Mecc in progress - Dipartimento di Meccanica

Mecc in progress
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Mecc in progress
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Contents
Prefacep.
Since 1863...p.
History of the Department of Mechanical Engineeringp.
Historical Rootsp.
Recent Historyp.
Facts, Figures, Structure and Perspective
1
4
6
6
7
p. 9
Research Budgetp.
Staffp.
Scientific Productionp.
Organization & Managementp.
Prospectsp.
10
11
11
12
13
Research Activitiesp. 17
Dynamics and Vibrationp.
18
Mechatronics and Smart Structures
p.
Rail Vehicle Dynamicsp.
Road Vehicle Dynamicsp.
Rotordynamicsp.
Wind Engineeringp.
19
21
23
25
27
Machine and Vehicle Design p. 29
Advanced Design of Mechanical Components
Structural Integrity and Prognostics
Ground Vehicle Design and Testing
p. 29
p. 30
p. 32
Manufacturing and production systemsp.
34
Manufacturing Processesp. 34
Manufacturing Systems and Quality
p. 37
Materialsp.
39
Advanced Materialsp. 40
Applied Metallurgyp. 41
Steel Making and Metallurgical Processes
p. 43
Measurementsp.
New Measurement Techniques
p.
Vision-based Measurementsp.
Flow-Structure Interactionp.
Structural Monitoringp.
Measurements for spacep.
44
44
45
46
46
46
Electro Mechanical Interaction and Renewable Energy
p.
Acoustic Measurementsp.
Rehabilitation Measurementsp.
Whole Body and Hand Arm Vibrationp.
Methods and Tools for Product Design
47
The Reconfigurable Testing Facilities
The Outdoor Testing and Measuring Facilities
47
Manufacturingp.
83
47
MI_crolab - Micro Machining Lab p.
SITEC Laboratory for Laser Applicationp.
Water Jet Labp.
Geometrical Metrology Labp.
Manufacturing System Labp.
84
Numerical Simulationp.
Composite Material Parts and Models
p.
Tests of Mechanical Components
p.
88
90
47
p. 48
Virtual Prototypingp. 48
Product Designp. 50
Laboratoriesp. 53
Automotive and Electric/Hybrid Vehicles
p. 54
L.A.S.T.p. 54
Vehicle Dynamics Laboratoryp. 56
Electric Drivesp.
CNC Machine Tools and Computer Aided Manufacturing
p.
Non-destructive Testsp.
Mechatronics and Smart Structures Lab
p.
57
58
59
61
Mechatronics Labp. 61
Robotics Lab p. 63
VAL – Vibroacoustics Labp. 63
Didactic Laboratoriesp.
Cable Dynamicsp.
Wind Tunnelp.
Haptics and Virtual Prototyping
p.
64
66
68
69
Virtual Prototyping Labp. 69
Reverse Engineering Labp. 70
Process Metallurgy and Materials Analysis
p. 71
Microstructural Investigations and Failure Analysis Lab
p.
Physco-chemical Bulk and Surface Analyses Lab p.
Process Metallurgy Labp.
Characterisation of Materials Labp.
72
Material Testingp.
77
73
74
76
Mechanical Behaviour of Materials Labp. 77
High Temperature Properties of Materials Labp. 79
Railway Engineeringp.
The Test Bench for Pantograph-Catenary Contact
The Hardware-in-the-Loop Test Stand for Pantographs
The Secondary Suspension Test Rig
The Test Rig to Calibrate Instrumented Wheelssets
The Rotating Bending Fatigue Test Stend for Railway Axles
81
p. 81
p. 81
p. 81
p. 82
p. 82
p. 83
p. 83
Diagnostics Labp.
Gear and Power Transmission Labp.
Complex Tests Lab
p.
Outdoor Testingp.
Measuring Devices and Calibration
85
85
86
87
89
90
92
92
93
p. 94
Measuring Lab p. 95
3D visionp.
96
VB Labp. 97
Quality Systemp. 98
Consortia and Spin-offsp. 101
Consortia p. 102
Italcertiferp. 102
MUSPp. 103
Spin-Offsp. 104
TIVETp. 104
MCMp. 105
ISS – Innovative Security Solutions p. 105
SmartMechanical-Companyp. 106
E-Co p. 107
Teaching Activitiesp. 108
Bachelorp. 110
Master of Sciencep. 110
Ph.D. Programme on Mechanical Engineering
p. 111
Lifelong Learningp. 113
Contactsp. 113
Preface
The Politecnico di Milano is a scientific-technological university that trains engineers, architects and
designers. Over 1,200 lecturers and researchers are operative at its Milano-Leonardo, Milano-Bovisa,
Como, Lecco, Cremona, Mantova and Piacenza campuses, attended by 40,000 students.
Since its inception, the Politecnico di Milano has focused on the quality and innovation of its
educational methods and research, developing an ongoing, fruitful relationship with the economic
and productive realities of the country through experimental research and the transfer of technological
know-how. Research, increasingly linked to education, is a priority commitment that allows the
Politecnico di Milano to achieve important results on an international level and to serve as a meeting
point between the university and industries.
One of the most active bodies of the Politecnico di Milano is the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Since 1951 the Department of Mechanical Engineering has been rated one of the top scientific
institutions both at Italian and European level.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering has about a hundred members of academic staff, forty
members in technical and administrative staff, sixty PhD students, as well as 120 temporary research
staff.
With its state-of-the-art technological infrastructure and
research facilities, broad theoretical, methodological
and technological knowledge, international reputation
and successful alumni, the overall mission of the
Department of Mechanical Engineering is to deliver
world-class research and education in Mechanical
Engineering, with particular regard to their application
in industrial sectors, such as energy, transportation,
sustainable mobility and advanced manufacturing.
■
Map of the Politecnico di Milano campuses
2
3
■
The Department’s research activity includes the areas of: system dynamics, road vehicles, product
design, manufacturing technologies and production systems, measurements and product and
material development methods.
Basic research, applied research and innovation are thus key departmental activities. In fact, a
network consisting of over 250 companies acts as a strategic partner for the development of research.
Competitive research projects, as well as those related to product innovation and services, are
developed, accounting for approximately EUR 7 million per year, of which 70% comes from the private
industrial sector and 30% from public funding (National Ministries and European Community).
The Department believes that the excellence of its laboratories plays a key role in the quality of the
research. The facilities in its laboratories are continuously enhanced through significant investments.
Additionally, spin-off companies of the Politecnico di Milano were created for the technological transfer
of the results of research performed by the Department.
Basic research saw the involvement of the Department prevalently in Europe, with active participation
in various Community programmes in all those border subjects in which the methodologies and
technologies inherent in Mechanical Engineering can and must give their contribution to sectors such
as sustainable mobility, energy efficiency, smart materials and virtualization.
In this context the Department is involved in the provision of teaching programmes for the attainment
of B.Sc, M.Sc and PhD degrees in all sectors of Industrial and Design Engineering.
The words of Karl Fisch:
“We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist . . .
using technologies that haven’t been invented . . .
in order to solve problems that we don’t even know are problems yet.”
sum up the guidelines of the Department whose mission is teaching through the use of educational
projects that combine the necessary methodological skills with suitable in-laboratory preparation.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, new facilities
5
Since 1863...
The Politecnico di Milano is Italy’s leading university for Engineering,
Architecture and Design. Founded in 1863 by a group of scholars and
entrepreneurs belonging to prominent Milanese families with the purpose
of forging a new generation of executives in a young but rapidly growing
economy, our Alma Mater continues to be the driving force behind social
and economic innovation and growth.
Over the years the most eminent professors have
included the mathematician Francesco Brioschi
(first Director), Luigi Cremona and Giulio Natta
(Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963). Among
our most distinguished alumni we can mention
Giovan Battista Pirelli, who founder of the Pirelli
company, and Giò Ponti, an internationally
acclaimed architect.
In Italy, the term “Politecnico” means a
state university offering study programmes
in Engineering Architecture and Industrial
Design. Nowadays, the Politecnico di Milano is
organised into 12 Departments and a network
of 6 Schools, spread out over 7 campuses in the
Lombardy region, with central administration
and management. The Schools are devoted to
education whereas the Departments are devoted
to research.
The educational policy of the Politecnico di
Milano consists in offering different curricula
tailored to suit the needs of the region,
considered one of most developed industrial
areas in Europe.
Overall, approximately 40,000 students are
enrolled at the University, thus making the
Politecnico di Milano the largest institution in
Italy for Engineering, Architecture and Industrial
Design.
The Politecnico di Milano is now ranked as one
of the most outstanding European universities
not only in Engineering, Architecture and
Industrial Design but also in many other
disciplines and is regarded as a leading research
institution worldwide.
In recent years, the Politecnico di Milano has
also strived to develop numerous projects in
collaboration with leading European, American
and Asian Universities. Our Institution offers
a three-year first-level degree (Bachelor of
Science), a two-year second-level degree (Master
of Science), a Ph.D. program and various oneyear post-degree specialization degrees. All these
initiatives are constantly adapted to suit a rapidly
changing industrial and scientific scenario, to
facilitate technological transfer and to help our
graduates feel comfortable in their transition
from University to the working world.
The Politecnico di Milano works in close
cooperation with numerous industrial partners,
as we believe that the alliance between academia
and industry is not only crucial for research, but
also lends credence to our teaching activities.
Our University has always strived for quality and
innovation in teaching methodologies, and has
done so in close collaboration with both foreign
and domestic institutions. In fact, our research
activity constantly influences our teaching and it
is this very link that has allowed the Politecnico
di Milano to achieve top-level scientific results.
