Here you find a non-exhaustive list of Master thesis topics. Please feel free to contact the research coördinators for more information.

  • Development of Computer Aided Design / Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software for CNC Hybrid metal 3D Printing & Milling machines

The aim of this master thesis is twofold. First an extensive market study of existing CAD/CAM software packages (Fig. 2) has to be performed by the student. The goal of this literature/market study is to identify the weaknesses of such commercial or research softwares when combining both additive (3D printing) with subtractive (milling) processes in a hybrid, iterative, process.
Secondly, based on these outcome, the student is expected to write some software modules (Matlab, Python, C++, …) in order to provide the integration of specific features in the parts being used for current research in Structural Health Monitoring of aerospace components based on the integration of fine capillaries in mechanical components. Click here to see the full proposal.

  • Dynamic structural analysis of a Hybrid CNC metal 3D printing & milling machine

The aim of this thesis is to perform an experimental/numerical study and analysis of the dynamic behaviour of this in-house developed machining platform. The interaction of the machine frame stiffness and mass on the one hand, and the motion components such as bearings and linear motors on the other hand are to be quantified or simulated. Click here to see the full proposal.

  • SERCOS Fieldbus implementation on FPGA for real-time control of metal laser 3D printing

The final goal of this master thesis is an implementation of the SERCOS Real-time ethernet based fieldbus protocol on the existing Xilinx FPGA such that data can be passed in real-time between the FPGA & Bosch Rexroth CML75 CNC controller. The student shall only consider programming of the FPGA, and not the programming of the Bosch Rexroth PLC. All required hardware is available. Click here for more information.

  • Robust bearing lubrication nozzle design for high speed electric motors

In this thesis, the student will investigate different nozzle concepts for use in an oil bearing lubrication system. The concepts will be compared based on their performance (spray speed and accuracy) and especially on manufacturability (design complexity, required machining tolerances), robustness (material wear, risk of clogging) and serviceability (easily cleaned, replaceable). This comparison will be based on an extensive literature search, combined with CFD simulations of the oil flow through the nozzle. Click here for more information.

  • Qualification test bench for the stator design of high power electric motors

The focus of this thesis lies on the stator design. In a typical industrial motor, the stator is the hollow non-rotating part of the motor that contains copper windings to create a strong central electromagnetic field. This field drives the rotor with the required speed and power. In this thesis, the stator physics are studied using analytical and numerical electromagnetic and thermodynamic simulations. The knowledge gained from these calculations will be used to define a stator qualification tests. This test should indicate whether a manufactured stator performs according to the theoretical design, within specified margins of geometrical dimensions and material propertoes. The practical part of this thesis consists of the design and development of an accompanying test bench. The test bench should allow an engineer to measure the most important physical characteristics of the stator (temperature, losses, magnetic field strength, etc.) and compare the measurements with the simulation results. The test bench should be easy to transport and operate, and be flexible to accomodate  all different stator sizes that are currently in use at Atlas Copco.  Click here for more information.

  • Ice-detection on operational wind turbines

In this project you will investigate a new concept to reduce the cost of ice-detection systems by using a single sensor in the tower. Using real world data of an actual operational wind turbine (with icing!) you will identify the possibilities and limitations of the new concept.

During the master thesis you will learn about the engineering of wind turbines, including the design process and the work of OWI-lab in the structural health monitoring of these fascinating structures. Click here for more information.

  • Optimization of Operational Modal Analysis techniques for rotating systems

Having punctual values of the modal parameters of wind turbine gearboxes available is becoming increasingly more important due to the up-scaling trend within wind industry. Characterizing the dynamics of the gearbox is particularly stringent for being able to tackle Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) issues and to optimize the turbine lifetime. Continuously monitoring the modal behavior of this system using Operation Modal Analysis (OMA) is however not straightforward due to the presence of harmonic content in the vibration signal.

This thesis aims to investigate several modal parameter estimation techniques within the context of rotating machinery and to investigate their distinct merits. This will first be done by validating and benchmarking the performance of different techniques available in literature on measurements of a static structure. Afterwards, the different algorithms will have to be automated in order to gain insights in the long-term modal behavior of an offshore wind turbine. Click here for more information.

