of the education, the student should

* be able to formulate and validate numerical and analytical models of mechanical systems by means of both advanced software and by means of strong simplified relations for important characteristics
* be able to specify, carry out and interpret measurements and analysis of vibrations for rotating machines and other mechanical structures
* be able to specify, carry out and interpret experimental modal analysis on mechanical structures
* be able to carry out simulation of mechanical systems with parameters received from numerical models and/or experiment, for example regarding effect from imposed load and/or simple structural changes
* be able to carry out optimisation of mechanical systems based on results of numerical models, simulations and measurements to meet the market needs and draw use of technological progress
* be able to coordinate activities and report received results in an understandable way under the observing of general rules and practice for scientific writing
* understand effects on society and environment of the student’s own activities

Job Profiles
Students with a higher education qualification from the programme can work within many different application fields and not only within sectors of pure mechanical engineering.

The focus, normally, lies mainly on theoretical and experimental technical analysis for assessing product functionality and performance, e g especially regarding vibrations of structures.

Dependent on the student’s own interests, a career can lead to assignments as technical expert or project manager and other leadership roles. A number of students also go on to continued third-cycle programmes in the area.
Teaching in a multinational environment prepares the student for international work.