6
7
History of the Department of Mechanical Engineering
In order to have a better understanding of how the current Department
of Mechanical Engineering and its organization into research lines came
into being, it is necessary to go back fifty years, when, in the centenary
celebration book, the question was already under debate:
“In recent years, the Faculty has taken steps
to encompass the Institutes and course
subjects of the same degree course, the
aim being to constitute units capable of
heralding the establishment of just as many
university departments, aimed at creating
separate Politecnico di Milano schools ı.”
ı
Politecnico di Milano, Il centenario del
Politecnico di Milano 1863-1963, Milano, ed. fc,
1964
■
An office in the Machine Design Institute
Historical Roots
Hence, in 1951, the Institute of Mechanical
Engineering and the Construction of
Machinery was established with the merging
of three sections (group of lecturers) which
had, until that time, been separate entities.
The first of these sections encompassed the
lecturers of Meccanica Applicata alle Macchine
(Applied Mechanics), whose subjects had
been taught to the students of Industrial
Engineering during the compulsory course
of Meccanica Industriale e Disegno di Macchine
(Machine Design and Industrial Mechanics)
held by Prof. Giuseppe Colombo. As time
went by, the name of the subject matter
changed several times (in the academic year
1880/1881 the subject of thermodynamics
was added) together with its position
within the study course. In 1914-15 the
lecture course was finally named Meccanica
Applicata alle Macchine (Applied Mechanics).
Prof. Giuseppe Colombo was Rector of
the “Istituto tecnico superiore di Milano”
(former name of Politecnico di Milano)
from 1897 to 1921. In 1921 the role of
Rector was assumed by prof. Cesare
Saldini, who had also been full professor
of Mechanical Technology since 1899 and
emeritus professor since 1921.
■
Machine Design Didactic laboratory
Following the nomination of Prof. Ottorino
Sesini to the chair of the Institute of
Mechanical Engineering in 1935, the
teaching programme was changed.
The subject of thermodynamics was
eliminated – becoming the subject of other
courses – and particular emphasis was
placed on the kinematics and dynamics of
machinery.
The second group of lecturers were
teaching the subjects of machine design.
These topics had been initially taught
during the lecture course given by Prof.
Colombo, but then from 1875/76 the
lectures of Elementi delle Macchine (Machine
Elements) became the subject of a separate
course with the institution of a chair initially
tenured by Prof. Giuseppe Ponzio. In 1895,
the name of the course was changed to
Costruzione delle Macchine (Machine Design).
On the death of Prof. Ponzio in 1908 the
course was taken over first by Prof. Federigo
Giordano and subsequently, during
■
The first Machine Design laboratory
the post Second World War period, by
Prof. Italo Bertolini.
The third group of lecturers were dealing
with another subject. In 1870, Prof.
Giuseppe Colombo decided that it was
worth instituting a lecture course, where first
year students could learn the morphology
of machine elements together with their
graphical representation, before addressing
the dimensioning of machine elements and
their dynamics in the other courses.
The chair of Mechanical Design and
Drawing was then so instituted.
Recent History
In 1951, as previously mentioned, the three
Institutes that offered the above mentioned
courses merged, giving life to one of the first
Italian multi-subject Institutes under the
directorship of Prof. Ottorino Sesini,
who held this position until his retirement
in 1961-62, when it was taken over by
Prof. Italo Bertolini who held the position
until 1969.
The departments of Automotive
Construction and Agricultural Mechanics
– falling under the umbrella of the same
study course – together with Technologies
and Industrial Plants, became a part of the
Institute and were directed by
Prof. Antongiulio Dornig, nominated
director of the institute, following the
retirement of Prof. Bertolini.
In the meantime, in 1965, most of the
Institute had moved to a new building
referred to as “la nave” (the ship), situated in
Via Bonardi. The new location meant that
there was now more space, especially for the
Facts, Figures,
Structure and Perspective
8
laboratories, thus serving as the first example
of a modern, efficient economy of scale.
At the end of the three year period,
the directorship was handed over to
Prof. Giovanni Bianchi who was
subsequently succeeded, for two mandates,
by Prof. Emilio Massa until his election to
President of the School of Engineering in
1980, when Prof. Bianchi was once again
asked to complete the remainder of the
three year mandate.
Following the entry into force of law no. 382
of 1980, it was finally possible to implement
the long-awaited departmental structure
to which reference had been made in the
centenary book published fifteen years
earlier. Prof. Dornig was elected director of
the Department of Mechanical Engineering
and it was, in fact, under his aegis that
the somewhat complex transition to
administrative autonomy took place, being
finally completed under the auspices of
Prof. Andrea Capello, who served as its new
director during the three-year academic
period between 1984-1987. The transition
was finally completed following the
appointment of Prof. Giuseppe Bernasconi
to director for the three-year academic
period between 1987-1990, an appointment
that he was unable to complete due to his
failing health. In 1989, he was replaced by
Vice-director, Prof. Giorgio Diana, who was
also re-elected for the next three-year period
from 1992 to 1995 and who started the
process of the Department’s move to
the new Bovisa campus.
The task of organizing and implementing
the Department’s move to the Bovisa
campus fell first to Prof. Sergio Sirtori (1995
– 1998) and subsequently to his successor,
The opening ceremony of the new building
of the Department of Mechanical Engineering
in the Bovisa Campus (2008)
■
Prof. Marzio Falco (1998-2001). In fact,
it was at the Bovisa campus that the
IV School of Engineering (Scuola
di Ingegneria Industriale) was established,
thus marking the creation of those
“separate Politecnico di Milano Schools”
clearly envisaged seven years earlier.
However, misfortune struck once again
when the director of the Department,
Prof. Falco, died after a long illness.
In 2000/2001, Prof. Giorgio Diana was
called in to complete the task started by his
colleague, bringing it full cycle during the
next two mandates which lasted until 2007
when he was forced to resign following
the entry into force of new laws which
prevented him from performing different
institutional roles. During these years,
the Department opened new laboratory
facilities and a wind tunnel and increased its
participation in European Union research
projects. The research budget boosted the
Department to the top-level ranking which
it still holds today.
Prof. Diana was succeeded by Prof.
Ferruccio Resta who opened the new head
office. The Department then went on to
inaugurate new laboratories (Mechatronics,
Micromechanics). In 2008, based on an
international peer review of the Politecnico
di Milano, the Department of Mechanical
Engineering obtained one of the highest
ratings in the overall ranking.
10
11
The vision behind our development and organization is that top-level
research in Mechanical Engineering is based on the excellence of
experimental skills, modern laboratories and specialised equipment
together with an adequate number of research staff. In particular, our
permanent staff (98 resources) are currently working on research and R&D
projects in collaboration with 50% of our PhD students, while an additional
40% of temporary research assistants have been hired for specific projects,
with an allocated lab space of approx. 35 sq.m. per person. Administrative
and technical services are guaranteed by a service staff of more than 40
people.
K€
8000
7000
6000
Research Budget
5000
The research budget comes from different
sources, the biggest contribution are the R&D
projects with private companies (approx. 75%)
followed by EU projects.
3000
Staff
Professors and researchers
98
Technical staff
26
Administrative staff
18
Research assistants
51
PhD students
58
Our presence and success on the
competitive ‘research market’ is also
based on scientific visibility and a solid
international presence. The full-time
researchers and academic staff are
committed to a high level of scientific
production with the publication of papers
in ISI or Scopus journals (a total of 377
in the past four years) and widespread
participation at international conferences
(a total of 915 papers have been presented
over the past four years). Furthermore,
EU projects
Private
Teaching
Public
The staff of the Department of Mechanical Engineering
Scientific Production
This development, supported in a virtuous loop by R&D projects, is the backbone of our success
in competitive funding, thus making us one of the biggest Departments of Mechanical Engineering
in Europe boasting both critical mass and top-level competencies in different research areas.
9000
■
4000
2000
1000
over the past four years, 17 international
and 20 national patents have been filed by
members of the department. In addition
to publishing, departmental staff sit on
the board of 13 international journals and
scientific societies. Between 2009-2010,
the full-time staff received as many as 12
international awards for scientific activity.
Particular emphasis is placed on the
scientific output of young researchers:
since 2005, special awards have been
yearly given to the top researchers, i.e.
those boasting the highest number of
publications.
Year
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
0
Year
2011
2010
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
k€ 2817
k€ 3682
k€ 3869
k€ 4335
k€ 5299
k€ 5843
k€ 5718
k€ 4467
k€ 1042
k€ 1299
k€ 749
k€ 1024
k€ 710
k€ 1166
k€ 1453
k€ 1227
EU
k€ 414
k€ 655
k€ 593
k€ 306
k€ 519
k€ 626
k€ 1338
k€ 309
Public
k€ 295
k€ 238
k€ 232
k€ 204
k€ 130
k€ 87
k€ 111
k€ 53
Teaching
k€ 4569
k€ 5875
k€ 5444
k€ 5870
k€ 6658
k€ 7722
k€ 8621
k€ 6056
Total
2009
Private
Natl. Conferences
Int. Conferences
2008
ISI/Scopus Journals
2007
2006
Number of papers
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
12
13
Organization & Management
The academic staff of the Department of Mechanical Engineering are organised into 6 research
lines corresponding to the main groups of subjects offered in the curricula:
■ Dynamics and Vibrations;
■ Machine and Vehicle Design;
■ Manufacturing and Production Systems;
■ Materials;
■ Measurements;
■ Methods and Tools for Product Design.
HEAD OFFICE
The various research lines, coordinated by
a leader, deal with research activities and
coordinate the teaching activities for courses
falling under the umbrella of the same
discipline.
The council, comprised by all the members
of the academic staff, together with a
delegation of PhD students and technicaladministrative personnel, discusses and
approves the administrative acts and
deliberates upon the assignment of
RL Methods and Tools
for Product Design
RL Measurements
RL Materials
Scientific Committee
RL Manufacturing and
Production Systems
RL Machine
and Vehicle Design
RL Dynamics
and Vibration
COUNCIL
Board
resources and strategies proposed by the
Scientific Committee.