  • Automated quality inspection of high power density gearboxes using end-of-line measurements

Main topic of the thesis would be to work out several data analysis techniques to evaluate such runups, including, but not limited to: automated operational modal analysis, assessment of average energy from gears, relative assessment of different orders from gears. Using those techniques it should be possible to extract new information from the runups to classify the individual gearboxes and to detect so called outliers which potentially could have a quality issue.

This thesis will be in cooperation with ZF Wind Power and will use real production EOL test data. Click here for more information.

  • Investigation of gear diagnostic techniques of wind turbine gearboxes in a data straming context

Having punctual values of the modal parameters of wind turbine gearboxes available is becoming increasingly more important due to the up-scaling trend within wind industry. Characterizing the dynamics of the gearbox is particularly stringent for being able to tackle Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) issues and to optimize the turbine lifetime. Continuously monitoring the modal behavior of this system using Operation Modal Analysis (OMA) is however not straightforward due to the presence of harmonic content in the vibration signal.

This thesis aims to investigate several modal parameter estimation techniques within the context of rotating machinery and to investigate their distinct merits. This will first be done by validating and benchmarking the performance of different techniques available in literature on measurements of a static structure. Afterwards, the different algorithms will have to be automated in order to gain insights in the long-term modal behavior of an offshore wind turbine.The gearbox of wind turbine is a crucial element in the drivetrain of a wind turbine. During its lifetime, a wind turbine gearbox undergoes severe transient loading cases, due to start-ups, sudden stops, or grid connection loss events. These strong dynamic events impact the operational lifetime of the gears present in the system and can lead to damaging of the gears (e.g. wear, tooth cracking, pitting, spalling, …). Replacing a gearbox in a wind turbine is however not as straightforward and very costly. Therefore, it is desirable to detect any incipient gear damage before it reaches a critical stage so that a maintenance team can plan ahead and organize a timely replacement or repair of the gearbox. The aim of this thesis is the investigation of promising gear diagnostic methods using vibration data originating from wind turbine measurements. A significant challenge will be to realize robust and effective methods that can be used in a streaming context, thus for analyzing data in a big data framework. Multiple approaches can be investigated during the thesis. Click here for more information.

  • Implementing eSHM system for crack detection using WAAM technology: a case study on slab carriers

Slab carriers are used in metal processing industry to transport slabs. These heavily loaded vehicles suffer fatigue damage and are at end-of-life. Repairs become more frequent and downtimes are significant as spare parts are rare, leading to increasing repair costs. The huge investments however still compensate for the higher maintenance costs. The end-user of the slab carrier therefore investigates faster and more efficient repair techniques using Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) techniques. The material affected by fatigue is removed and repaired using additive manufacturing.

The end-user now wants to use the design freedom of additive manufacturing to incorporate a damage detection system to capture fatigue cracks at an earlier stage and thereby avoid unexpected shutdowns and reduce repair costs. Vrije Universiteit Brussel has developed the effective Structural Health Monitoring (eSHM) system comprising of capillaries embedded in the additively manufactured structure. A fatigue crack breaching through the pressurized capillaries leads to a leak flow altering the capillary pressure and therefore signaling the fatigue event. Click here for more information.

  • Test-based modelling of industrial systems and their applicability to time-domain simulations

The possibility to reliably derive experimental data-driven models is extremely useful in industry, as it allows simulating very quickly the system response without the need of immediately building complex models, which will still be required at a later stage for more accurate investigations.  Compared to other data-driven system identification techniques, such as State Space modelling, modal analysis aims at creating a physical representation of the system by describing it in terms of its modal parameters (i.e., resonance frequencies, damping ratios, mode shapes, and participation factors). However, while classical system identification methods allow to directly derive an input/output representation that can be used for simulations or estimations, modal models necessitate of some additional steps to be used in these calculations. Several methods currently exist to convert modal models into input/output models, but, when starting from experimental data, the process is not straightforward. For instance, when selecting the poles of the system in the stabilization diagram, users have to be careful of only including physical poles and avoid overmodelling, as this would normally lead to stability issues after converting the modal model into state-space representation.  Recently, the MLMM (Maximum Likelihood estimation of a Modal Model) estimator has been developed, which further optimizes an estimated modal model considering, in the optimization process, some physically motivated constraints that ensure the stability of the estimated modal model. Click here for more information.