Menu
en
NederlandsEnglishDeutsch
Brazilian websiteBulgarian websiteChinese websiteGreek websiteIndonesian websiteLatAm websiteRomanian websiteItalian website
HomeEducationMasterAll master's programmesMechanical EngineeringSpecialisationsHigh-Tech Systems & Materials

Specialisation in High-Tech Systems & Materials

Plan an online meet-up with a student
Sign up

Gain an in-depth understanding of the behaviour of materials and systems to ensure optimal interaction and performance within products and manufacturing processes.

Every system, whether you are talking about a machine, a wind turbine or an aircraft, can be reduced to a set of components that interact. What does it take to ensure optimal collaboration between these elements within a system? For example, how can you modify surfaces in a way that minimises wear and tear? What does it take to create highly precise movements within chip-making machines? And how can you model material behaviour to analyse and predict its suitability and performance within a production process? If you are eager to contribute to the research and development of products and manufacturing processes through an in-depth understanding of the behaviour of materials and systems, the specialisation in High-Tech Systems & Materials is right for you.

"This specialisation encompasses a broad field of study and covers some aspects of other specialisations within Mechanical Engineering as well. You will gain knowledge in the development, design, analysis and maintenance of machinery, structures, products and production processes. But what makes this specialisation different is its focus on the behaviour of, and the interaction between, components (materials) and processes."

Dr. Ir. Richard Loendersloot, specialisation coordinator High-Tech Systems & Materials

What is High-Tech Systems & Materials?

In essence, this specialisation covers four themes. First of all, you will learn about material behaviour and (nonlinear) solid mechanics. For example, how can you understand large deformation processes? Or deal with the complexity and variability of composite material behaviour? Then there are nonlinear dynamics, which help you to deal with multibody dynamics and large motions of flexible bodies, and for example to study mechanical vibration or crack growth in structures. Moreover, you will learn about system behaviour (think of control, dynamics, surface interface and interaction) as well as robust optimisation and control of production processes. All this knowledge will help you to become an all-round mechanical engineer with in-depth knowledge of material and system behaviour, that can deal with the many uncertainties and variabilities that occur in structures, products and production processes.

Examples of courses you might follow during this specialisation:
  • The courses Linear Solid Mechanics and Nonlinear Solid Mechanics provide you with the fundamental knowledge of stress-strain relations for large deformation calculation, both analytical and numerical.
  • What are the interrelations between design, production processes and materials selection? The course Design, Production and Manufacturing will give you the fundamental background of product performance in relation to the constitutive behaviour and the production processes necessary to manufacture the product foreseen by the designer.
  • The course Advanced Topics in Finite Elements provides you with the fundamentals of constraints, contact, dynamics, and nonlinearities in finite element models, allowing you to use sophisticated, commercial finite element software packages effectively, to solve problems beyond the standard complexity.

If you want to deepen your knowledge of mechanics, control, materials and processes on a more fundamental level but with high industrial relevancy and applicability, this is the right specialisation for you. You will become an expert in developing mathematical models and algorithms to describe the properties and behaviour of single and interacting materials and systems to put them to maximum industrial use. From researching the large deformation behaviour of high-strength steel to the properties of new thermoplastic materials and from analysing and controlling the dynamic behaviour of systems to designing a test rig for the validation of new products: your expertise will be highly relevant within R&D departments of any industrial company.

What will you learn?

As a graduate of this Master's and this specialisation, you have acquired specific, scientific knowledge, skills and values, which you can put to good use in your future job.

  • Knowledge

    After completing this Master’s specialisation, you:

    • have solid and broad knowledge in one or multiple fields of mechanics, being dynamics, nonlinear solid mechanics, material behaviour, surface interaction, and control, enabling you to design components and systems with high requirements on performance, as demanded by the industry;
    • have a broad sense of the research in the field of mechanics, to push the boundaries of performance of components, systems and their manufacturing processes;
    • have the ability to oversee multidisciplinary mechanical problems in the design, operational and end-of-life phases of products and systems and can contribute to the performance optimisation and improvement of these in their various life-cycle phases.
  • Skills

    After successfully finishing this Master’s specialisation, you:

    • can analyse a multidisciplinary mechanical problem and understand it from a fundamental point of view;
    • are able to describe the (mechanical) behaviour components, systems and their manufacturing processes, using (a combination of) analytical, numerical, or experimental methods;
    • can analyse and interpret data from analytical, numerical methods, or a combination of these to assess the performance of a mechanical component, system or manufacturing processes.
  • Values

    After completing this Master’s specialisation, you:

    • can reflect critically on your own and other’s knowledge and findings, with the purpose to enhance your knowledge and that of others, to identify and fill knowledge gaps;
    • are aware of social, environmental, sustainability and safety aspects of engineering problems and you are able to analyse and understand these aspects and integrate these elements in your scientific work;
    • have developed your own unique identity as an engineer and/or researcher.

Other master's and specialisations

Is this specialisation not exactly what you’re looking for? Maybe one of the other specialisations suits you better. Or find out more about these other master's:

Next
Close
Suggestions
Chat offline (info)
To use this functionality you first need to:
Accept cookies