The Head of the Department is responsible
for administrative management and the
management of services and is supported
by the Department Scientific Committee.
The Head of the Scientific Committee
is responsible for strategic management.
The Head of the Department is the legal
representative of the Department, dealing
not only with all administrative and
institutional matters but also with research
contracts. Furthermore, the Director
is also responsible for implementing
the deliberations made by members of
the board, for coordinating the various
administrative acts necessary for the
research and educational activities of the
research lines and for the supervision of
departmental services. The Director is also
personally responsible for putting forward
the motions proposed by the Department at
Academic Senate meetings.
The Department Board, consisting of
members of the academic staff and
personnel responsible for Departmental
services, a Deputy Director and an
Administrative Manager, prepares the
budget, implements and develops the
various deliberations made by members
of the board and coordinates the strategic
services of the Department (educational
curricula, handouts and website).
The Scientific Committee, coordinated
by a chairman, is constituted by one
representative per research line as well
as a director and a deputy director.
The Scientific Committee is responsible for
harmonizing various research activities;
it proposes the allocation of resources
among the research lines, assesses planning
and the research results of the various
research lines and prepares an annual
summary of the Department’s scientific
output.
Prospects
Despite the attempts made on an
International level (The Future of
Mechanical Engineering 2028, ASME),
it still remains difficult to give a long-term
forecast of the evolution of the world of
research with which the Department of
Mechanical Engineering should interact,
even though it is possible to share several
areas of common focus:
•the world of mechanical engineering
is continually evolving towards hybrid
scenarios thanks to the continual influx
of contributions from related sectors;
•research, in the specific areas of mechanics,
is increasingly associated with similar,
interdisciplinary themes such as sustainable
mobility, transport, energy, materials and
design.
•technologies and methodologies are
continually evolving and, as a consequence,
so are their applications.
Examples of these changes are: the evolution
of the Automotive world with hybrid traction
systems; the evolution of machines towards
mechatronic systems; the evolution of
metallic materials to composite and smart
materials and of working processes to ecocompatible and energy efficient production
systems right up to continuous and systematic
product innovation.
Even the research market, against which
the Department is continually forced
to match itself, changes on a daily basis.
Now that the European Community
has become a key player and European
industry holds an extra weapon in terms
14
of innovation, new developing realities are
increasingly becoming the order of the day.
Within this context, the Department of
Mechanical Engineering aims at maintaining
its dual role as a research structure and
as teaching, by pursuing its objective of
acting as a reference point in all those
fields constituting mechanical engineering
on a national level; of strengthening
international leadership in several research
sectors in which it excels, of availing itself
of sustainable, efficient and technologically
advanced research laboratories and, finally,
of guaranteeing sustainable and flexible
research in new, unexplored sectors.
To achieve its mission and the goals set,
over the past five years, the Department has
invested in unique, high-quality experimental
laboratories which have enabled it to
establish collaboration programmes with the
private sector and to participate in European
and national research projects, by providing
the tools for basic research.
The Department has thus strengthened its
fund- raising abilities with basic and applied
research projects for over EUR 7 million of
which 70% comes from the private sector
and 30% from the EU and the public
funding. In particular, several key activities
include:
•participation in 24 projects of the Seventh
framework programmes;
•obtainment of financing from the Ministry
of Economic Development for many
projects in the field of Sustainable Mobility,
Energy Efficiency and Made-in-Italy;
15
•successful application to 12 R & D projects
financed by Regione Lombardia in the last
two years;
•establishment of partnerships with
other organisations of the Politecnico
di Milano for projects involving large
Italian and European industries such
as, AgustaWestland, EDF, ENI, ENEL,
PIRELLI and for important infrastructure
projects such as the activation of high speed
railway lines;
•establishment of the first national centre
on railway transportation in partnership
with Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, Trenitalia,
ABB, Ansaldo Breda, Bombardier and
Fondazione Politecnico di Milano (Joint
Research Centre);
•participation in various projects financed
by the Regione Lombardia and Emilia
Romagna.
Furthermore, the Department of Mechanical
Engineering has upgraded activities related
to technological transfer and the promotion
of research, with participation in privatelyowned consortiums (Italcertifer with the
companies of the FS group and MUSP with
the main industrial realities in the machine
tool sector); additionally, five spin –offs
(T.I.Ve.T, MCM, ISS, SmatMechanicalCompany and E-Co) have been established.
Over the past few years, the Department has
invested in the growth and training of young
researchers thanks to the internal financing
of “Young Researcher” projects such as:
•SMILE: Shape Memory alloy Integration
in Light weight thin Elements. The use
of SMA for light composites with a high
damping (SMILE). The aim of the project
is to develop a new concept composite
material characterised by a high damping/
weight coefficient ratio. The composite
consists of a polymeric matrix and a thin
sheet of shape memory material, suitably
micro-worked using a “mesh” geometry
and drowned in the matrix.
•Hy-LAP: The mechanical behaviour of
hybrid joints of thin sheets in a light alloy.
The project is based on the
characterisation, the micrographic analysis
and the static and fatigue mechanical
behaviour of hybrid joints obtained by
means of ultrasound welding and the
gluing of light alloy sheets.
•PhoCUs: Study of a concentration
photovoltaic system for urban environments
and the creation of a reduced prototype.
The idea is to create a modular component
based on Fresnel lenses (or similar lenses
with a low visual impact) that allows for the
development, even in urban environments,
of high-efficiency photovoltaic systems
using multijoint cells of spatial derivation.
•LODYNA: Creation of a dynamometric
scale with Bragg Fibres in a composite
material. The aim of the project is the
design of a dynamometric scale featuring
high mechanical characteristics (in terms
of an optimum stiffness/density ratio
with respect to metallic alloys) and good
measurement performance (fewer signal
measurement disturbances, especially
in aggressive environments and an
advantageous cost/channel ratio).
•Modelling, design and control of
Eddy Current Separation systems
(ECS) for car scrap recycling:
Recycling of End-of-Life Vehicles is
becoming more and more important due
to environmental aspects, legislation and
due to concerns about the availability of
16
Research Activities
scarce materials. Therefore, there is need
to increase the efficiency of separation
processes (recovery and grade) for complex
material mixtures. This project focuses on
the Eddy Current Separation technique for
separating non-ferrous
metal from non-metal particles
in recycling systems. A multi-body,
multi-particle simulation model of the
process is developed that is able to simulate
inter-particle interactions and impacts that
typically decrease the separation efficiency.
•Self sensing and Self actuating
Composite Structures: The aim of the
project is to study, develop and demonstrate
the technological feasibility of composite
smart structures with embedded sensors
and integrated actuation. Main application
areas of research are those of mechanics,
structures and vehicles.
•Sure3D: Reliability and uncertainty of 3D
vision-based measurements. The main goal
of this project is to develop a technique
to quickly and reliably quantify the
uncertainty in 3D vision-based measuring
systems in the full working volume; the
final aim is to improve the measuring
performances of such devices.
Tests to quantify the distribution of the uncertainty
of 3D vision-based systems
■
•Dynamic and fatigue life
characterisation of hyperelastic and
viscoelastic materials: hyperelasic and
viscoelastic materials (rubber like materials)
have a very complex behaviour both in
terms of dynamical response and of fatigue
life. This research project aims to realise a
testing device able to perform dynamic and
fatigue tests on such materials in uniaxial
and multiaxial strain conditions in the
frequency range between 0 and 50 Hz.
The tests will provide valuable data in order
to better understand the behaviour of such
materials.
■
Examples of fatigue failure for hybrid lap joints obtained by ultrasonic spot welding and adhesive bonding
■
The “Formula Student” vehicle during a competition
Last but not least, the Department also
offers ongoing support to its students not
only through teaching activities involving the
continuous use of experimental laboratories
but also through initiatives such as Formula
Student and the Shell Eco Marathon.
18
19
The research staff is organised into 6 different research lines, which
refer to the 6 main disciplines taught at the Department. Governance
and coordination of the different areas and the scientific strategy of the
Department is managed by the Director with the support of a Scientific
Committee, while the different RLs are autonomous in terms of fundraising and research strategy/opportunities.
■ Dynamics and Vibrations;
■ Machine and Vehicle Design;
■ Manufacturing and Production ■ Materials;
■ Measurements;
■ Methods and Tools
Systems;
for Product Design.
Dynamics and Vibration
The research line “Dynamics and
Vibrations” focuses attention on the linear
and non-linear dynamic behaviour of
mechanical systems and machines. Problems
addressed include mechanical vibrations
and stability, active and semi-active
control of mechanical systems, condition
monitoring and diagnostics of machinery
and vehicles, fluid-structure interaction
problems and the dynamics of rotating
and reciprocating machines.
The approach to these problems is based on
the integration of advanced modelling and
simulation techniques, e.g. multi-body/finite
element methods, as well as experiments
performed either using cutting-edge
laboratory facilities, such as the lowturbulence & boundary layer wind tunnel,
or directly in the field.
The research line is split into five main
research groups:
• Mechatronics and Smart Structures:
deals with the active and semi-active
control of mechanical systems, smart
and embedded systems, Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) (both
actuators and sensors) and energy
harvesting devices, innovative robotic
applications;
• Rail vehicle dynamics: deals with
the study of dynamics, vibration, safety,
damage, condition-based monitoring
and active control in railway vehicles
and in the railway infrastructure;
• Road vehicle dynamics: deals with
vehicle dynamics (performance, comfort,
handling, aerodynamics), vehicle passive
and active controls, tyres, hybrid/electric
vehicles;
• Rotordynamics: deals with the
dynamics, vibration, condition monitoring
and diagnostic problems of rotating
machines;
• Wind Engineering: deals with fluidinduced vibration and fluid structure
interaction, including the aerodynamics
and aeroelasticity of long span bridges and
tall buildings and the aerodynamics of sails,
vehicles and wind turbines;
all of which are at the leading edge of
international state-of-art in their respective
fields.
