Leagan Gaeilge   Text Version   Display: Zoom (-) (+)   View ( Normal High contrast ) Printer Friendly  A to Z  Sitemap

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Research

The Department is internationally recognised for research excellence in several fields of mechanical engineering and biomedical. Currently 28 Ph.D students, 8 M.Eng.Sc. (research) students, and 8 post-doctoral researchers work in the department. In the period 2003-2005, we published 56 peer-reviewed journal articles and 113 conference papers, and attracted over €3.7 million in research funding from the state agencies, the EU, industry and other sources.

The department is closely linked with the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science, an interdisciplinary centre on the NUI, Galway campus where engineers, scientists, and clinicians collaborate on therapeutic solutions to current medical challenges. The Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials, the Energy Research Centre, the Composites Research Unit, the Micromechanics Research Unit, and the Aerospace Research Centre are focal points for other major research activities.

Sample projects are listed below in the following major themes:
Biomechanics and medical device engineering | Biomaterials and tissue engineering | Computational methods
Composite materials | Micromechanics | Fluid dynamics and acoustics | Simulation-based learning | Energy
Contact Mechanics and Tribology | Structural integrity | Manufacturing processes | Marine and ocean engineering

Biomechanics and medical device engineering

Sample Projects

• Development of design software for small-scale implanted metallic devices
• A Novel Large Deformation Finite Element Approach to Modelling Micro-Damage and Micro-Fracture in Trabecular Bone
• Experimental and computational investigation of mitral valve dynamics
• Development of a physiological tester for cardiovascular devices
  
• Effects of shear stress and tensile strain on cell monolayers
  
• Design of a thromboembolic filter
• Computational cell biomechanics
• Air and particle flow in lung airway bifurcations
  

Biomaterials and tissue engineering

Sample Projects

• Design of scaffolds for nanoscale tissue engineering
• A novel treatment for wound healing in recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa
• Microarchitectural and biomechanical characterization of heart valves
• A systems approach to tissue engineering processes and products 

Computational Methods

Prof. Peter McHugh, Prof. Sean McNamara, Prof. Paul Nolan, Dr. John Eaton, Dr. Nathan Quinlan, Dr. Mark Bruzzi, Dr. Pat McGarry

Sample Projects

• Mesh-free methods in computational fluid dynamics
• Microscale modelling of the wear behaviour of thin self-lubricating
  coatings
• A Novel Large Deformation Finite Element Approach to Modelling Micro-Damage and Micro-Fracture in Trabecular Bone
• Simulation based psychometric testing
• Computational cell biomechanics
• Microscale modelling of the mechanical behaviour of cardiovascular stents

Composite Materials

Dr. Conchúr Ó Brádaigh, Pat McDonnell

Sample Projects

• Development of a high performance plastic pallet using recycled glass fibre reinforced polyester as reinforcing filler
• Development of innovative processing technology for large scale thermoplastic composite structures
• Development of thin-walled fibre-reinforced structures for medical applications

Micromechanics

Micromechanics Research Unit
Prof. Peter McHugh, Dr. Mark Bruzzi

Sample Projects

• Microscale modeling of the wear behaviour of thin self-lubricating coatings
• Microscale modelling of the mechanical behaviour of cardiovascular stents

Fluid Dynamics and Acoustics

Dr. John Eaton, Dr. Nathan Quinlan

Sample Projects

• Mesh-free methods in computational fluid dynamics
• Turbulence in prosthetic heart valves
  

Simulation-based training and computer algebra

Prof. Paul Nolan

Energy

Dr. Padraig Molloy, Dr. Mark Bruzzi, Dr. John Eaton, Dr. Nathan Quinlan

Sample projects

• Decision Support Systems incorporated in Building Management Systems

Contact mechanics and tribology

Prof. Sean Leen, Prof. Peter McHugh, Dr. Patrick McGarry

Sample Projects

• FE simulation methods for fretting wear of aeroengine materials
• Computational contact mechanics of engineering couplings
• Contact evolution based fretting fatigue prediction
• Fretting wear and fretting fatigue of spline couplings
• Modelling of indentation and nano-indentation processes
• Modelling of wear processes

Structural Integrity

Prof. Sean Leen, Prof. Peter McHugh, Dr. Mark Bruzzi, Dr. Patrick McGarry, Dr. Laoise McNamara

Sample Projects

• Multiaxial fatigue of aeroengine materials
• Thermo-mechanical fatigue of Fe-Ni-Cr alloys for hot working dies
• Development of constitutive models for structural integrity and elastic-plastic-creep behaviour of components and
• Damage mechanics for fatigue and creep life prediction
• Multiaxial notch strain techniques for elastic-plastic-creep behaviour
• High temperature creep of welded power plant pipes and connections

Enterprise and innovation engineering

Dr. Kathryn Cormican

Sample Projects and themes

• Concurrent Innovation Models
  
• Knowledge Transfer in the Service Industry
  
• Regulation in New Product Development

    

• Disclaimer
• Privacy
• Copyright
• Accessibility