Lectures
Advanced Calculus
of Structures
The course and applications are mainly based on the use of finite element modeling, using an established program such as ANSYS or NASTRAN. There are common and specialized types of finite elements (i.e. contact, prestressing, kinematic connections). Linear and nonlinear modeling includes static, dynamic (modal, harmonic, transient, spectral), or stability analyses, extended to fatigue and optimization analyzes. The results of the analyzes are interpreted, discussed and compared with analytical solutions.
Numerical Simulation of Heat and Mass Transfer
The main objective of the course is to deepen the understanding of the operation of lubrication mechanisms, especially hydrodynamic lubrication. The main focus is on hydrodynamic bearings applications and viscohydrodynamic couplings. Performing numerical analyses for such applications requires ANSYS-FLUENT CFD simulations.
Modelling and Simulation in Mechanical Engineering
The course focuses on the process of designing original models, including their manufacturing and operation conditions, and the static and dynamic analysis of their components and subsystems.
The designed models emulate real systems, helping the engineer to predict the effects of changes upon the system.
CAD design or CAE analysis software (CATIA V5, MathCad, INVENTOR), design software (Octave) and advanced design software (Adode InDesign) are used.
Virtual Prototype for Product Development
The course focuses on the virtual prototyping of a complex mechanical system, taking into account the complex movements in space, the components and the connections that are established between them. Practical aspects of the synthesis of the mechanical system and its dynamic analysis are presented. Applications are made using Autodesk INVENTOR.
Special Chapters of Fluid Mechanics
The course provides knowledge in special areas of Fluid Mechanics, such as non-Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids, mass diffusive transport, turbulence models used in numerical simulations or similarity theory applied in the experimental study of flows. Fundamental notions are introduced: fluid as a continuous medium, stresses in fluids, viscosity, etc.
Computer Aided Design of Plastic Components
The course aims to introduce the main rapid prototyping technologies, the constructive and functional features of different types of 3D printers, as well as the presentation of the characteristics of the main groups of raw materials used by these technologies. The experimental approach consists in involving students in digital modeling and operation on 3D printers from the laboratory, in order to create prototypes of models, and the optimization of these models both in terms of construction and function.
Information Technology for Product Development
The course complements students' knowledge of product development by using methods to increase the speed of computer-aided design. Using the Knowledgeware module in CATIA V5, students can quickly insert relatively complex pre-defined elements (clearances, grooves, etc.), thus reducing the working time and increasing the efficiency of the designed objects.
Contacts and Surfaces
The course analyzes at micro and macroscopic levels the contacts between mechanical components. Some of the main topics covered within the course include the characterization of surfaces, friction regimes (dry, boundary, mixed, fluid), distribution of contact stresses, and the effects of relative motion (friction, wear, heating). The ways of generating fluid films, the choice of contact configurations, materials and lubricants to reduce friction and wear, are important criteria in modern mechanical design, being addressed both theoretically and experimentally in the course.
Finite Element Method
The course covers the basics of the finite element method.
Students learn to use the method through simple exercises (using PTC MathCad or SW CosmosM), while aquiring notions further used in advanced CAE analyses.
Materials and
Structures
The points of interest of the course are the study, elaboration and determination of the processes, methods and procedures of processing materials, and the establishment of the existing relations between structures and the general properties of the materials.
The course also targets the application of the studied theoretical notions in practical, everyday problems, in terms of the selection of appropriate materials, depending on the purpose, requirements and limitations imposed on the manufacturing of those objects.
Reliability of Complex Products
The concept of reliability is defined as a quantitative part of the quality of a mechanical or mechatronic system. The causes of decommissioning of the various components are detailed and quantified by their intrinsic reliability. The theoretical distributions of the random variables (Gaussian and Weibull distributions, negative exponential, etc.) are detailed on concrete cases and verified with statistical concordance tests. Applications are solved with specialized computer software.
Product Development
The purpose of the Product Development course is to provide students with the basics, procedures, and methods used to solve modern technical problems. Systematic and methodical working procedures are widely applied in product development, complementing the traditional intuitive design procedures. The central theme is the rapid creation of future competitive products, with their desired properties in the foreground, taking into account all stages of their life cycle.
The course aims to present the main types of renewable energy resources (wind, solar, waves, hydro, biomass, etc.) and to describe the main energy capture systems and how to evaluate their conversion efficiency. Along showing these already-known types of energy, the course also follows presenting the newest trends in the field: the construction of hybrid cells, energy storage, hydrogen energy and fuel cells, and so on.