Future research trends will be directed
towards developing lighter, smarter, more
reliable and more environmentally friendly
machines / vehicles and, more specifically,
towards the theme of energy production,
with particular emphasis on new
technologies for wind turbines and energy
harvesting devices and the enhancement
of performances of rotating machinery in
power plants, condition monitoring and
diagnostics.
This multidisciplinary approach allows
innovative research to be carried out from
a truly mechatronic point of view and to
cooperate fruitfully with other research
areas. For presentation purposes,
the research subjects can be divided into
four main topics:
■ Innovative Drives and Sensors
The focus is on simulation, design and
production of drives and sensors boasting
innovative features and performance
standards (such as high voltage and/or high
performances and/or high efficiency), based
on the use of new and smart materials,
having micro and nano dimensions.
In addition, innovative convertors, converter
topologies and modulation strategies,
distributed generation policies and related
control strategies are also investigated.
Mechatronics and Smart Structures
The Research Group “Mechatronics and
Smart Structures” deals with subjects
ranging from the dynamics of active and
semi-active mechanical systems to the
adopted drives and the necessary electronic
control boards, from control logics to sensor
and actuation technologies, from the design
of sensor nodes to the realisation of fully
actuated smart structures and intelligent
robotics.
Calibration of a custom data logger
for ski applications with an integrated
9 dof IMU platform and four load cells
using a miniaturised Stewart platform.
■
20
■ Smart Structures
and Systems
Further improvements in terms
of performance, safety, LCC
and reliability of mechanical
systems may be obtained by
transforming these systems
into mechatronic ones. Thus,
research focuses both on the
development of innovative
control algorithms, in presence
of concentrated/distributed
sensors and actuators, and on
the re-design of traditional
systems with integrated sensing and
intelligence.
For this purpose, wireless sensor nodes for
monitoring as well as smart fully integrated
actuators for active vibration damping of
slender and low damped components/
structures have been developed. Research
is also carried out on energy harvesting
devices of various natures (mechanical,
electro-dynamic, piezoelectric, etc.) in order
to provide the energy required by these
sensors and actuators.
■ Robotics
Self-assembling, self-optimising, self-learning
and fault tolerant autonomous systems
and cooperating robots are studied both
theoretically through numerical models
and experimentally through in-field tests.
This expertise, obtained in over 30 years
of activity, is applied to several applications
ranging from space robots (e.g. the Ladyfly
project), to environmental protection
projects (e.g. Cleanwings system for
automated intelligent bins) and safety robots
21
Rail Vehicle Dynamics
■
Instrumented rowing ergometer for improved training
(e.g. the DeeDee system). Also low cost
robotic platforms for the interaction with
human workers are being investigated
and tested.
Sports and Biomechanics
The know-how gained in simulation
(multibody approach), design (structural
response of composite materials) and testing
(aerodynamic behaviour tested in the wind
tunnel) is fully exploited when it comes to
optimise sports devices and materials as well
as the athlete’s posture, motion and training.
Combining this know-how with
the knowledge gained in the field of
robotics, frontier research is being carried
out in the field of human – machine
interface and interaction (ergonomics),
both from a hardware and software point
of view: new designs and new products
are being developed for exoskeletons,
artificial limbs and organs for the functional
rehabilitation of disabled people as well as
for capability enhancement.
■
The Railway Dynamics unit carries out
research on the dynamic behaviour of
railway vehicles and their interaction with
the infrastructure. Research is targeted
at the dynamics, vibration and durability
problems of railway vehicles and their
interaction with the infrastructure.
Theoretical investigation is backed by
extensive use of laboratory and field testing
facilities.
Research links have been established
with some of the leading research groups
worldwide. The research group also benefits
from interaction with and funding from
some of the main industrial stakeholders
in Italy and Europe and took part in 18
research projects funded by the EC within
the last three Framework Programmes (FP5
to FP7). The group is also involved in the
activities of the Joint Research Centre (JRC)
on railway transport, an industry-academia
cooperation established by Fondazione
Politecnico in 2008, bringing together a
number of key national and international
companies in the field of railway transport.
Research is currently being conducted in
five main areas:
■
Wheel flange climb tests performed on
the BU300 roller rig at Lucchini
Mathematical modelling and the
experimental investigation of rail vehicle running dynamics and train-track
interaction
Innovative approaches to the study of
rail vehicle running dynamics and traintrack-bridge interaction are introduced.
Mathematical modelling research addresses
the detailed description of vehicle and track
flexibility effects and improved models for
wheel-rail contact and for wheel and rail
wear. Simulation methods were validated
by comparisons with line measurements on
vehicles of different classes and on a full
scale roller rig, including one of the very few
published full scale experiments on wheelset
derailment. In this area, a researcher from
the group co-authored an invited
State-of-the-Art paper presented
at the IAVSD 2011 Symposium.
■
22
■ Pantograph-catenary interaction
The unit holds a world leading position
in the modelling and simulation of
pantograph-catenary interaction.
Work in this area included the participation
to the FP6 EUROPAC project and
the FP7 Pantotrain project, involving
the development of new modelling
techniques and hardware-in-the-loop hybrid
simulation. The research group has recently
promoted an international benchmark on
the simulation of pantograph-catenary
interaction, which sees the participation
of 13 universities and research centres
across 3 continents. Research work also
covers electrical and tribological issues
in pantograph-catenary contact, a major
research instrument being the full-scale
test bench for pantograph-catenary
contact which simulates contact between
the pantograph and the contact wire
under variable mechanical and electrical
conditions, i.e. contact force, sliding speed
and electrical current flow.
High speed pantograph aerodynamics is
also investigated, with intensive use
of the PoliMi wind tunnel.
23
Scheme of the condition-based monitoring system installed on the ETR500 Y1 experimental train
■
■ Mechatronics of railway vehicles
Active control applications are studied as a
means to improve rail vehicle performance,
safety and ride quality. Focus is set on the
active suspension control to improve vehicle
stability and curving behaviour, active
control of airspring secondary suspensions,
active steering and active pantograph
control. In this field, researchers from
the Railway Dynamics unit co-authored
invited State-of-the-Art papers presented
at the IAVSD 2007 Symposium and at the
Railway 2012 Conference.
Condition monitoring and diagnostics
of railway vehicles and tracks
The research group has been involved in
an extensive research project targeted at
the homologation and condition based
monitoring of the Italian high-speed
network. Furthermore, within the context of
the JRC activities, three research projects,
dealing with the monitoring of traction
equipment, pantograph diagnostics and
the early detection of instability based on
bogie vibration measurements, are currently
under way.
■
Hardware-in-the-Loop test rig
for pantograph-catenary interaction
■
■ Aerodynamics in railway vehicles
Research on this topic deals with various
aerodynamic effects on high-speed trains.
Research entails the use of the LowTurbulence & Boundary-Layer WindTunnel and of advanced Computational
Fluid Dynamics simulation techniques.
Researchers from the group have also been
involved in investigations on a European
level to revise the Technical Specifications
for Interoperability. In this field, a
researcher from the Railway Dynamics
research group has co-authored an invited
State-of-the-Art paper presented
at the IAVSD 2009 Symposium.
Road Vehicle Dynamics
The Research Group on road vehicles
deals with the modelling and experimental
analysis of passenger cars, heavy vehicles,
farm tractors and motorcycles exploring
both mechanical and electronic aspects.
Research links have been established with
important automotive companies. The
research is organised into five application
topics.
■ Vehicle modelling and testing
Several numerical Multi-Body models
were developed using both commercial
codes and general purpose software for
vehicle dynamic simulation, allowing the
optimization of performance, handling and
ride comfort as well as the design of new
actively controlled subsystems.
In particular, a 14 degrees-of-freedom
real-time car model (including a race driver
model) was developed for Hardware-Inthe-Loop simulations and Rapid Control
Prototyping. Moreover, a model of a
heavy vehicle was developed to evaluate
load spectra on axles, tyre wear and the
effect of sloshing. Models of farm tractors
were implemented considering the soil
deformability.
Innovative models of subsystems (braking
system, hydraulic power steering system,
power train, bushing, semi-active dampers)
were also developed and integrated within
vehicle models.
All simulation models were validated
through comparison with experimental
data using the indoor and outdoor facilities
of the Department. Among these, an
instrumented vehicle (dynamometric hubs,
braking pressure transducers, inertial
gyroscopic platform, vehicle speed and
sideslip angle optical sensor, dynamometric
steering wheel and accelerometers) was
set up for full scale tests, a Hardware-Inthe-Loop test bench was developed to
investigate performance of ABS and ESP
control units and ad hoc test benches were
designed and built to analyse the behaviour
of vehicle subsystems. For motorcycles, an
innovative measuring system was set up
to assess the relative movements between
driver and bike.
■ Tyre modelling and testing
Thanks to a long lasting cooperation with
Pirelli Tyre, a 3D rigid ring tyre model was
developed for both comfort and handling
analyses also accounting for the contact
patch dynamics. Several experimental
indoor and outdoor tests were performed to
validate it. In order to be able to correctly
predict both passive and active vehicle
performances, the tyre model was integrated
24
into different vehicle models. A further
development of the model is presently
underway to be able to better predict F1
tyre behaviour.
A deformable tyre model was implemented
to be able to predict the dynamics of
agricultural vehicles taking into account
the tread pattern design and the soil
deformation.
Two projects (Cyber Wheel and Cyber
Tyre in cooperation with Pirelli Tyre) were
carried out with the aim of turning the
tyre into a sensor to provide active control
systems with additional information. Several
algorithms were developed and patented
to estimate contact forces, grip margin and
hydroplaning risk.
Aerodynamics
The aerodynamics of several heavy vehicles
(high sided lorry, tractor and semi-trailer
combination, tanked truck) have been
studied within the WEATHER EU Project
(in collaboration with the Universities
of Birmingham and Nottingham). The
overturning risk associated with cross wind
has been studied by means of numerical
multibody - CFD coupled simulations as
well as experimental tests performed in the
wind tunnel of Politecnico di Milano where
different atmospheric boundary layers
and scenarios were reproduced.
25
Vectoring control logic was designed to
enhance vehicle performance; semi-active
dampers were employed to improve ride
comfort, while active camber control and
suspensions with active kinematics were
developed to enhance vehicle handling
performance. Active suspensions were also
applied to prevent rollover of heavy vehicles
induced by cross wind and sloshing.
Rotordynamics
This Research Group focuses on general
problems inherent to real rotating
machinery and traces an ideal path that:
■
■ Active control systems
Actively controlled subsystems were
designed and developed aimed at improving
vehicle stability, performance and ride
comfort: a semi-active differential (currently
equipping F430) was developed in
cooperation with Ferrari. A Brake Torque
■ Hybrid / electric vehicles
Researchers have been involved and are
presently working on several projects and
activities with hybrid/ electric vehicles:
optimisation of delivery management
with electric commercial vehicles in
Milan, hybridisation of a city car and of
a commercial 3.5 ton van (from design
to prototype), modelling and energy flow
analysis in high performance hybrid cars
and heavy duty operating machines and the
study of full electric retrofit for Alfa Mito.
In this research field different international
patents were issued.
•starts with the mechanical design of the
rotor and its related components;
Fully instrumented vehicle for testing innovative control logics
■
■
Roller Bearing failure
■
Rotor of an industrial steam turbine
•passes through the set-up of the machine
and related start-up problems;
•continues with condition monitoring
of the machine;
•eventually ends with the diagnosis and
identification of possible faults, with special
attention being paid to the early detection
of faults.
This general approach is devoted to
discovering methods and models that
are, in any case, related to both real and
industrial applications, with follow-up of
the experimental validation of the theory.
The use of specially designed test-rigs or
actual case studies and data obtained from
industrial partners usually means that
validation is based on well-grounded data.
Furthermore, it is also worth pointing out
that the test-rigs employed and described
hereinafter are of a fairly large scale and
designed to simulate the behaviour of either
real machines or real components.
26
Test rig for static and dynamic characterization
of journal bearings
■
In order to cover the topics of the research
line, four main research themes are
operative:
•simulation of the dynamic behaviour of
industrial rotating machines;
• identification and diagnosis of industrial
rotating machines and their components;
• condition monitoring of industrial rotating
machines;
• dynamic behaviour of rotating machine
components, such as roller and oil-film
bearing, blades etc.
27
Thanks to the support of industrial partners
producing rotating machinery and their
components, great expertise has been
gained with various design problems and
different types of motors, turbines for power
generation (hydraulic, steam and gas) or
special high-speed machines, such as multishaft geared compressors, turbo-molecular
pumps or atomizers. In all these cases,
simulation models and specific software
tools have been successfully developed
and industrially tested.
Conversely, with partners involved in
the use of rotating machinery, operating
problems have been investigated among
which effective condition monitoring is the
most important in order to avoid impending
failures or malfunctions (which, in some
cases, could be potentially catastrophic or
very dangerous) or, in the event of a failure
or malfunction occurring, to quickly identify
and repair it.
These two requirements are a valid reason
to create a service system dealing with
condition monitoring, bearing diagnostics,
balancing and on-site problem solving based
on individual customer requirements, the
aim being to define specific alarm criteria
and to develop a model based method for
fault identification, mainly in the frequency
domain. Not only does this method have
the advantage of identifying the type
of fault but also its severity (such as, for
example, unbalance or crack depth) as well
as location along the shaft-line (e.g. which
bearing suffered a failure or which sealing
is too tight or badly assembled thus causing
friction when the machine is subjected
to critical speeds during run-ups
or coast-downs).
Wind Engineering
Research on “Wind Engineering” is one
of the cornerstones of the Department of
Mechanical Engineering. Initiated in 1970
by Prof. Giorgio Diana it focuses on cables,
suspension bridges and wind-induced
dynamics. A major advance was recently
made thanks to unique opportunities offered
by the “Low-Turbulence & Boundary-Layer
Wind-Tunnel”, facility realised through
the key role of the Department’s Wind Eng.
Research Group. The wide spectrum of
experimental applications offered by the
Wind Tunnel (buildings and large structures,
trains, vehicles, sails and high Reynolds
Number base research) resulted also in
the development of new research topics.
The strength of the Research Group is
the availability of a top-class experimental
facility combined with the Department’s
strong tradition in numerical modelling
of structure and systems dynamics.
The combined experimental-numerical
approach allows original contributions,
recognised at international level, to be
provided in a multidisciplinary approach to
Wind Engineering applied to the fields of
Structure Dynamics, Mechanical Systems
Vibrations, Vehicle System Dynamics and
Sailboats design.
The research is focused on developing
powerful numerical models allowing for
predictive analysis of wind-structure
interaction problems, always supported
by experimental validation. The CFD
approach is also a research branch
■ Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel tests
on Cable-Stayed bridge aeroelastic model
(Forth Replacement Crossing)
of increasing interest, focused on the
physical insight and parametric analysis
of the experimental approach. Finally,
the reliability of predictive numerical
simulations is always validated by specific
wind-tunnel procedures and full scale
testing.
The Research Group is organised into six
application topics:
Bridge Wind Engineering:
the most significant example is the
aerodynamic design of the Messina
Suspension Bridge. Predictive simulation
of bridge dynamics and stability due
to turbulent wind relying on innovative
numerical approaches based on and
validated by experimental Wind-Tunnel
■
28
techniques. Internationally recognised
originality and effectiveness of innovative
aerodynamic solutions and research
approaches proposed for super long span
bridges already applied in state of the art
structures (Stonecutters Bridge deck section,
Hong Kong).
■ Cable Wind Interaction:
internationally recognised know-how
resulting in worldwide extensively used
numerical methods developed to define
wind-induced cable vibrations. The research
team has been responsible for innovative
cable structures wind interaction design,
including the Java-Bali and Gibraltar
undersea crossing, the Yang-Tze and
Orinoco overhead crossing, the LondonEye, etc..
■ Wind Engineering in High Rise Buildings:
state of the art research activities and
expertise in the field of high rise buildings
and large flexible roofs, taking advantage of
a superior Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel
and a well established structure dynamics
expertise.
29
Sailboat testing using the twisted
flow experimental facility
■
high-speed-trains and vehicles in crossflow, resulting in the recent definition
of “Technical Specifications for
Interoperability” (TSI) of international
relevance.
■ Sailboat applications: wind-tunnel tests
on the sails of America’s Cup boats, taking
advantage of unique experimental facilities
(twisted flow) rated among the three most
representative in the world (together with
Auckland and Southampton).
Wind Turbines Aerodynamics:
experimental and numerical CFD LES
approaches taking advantage of fully
controlled scaled model wind turbines
allowing understanding of boundary
layer, wakes and orography effects. An
innovative active real time controlled test
rig is available for simulation of the wavestructure-wind interaction on off-shore wind
turbine models.
■
CFD-Large Eddy
Simulation of wind turbine
- atmospheric boundary
layer interaction
■
Vehicle Wind Interaction:
strong synergies between wind tunnel
experimental techniques and numerical
modelling in road and railway vehicledynamics with advantageous applications
to the critical safety-related problem of
■
High Speed Train aerodynamics: wind tunnel tests of cross-wind effects on a moving vehicle
■
Machine and Vehicle Design
This research area is devoted to advanced
design methods and structural integrity of
mechanical components. These activities
are the subject of important contracts
and grants from European Union.
This research line aims to study both basic
and general topics such as multiaxial low
and high cycle fatigue prediction criteria,
assessment of the structural integrity
of cracked elements, the behaviour of
materials in extreme conditions (low
temperature, impacts), damage of
composite materials and adhesives, with
the integration of advanced design methods
for mechanical systems and components
(metal replacements, automotive
subsystems, railway components,
helicopter components, energy...).
Advanced Design
of Mechanical Components
The field of advanced mechanical
components and machine design involves
a number of different objectives and new
developments: increasing lightness and
reliability, designing customised materials
and reducing environmental impact.
The achievement of all of these goals
involves an in-depth knowledge of new
design methods, optimum use of materials
and of the mechanical behaviour of
materials.
The basic topics developed by thee
Advanced design research group are related
to fracture and /or damage mechanics of
materials, both composite materials (short
and long fibre reinforced polymer matrices)
Fatigue crack propagation in an adhesive
composite joint
■
and special metal alloys and the effect of
surface treatments on the fatigue behaviour
of materials. All these topics are developed
both by means of extensive experimental
investigations – carried out in dedicated
laboratories – and in-depth theoretical
and numerical studies, involving the
development of numerical models.
The advanced design of gears and
mechanical transmissions puts its basis in
these basic studies. The main focus is on
increasing the system reliability, particularly
in order to increase its fatigue life and to
reduce the environmental impact (reduced
noise emissions and higher efficiency).
Noise emissions have been studied by
implementing experimental techniques
to measure transmission errors and noise
emission levels and by developing a software
to predict transmission errors.
The application of fatigue prediction
approaches to composite materials and
adhesive joints for the construction
of mechanical components is another
relevant research topic. Several
30
31
Structural Integrity and Prognostics
■
Fatigue testing of a composite rod
applications are related to this research
field, the construction of a prototype
bus for the European project LITEBUS,
the construction and optimisation
of automotive components (clutch
pedals...) with particular emphasis on
the environmental impact and materials
recycling and the optimisation
of trans-tibial protheses with specific
importance given to comfort, reliability
and cost-effectiveness.
Demanding applications (CRFP composite
booms, impact resistance of CFRP,
prognostics and resistance of hybrid joints)
are the topic of the regional project
STIMA Studies on the mechanical
behaviour of steels and alloys under
extreme conditions have been undertaken
to improve the reliability of piping used
for oil and gas transportation.
The methods developed to analyse
the mechanical behaviour of materials
(fracture mechanics, short cracks and
damage mechanics) are the basis for
the development of new methods for
the structural integrity assessment of
structural and mechanical components.
The application of a fitness for purpose
assessment (flaw acceptance, welded joints,
crack propagation and thermo-mechanical
loads) of mechanical components under
service conditions is the basis for many
applications in this area; service life and
development of life tests for hydraulic
components, flaw assessment in gas
cylinders, service life of earthmoving
components, residual life of pressure
vessel components with defects and
thermo-mechanical stress cycles
on heating components.
In the field of the structural integrity
assessment of railway components, some
research projects are currently active
(EURAXLES, SUSTRAIL), whose key
topic is the estimation of the propagation
lifetime and its impact on inspection
intervals and design criteria for axle safety.
Improving the durability of railway axles by
cold-rolling has been the topic of the project
MARAXIL (cooperation with IWM).
Important research findings with the EU
cooperations (TC24 of ESIS – European
Structural Integrity Society) have been
a significant scale effect in crack growth
(directly tested on a dedicated full-scale
test bench) and a set of SIF solutions for
typical axle geometries. Other important
applications have been made in the area
of wheelset integrity (bogie frame, wheels)
using specific analysis tools for different
damage mechanisms (fatigue of welds,
on multiaxial fatigue on the propagation
of long and short cracks and on the
mechanical behaviour at a high strain rate
has been acquired. The material models
developed were subsequently incorporated
into prognostics software for the life
prediction of aero-engine parts (project
E-Break), helicopter rotor and fuselage parts
and turbine components.
Ballistic impact simulation in tail rotor
shaft of helicopter
ratcheting, RCF). The latest developments
in this area include dedicated tests and
analyses for corrosion-fatigue impact
on axle durability and NDT inspections
(RSSB-T728 and WOLAXIM projects).
Research partners in this field are: i)
BAM (Germany), IWM (Germany);
TWI (UK) and METU (Tr).
Regarding the mechanical behaviour of
materials is the life and integrity assessment
of turbine and aircraft components,
within the framework of important EU
projects (MANHIRP, PREMECCY), an
in-depth knowledge on the mechanical
characterisation and modelling at high
temperatures under low-cycle fatigue,
■
The application of advanced methods for
life evaluation and prognostic (flaw and
defect tolerance, ballistic and vulnerability
assessment) purposes has been considered
for developing helicopter components.
In this field, thanks to several research
projects (HECTOR and ASTYANAX
projects for the European Defence Agency),
the application of Health and Usage
Monitoring Systems and the definition
of prognostic approaches, involving both
metallic (Al and Ti alloys) and composite
materials (sandwich and composite
structures), used for the construction
of fuselages and rotor components
(in cooperation with SINTEF (No) and
the University of Patras (Gr)), have also
been developed.
Finite element analysis
of a complete railway wheel-set
■
32
33
Ground Vehicle Design and Testing
This research line focuses on both
theoretical and experimental issues related
to the design and construction of ground
vehicles. These activities refer to modelling,
optimal design, construction and testing of
ground vehicles, their subsystems or special
laboratory devices.
From a theoretical point of view, the scientific
approach is focused on the Optimal Design
of Complex Systems. For almost twenty
years, numerical methods referring
to Multi-objective Optimisation have been
developed and applied effectively to a
number of different case studies ranging
from structural design to the active safety
of road vehicles right up to mechatronics.
In 2006, the book “Optimal Design of
Complex Mechanical Systems with application to
vehicle engineering” (published by Springer,
Berlin Heidelberg) has represented a
significant achievement together with
many recognitions in international forums
(ASME, IAVSD).
Experimental fatigue test on main rotor
hub of helicopter
■
The application of inspection intervals on
components has also led to the development
of an activity devoted to the improvement
of the performance of ultra sound controls
for different applications (railway axles,
helicopter rotor components, tilt-rotor wing
spar, bogie frame parts and the hydraulic
cylinders of earthmoving machines).
A new laboratory (Laboratory for
the Safety of Transport-LaST, founded
in 2001), focusing on experimental activities
is currently up-and-running.
Particular attention is devoted to green,
safe and smart vehicles.
Hydrogen and solar prototype electric
vehicles have been built. The body is made
from carbon fibre. In 2009, the team’s
hydrogen fuelled prototype obtained the
Italian record for energy efficiency (2741
km per litre of gasoline) at the Shell Eco
Marathon competition (Germany, 2009).
At the Shell Eco-Marathon Europe 2011,
the solar vehicle, Apollo set the new world
record of 1108 km/kWh (equivalent to
9757 km/l), breaking for the first time
the barrier of 1000 km/kWh.
Research has been undertaken on
innovative design of brakes (either
mechatronic or conventional) both for road
or off-road vehicles.
The design and testing of suspension
systems for road vehicles focuses both on
active safety and Noise-Vibration-Harshness
(NVH) performance. NVH projects have
employed the RuotaVia: a completely
original (own design) horizontal axis steel
drum, providing a running contact surface
for road or railway vehicle wheels (max
speed >400 km/h). Innovative six axis
load cells (own design) were designed and
patented and used for NVH assessments.
With regard to pneumatic tyres, rolling
resistance, NVH performance and full non
linear characteristics - both on and off road
vehicles were measured at LaST.
Other projects dealt with snow chains,
headrests, axle durability and road accidents
reconstruction.
The InTenso+ system, was patented and
developed to obtain the inertia properties
of vehicles and their subsystems and it has
found many applications ranging from cars
and race vehicles to space satellites.
A special project focusing on the
measurement of forces at wheel/ground
interface was implemented. An own design
smart wheel was optimised, constructed
and employed. Thanks to this device, it
was possible to theoretically highlight the
improvement of ABS and ESP systems.
■
InTenso system during a test.
■
Patented six axis measuring wheel
Apollo set the new world record of 1108 km/kWh,
breaking for the first time the barrier of 1000 km/kWh.
■
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Manufacturing and Production Systems
Transformation processes play a key role
in the strategies adopted by industrial
companies who wish to compete on
the market with high quality, sustainable
products. Material and information
transforming processes use not only
technologies and physical systems but also
methods and tools to design and manage
transformation activities during product life
cycles, i.e. from the design phase right up to
production, supply and eventual disposal,
re-use or recycling of the products in
question. Technological solutions for future
transformation processes need to respond to
the increasing needs of competitiveness and
global sustainability.
As a consequence, it is of prime importance
to study those processes, related to industrial
products, involving not only the use of both
traditional and innovative materials but also
obtained by means of production systems
capable of being adapted to different,
more dynamic requirements.
This research line aims at designing and
developing new technological solutions
for future transformation processes. Several
research topics are developed within this
particular framework. The mechanical
and technological characteristics of
transformed materials and the relationships
between the material characteristics and
the transformation process parameters are
investigated. This knowledge facilitates
the setting-up of new production processes,
the selection of technological variables for
the running of cost-effective programmes
in changing environments and the
development of physical prototypes based
on innovative transformation processes, also
considering the environmental impact: use
of energy, materials, and process emissions.
The methodologies and tools for the design,
management and control of production
processes as well as components and systems
for transformation activities are conceived,
designed and developed using software
tools. The use of these advanced tools will
not only help industrial engineers to achieve
optimum design of production systems but
will also improve management and control
procedures.
The research line is organised into two main
themes, namely “Manufacturing Processes”
and “Manufacturing Systems and Quality”.
Manufacturing Processes
To gain competitive advantages in their
markets, industrial companies must develop
and maintain the ability to manufacture
products that not only comply with strict
quality requirements but that are also costeffective. In order to achieve this, they need
to stay at the leading edge of manufacturing
technologies either by improving their
processes, acquiring new available processes
or even developing new processes. Each of
these strategies calls for in-depth knowledge
regarding the way in which technologies
are evolving and how process innovations
impact on everyday manufacturing practice.
The design, test and implementation
of solutions for future manufacturing
requirements is the overall goal of this
■
5-axis machining of micro components
research group. Targeted studies on specific
industrial problems are often carried out in
collaboration with partner companies and
considerable know how has been acquired
on several manufacturing processes and
applications, including conventional
and unconventional material removal
techniques, metal forming, joining and
welding, surface treatments.
The majority of group activities is focused
on several main research areas.
These include (a) basic research regarding
the physical phenomena governing
manufacturing processes, (b) applied
research devoted to the implementation
of new technologies in an existing
processing chain and (c) the development,
characterisation, monitoring and diagnosis
of machine tools.
As regards basic research, the quality and
performance parameters of processes are
investigated by means of laboratory tests
in order to relate them to process variables.
This allows for the building
of extensive process knowledge, from which
“technological operating windows” can
be readily derived for an optimal tuning
of the processes at the shop floor. Examples
of such achievements include the modelling
of tool wear, residual stresses, defects of
surface integrity, loss of accuracy due to
cutting kerfs and burrs. These and other
specific issues are investigated for both
conventional processes for new or difficultto-work materials (such as cellular metal,
hybrid materials, advanced composites,
Process simulation: deep-drawing versus hydroforming case study
■
37
Unconventional manufacturing:
remote laser welding and abrasive
water jet cutting
■
high strength alloys) and unconventional
processes such as laser beam processing,
plasma arc and water jet machining,
micro-machining. The combination of a
number of different technologies in one
process chain is often studied in order to
exploit related strengths and develop hybrid
manufacturing solutions.
Applied research deals with challenging
industrial cases, where the limitations of
current solutions require new approaches
based on unconventional processes.
A short list of case histories highlights a
wealth of unusual applications currently
being explored in the group’s laboratory
using state-of-the-art machinery: water jet
and laser cutting on composite and other
difficult-to-machine materials; fibre laser for
cladding of high resistance products like gas
turbine engine blades; ultrasonic welding for
thin parts in aluminium and magnesium;
hybrid processes based on adhesive bonding
and ultrasonic welding for difficult-to-weld
materials such as magnesium; diode lasers
for surface hardening in situations where
accessibility is a problem; water jet and fibre
laser to drill titanium and magnesium alloys
for aerospace and medical applications;
metal foaming for lightweight structures
that have stiffness and vibration damping
requirements; five-axis micromachining for
high precision parts such as bio-absorbable
stents, micro-actuators and micro-fuel cells;
FEM simulation of metal forming processes.
Machine tools are another area where
design and experimental knowledge is
acquired using the most updated methods.
An improved use of existing machines
is made possible by defining their proper
operating range in order to avoid chatter
and other stability problems and to enhance
the energetic efficiency of machine tools
and production systems. Innovative machine
concepts and subsystems have been
developed (and often patented), including
an abrasive dosing system and an additive
injection system for water jet cutting, a
steel deposition method for nitrided metal
partsand an optimised pre-stressed design
for high tonnage press frames. As a further
application of machine tool knowledge,
monitoring systems for advanced statistical
process control and diagnostics, based on
typical signal profiles for process variables
(current, force pressure, power, temperature
and others depending on the specific
process), are developed.
it is highly unlikely that a technological
solution can meet the demanding
requirements of quality, cost, productivity
and responsiveness.
Manufacturing Systems and Quality
The development of a methodology starts
from an analysis of the real needs of a
company or an industrial sector. Relevant
knowledge is acquired through experimental
plans or extensive data collection on the
shop floor. The procedures implemented
are based on technical standards and
worldwide best practices. Results are tested
at manufacturing facilities and deployed
by means of software tools. Finally, the
overall problem to be solved is anything but
abstract: what are the causes of uncertainty
of a process and how can they be controlled
and (if possible) avoided?
Process innovation is not always sufficient
to improve the competitiveness of a
manufacturing company. In some ways the
process is just one of the three elements that
solve manufacturing problems. The other
two are the product and the production
systems: the former imposes its design
specifications and the need to verify them
at every stage of the process chain; the latter
brings about many different constraints
related to the availability of equipment,
tooling and other types of resources. If all
three issues are not carefully evaluated,
This research group studies the dynamic
relationships between product, process
and production systems in order to
translate them into innovative design,
management and control methodologies for
manufacturing companies. However, this is
not to say that manufacturing technologies
are treated as pure abstraction!
■ Layout scheme for production
system configuration and balancing
38
On the product side, the main research
focus is on how the results of manufacturing
processes can be controlled to guarantee
product quality. Modern dimensional
control techniques are experimented in
the metrology lab, where several types of
high precision geometrical measurements,
ranging from large to micro scale, are taken.
This allows for an evaluation of all the ways
in which the geometry of a workpiece can
actually deviate from design specifications.
This knowledge is not only helpful in
terms of having a better understanding of
processes, but also serves as the basis for the
development of the custom procedures of
monitoring and statistical process control.
■
CMM based geometric model reconstruction
39
These help decide what, how and when to
control a production line or a supply chain
and, ultimately, allow for the reduction of
manufacturing defects and costs.
As a feedback for engineers, information
about geometric product variability
is incorporated into innovative methods
of tolerancing and process planning.
Research on production systems focuses on
the development of performance evaluation
tools. These are based on a detailed
modelling of all system resources including
machines (with related tools and fixtures),
inspection stations and material handling
devices. The dream of each production
manager is that all these items are organised
to work in tandem to maximise productivity,
avoid bottlenecks and recoup all possible
failures with minimum impact on system
performance. Therefore, these tools are the
basis for a rational approach to decisions,
such as system configuration and balancing,
as well as for operational planning tasks
(routing, scheduling, etc.) which ensure
an optimal usage of resources.
The type of tool depends on the level at
which management needs to be supported:
virtual manufacturing and inspection
software is usually provided at a workstation
level, while analytical methods and discrete
event simulation help to optimise different
types of performance indicators at a system
level.
Materials
The Materials Research Line at the
Department of Mechanical Engineering
is focused on the study of metallurgical
production processes, characterisation of
structural materials and coatings. Excellent
research products have been obtained
both on fundamental research issues
(e.g. nanostructured materials, chemical
interaction between slag and molten
metal, inclusions and liquid melts, powder
metallurgy) and on applied research (e.g.
failure analysis and damage of materials,
coatings for specific applications).
The laboratory system at the Department
of Mechanical Engineering includes
a series of equipments and analytical
instruments dedicated to the experimental
research of materials. Among these, a
microstructural lab covers metallographic
sample preparation, optical microscopes,
microhardness, scratch and wear testers
as well as a glow discharge optical
spectrometer for bulk and in-depth chemical
composition measurements. A scanning
electron microscope lab hosts a recently
acquired instrument equipped with an EDS
microprobe and electron back-scattered
diffraction systems. A thermal analysis lab is
equipped with muffle and tubular furnaces
and a TG/DTA/DSC system.
The facilities also boast several universal
testing machines covering an extremely
wide range of material testing conditions
(static and fatigue loading at room, low and
high temperatures, tension and compression
creep, wear, fracture mechanics, fatigue
crack growth, creep crack initiation and
growth) and an X-ray diffractometer for
residual stress measurement.
Research on casting and plastic deformation
processes is supported by facilities for the
melting and casting of alloys and slags
using a resistance furnace that can be
operated up to a maximum temperature of
1750°C. Experimental rolling trials can be
performed by means of a laboratory rolling
system while studies on sheet formability
can be conducted thanks to the use of
suitable equipment.
Projects carried out in recent years
addressed the activities related to three main
research topics: Advanced Materials (AMT),
Applied Metallurgy (APM), Steelmaking
and Metallurgical Processes (SMP).
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41
Advanced Materials
The activities of the Advanced Materials
research group are related to metallurgy
and the processing of advanced and
non-conventional metallic alloys such
as nanostructured and ultrafine grained
metals, aluminium, magnesium and
titanium alloys for special and highlydemanding applications, non-ferrous
superalloys and related coatings for
high-temperature service.
During the past decade, a lot of effort
has been invested in the development of
ultrafine grained (UFG) alloys boasting
grain sizes in the range of 100-500
nm, produced using the severe plastic
deformation technique. Thanks to this
method, a significant refinement of the
alloy microstructure has been achieved
by extensive plastic straining of the
material at either room or moderately high
temperatures. The Advanced Materials
research group is currently involved in
gaining increased insight into the evolution,
stability and strengthening of these UFG
metals. Promising achievements, based
Microstructural analysis of a welded sample broken under creep loading
■
on the same principles but suitable for the
generation of ultrafine grained structures
in industrial metalworking plants, were
also obtained in the development of more
industrially-based processing techniques.
In recent years, extensive investigations
have also been carried out on short
and long term microstructural stability
and the mechanical behaviour, at high
temperatures, of both conventional and
innovative aluminium and magnesium
alloys. Important scientific results were
also obtained in the study of medium
Development of ultra-fine grained Mg alloy
by extrusion and laser cutting to produce biodegradable stents
■
and long term creep behaviour and the
associated microstructural modifications
of conventional and advanced aluminium
alloys (e.g. 2014, 2014 modified with Ag,
2618 alloys) produced either by extrusion,
forging or casting. Similar activities were
also carried out on experimental hightemperature magnesium alloys containing
rare earth elements, with special emphasis
on castability and the resulting properties
of parts produced by die-casting. In a more
recent project, high-temperature formability
and the mechanical and microstructural
behaviour of a number of wrought
magnesium alloys (e.g. AZ31, ZM21, AZ61,
AZ80, WE43 alloys) were also investigated
within the framework of a research
activity focusing on the development of
biodegradable devices for biomedical
applications. In order to be plastically
formed into small devices, the candidate
materials for these applications should
possess suitable properties. They should
also be capable of sustaining significant
stresses during service, while progressively
dissolving into the human body (releasing
biocompatible elements).
Coatings and the thermo-chemical surface
treatments of special-purpose alloys such as
titanium alloys and nickel-based alloys for
aerospace and other heavy-duty applications
are also studied as a natural extension
of the specific activities of the Advanced
Materials research group. Investigations
on the diffusivity of elements and the
tribological behaviour of Titanium alloys
treated by Plasma nitriding were performed
in order to improve the thickness and
efficiency of the hardened layer resulting in
improved performance of the titanium parts
requiring servicing in critical tribological
environments. Similarly, aluminising and
other diffusive coatings are investigated as
suitable surface modification processes for
aerospace and power-generation turbine
parts.
Grain structure
of a Titanium alloy
■
Applied Metallurgy
Improving a product’s success depends
on the attention paid to the materials
engineering aspects of decisions that
occur during product development and
manufacturing. A materials engineering
perspective is necessary today to make good
decisions that can increase the likelihood
of producing a successful product.
Focusing attention on material properties
is crucial for the proper selection of
engineering materials in order to target
desired functionality and reliability at
the desired cost. Similarly, applying an
investigational knowledge based process that
looks at damage phenomena involved is an
effective way to seek cost-effective solutions
which enhance reliability at the right
product cost, thus targeting the customer’s
needs. Applying both of these approaches,
that are mainstreams of the applied
metallurgy field, leads to the translation
of customer needs into basic material
requirements that will serve
a successful engineering design phase.
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43
■
Fitting engineering product requirement
needs to apply multicriteria decision making
processes based on knowledge of the
relationship between material properties
and failure behaviour in relation to specific
environments and the loading conditions
set. Control of material properties depends
on controlling several sources of variations,
while controlling variations requires a deep
comprehension of the causal relationship
existing between microstructure and
manufacturing processes, including pre
and post-treatments (massive, or bulk,
and surface treatments).
Regarding the frontiers of materials
compliant with EC needs for pollutant
emissions reduction, the research group
has been coordinating a EU project that
focuses on scaling-up to the industrial scale
magnesium based alloys manufactured
by no-melting processes (i.e. using low
energy consuming, no gas used) capable
of realising a nanostructured (<1 microns)
microstructure that guarantees the highest
specific strength currently available for
engineering metals.
Similarly, innovative semi-solid magnesium
alloys produced by the Thixomolding
process, an environmental friend and
innovative injection molding manufacturing
process, have been investigated in order to
enhance mechanical properties, specifically
toughness and fatigue resistance, for weight
reduction needs in the automotive sector.
Recently a new innovative field covered by
Carbon acid corrosion of gas cylinder
■
the group is a new engineering application
of novel magnesium based materials
developed as hydrogen storage via the solid
state method.
Concerning the bulk heat treatment of steel,
the research group focuses on the study of
optimising mechanical properties at the core
of large blooms. During the quench step,
different cooling rates can occur in various
regions, mainly depending on bloom size.
Difference in microstructure can be suffered
by semifinished components.
Surface treatments have been investigated
in order to deal with and inhibit surface
failures by contact fatigue. Pitting and
micropitting mechanisms and sources have
been researched. Practical guidelines and
models for proper surface hardened layers
design have been developed.
Innovative heat treatments were studied
on sintered steels originating from powder
metallurgy in order to introduce cost
benefits and significantly reduce
the distortion of the parts.
Finally, as a sort of back-process for optimal
products, failure analysis and forensic
engineering is one main applicative issue
of the Applied Metallurgy research group.
Specifically, root case failure analysis is
today an important discipline to support the
development of new products, to improve
existing products and to assist a court in
determining the facts of an accident.
Failure analysis is generally asked to
determine the root cause of failures in
order to propose solutions or to assess
responsibility by wider material perspectives
to prevent future occurrence, and/or to
improve the performance of the device,
component or structure.
Fatigue fracture surface of an aluminium wire
Steel Making
and Metallurgical Processes
possibility of achieving a good control of
the quality and quantity of the non-metallic
inclusions formed within the steels.
The study of the solidification process is
related to the application of ingot casting
and continuous casting plants to perform
steel semis production. Computational
simulation and the study of the solidification
microstructure were extended to in-line
thin slab casting coupled with the direct
rolling of the steel strips. Moreover, just
recently, the interaction between induced
electromagnetic fields and the solidification
microstructure was investigated. Original
techniques for the producion of open
cell foams has been developed for high
temperature melting point alloys.
This last item was also dealt with during
the study of plastic deformation processes.
Particular emphasis was focused on
identifying, the relationships between
applied operative parameters (thermal
range, total applied deformation,
deformation rate), induced crystrallographic
textures and the end mechanical properties
of the materials treated. This approach was
not only applied to steel and stainless steel
but also to copper alloys. The description of
the technological process (rolling, extrusion,
wiredrawing) studied is given by means of
the original application of FEM analysis
approach.
Analysis of Solidification and plastic deformation processes: continuous casting of steel
■
This activity focuses on items related to
steelmaking and metallurgical processes
based on the following topics: melting and
refining processes for the improvement
of product quality and plant innovation;
energy efficiency in metallurgical processes
and their environmental impact (fumes, slag
treatment etc.); solidification (continuous
casting, ingot casting, foundry, welding);
plastic deformation of metal alloys and
related mechanical and formability
properties obtained from end products.
The study of melting processes is mainly
related to enviromental issues associated
to blast furnace process and to the use of
the Electric Arc Furnace in steel melting
processes. In this instance, particular
emphasis was focused on the innovation of
burners and supersonic oxygen injection
and on the stabilisation of the foaming slag
in order to increase energy savings and
decrease steel bath oxidation during the
melting and de-carburation process.
A wide experience concerning the treatment
and the recycle of slag and fumes powder
has been developed in order to reduce
the environmental impact through a correct
intertization process. Studies performed
on steel refining processes are related to the
■
Steelmaking process analysis: LD converter
44
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Measurements
The group involved in the Mechanical
and Thermal Measurements (MTM)
shares a common background not only
in the development and qualification of
new measurement techniques but also
in the customisation and application
of well-known measurement principles
for innovative fields. In recent years the
development of science and technology
has allowed the creation of new measuring
devices and contemporarily it has strongly
increased the need to measure a number of
quantities both for industry and research.
In this scenario, knowledge and skills in
the field of measurements are widely
required; due to these reasons the members
of this research group are implementing a
multidisciplinary approach in close contact
with many other research areas, bringing
to their activities a wide know-how, ranging
from electronic instrumentation, to data
management and analysis, to static and
dynamic system behaviour, always keeping
in mind the metrology issues and the need
for quality in experimentation and testing,
both industrial and scientific.
The research activities are sustained by
a strong orientation towards acting in
an international scenario, fostering and
establishing international contacts in specific
areas considered strategic to improve
the group research capabilities. These
researches are strengthened by a number
of activities related to European research
projects as well as projects funded by the
Italian or European Space Agency. Contacts
with a number of foreign Universities,
Research Centres and companies complete
the international network.
In the abovementioned scenario the MTM
research focus includes design, development,
metrological characterisation of
measurement systems and standardisation,
as well as the implementation of innovative
experimental techniques. The main
trends carried out by the MTM group are
summarised in the following.
Vision-based system for 6 degrees-of-freedom
rider dynamic analysis
■
Vision-based Measurements
3D Digital Image Correlation
for tension tests analysis
■
New Measurement Techniques
The research in this area deals with testing
of MEMS devices and use of MEMS for
innovative monitoring applications; wirelss
MEMS, fibre optic sensing, new strategies
for sensor networks and data management,
support to risk analysis.
The main scientific activity is in the field
of 2D and 3D image-based measurements
with particular reference to the following
measuring principles: Digital Image
Correlation (DIC), Fringe projection 3D
scanning, stereoscopy and thermal imaging.
The contributions to these research topics
cover both the measuring techniques
development and the corresponding
applications in complex and hostile
environments. The mentioned measuring
techniques are applied in a wide variety
of research themes, including: thermal
imaging for diagnostic purposes, strain field
measurements with DIC to analyse the
mechanical behaviour of concrete beams,
metallic elements, welded joints and fibre
reinforced polyamide, DIC algorithm
customisation for the estimation of the
■
Fringe projection-based 3D scanning for personal
identification by means of 3D biometrics
dynamic loading due to jumping crowds on
stadia stands (with applications for security
purposes), PIV analysis through an original
vision-based particle tracking technique, 3D
biometrics for security through stereoscopic
imaging of human faces, development
and qualification of calibration techniques
for fringe-based 3D scanners, vibration
monitoring of structures and cables through
image acquisition and processing, robot
guidance and bin picking, stereoscopic
vision and time-of-flight techniques to
study the static and dynamic behaviour of
race sailboats, train pantograph and civil
structures in wind tunnel tests, industrial
vision, also with complete design of
measurement systems, particularly focused
on 3D approaches, forensic imaging for
crime fighting (in cooperation with the
Forensic Anthropology Laboratory of the
University of Milan LABANOF). A part
of these research activities is carried out
in the Vision Bricks Lab (VB Lab). A spin
off company, Innovative Security Solution
(ISS), constitutes the technology transfer
means to bring the research outcomes from
this area to the industrial world, especially
for robot guidance and bin picking
applications, but also for other 3D vision
products.
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The Fourier spectrometer “MIMA”
(Mars Infrared Mapper) during the mechanical qualification tests
■
Flow-Structure Interaction
It deals with base research on flow cylinder
interaction and bridge aerodynamics; testing
service on wind response of tall buildings,
wind induced vibrations of power head
transmission lines, aerodynamics of
long-span suspension and cable stayed
bridges, water induced vibrations of
submarine structures and hydraulic
vulnerability of river bridges.
Structural Monitoring
In this ambit two main activity fields are
active.
Building health monitoring:
in this field the research deals with design
and implementation of automatic systems
for continuous measurement, monitoring
and diagnosis relying on static and dynamic
parameter measurements; development
and validation of techniques for structural
safety assessment; studies on different
modal analysis techniques to identify
structural parameters and their evolution
over time for eventual damage detection;
numerical simulation of damage effects
and experimental results validation;
infrastructure monitoring and evolution,
especially for railways, high rise building
response to wind and earthquakes,
studies on people-structure interaction
and serviceability assessment of stadia
structures during public events. Examples
of monitored structures include: Duomo
di Milano, Meazza stadium in Milan,
the Humber Bridge (UK), Punta Faro
towers at Messina Straits, Torrazzo
di Cremona, the Milan subway system.
■
■
The long-term monitoring of Duomo di Milano
Transportation measurements: in this field the research deals with vehicle/
substructure interaction,
effective track maintenance strategies,
pantograph-catenary interaction
analysis to guarantee reliability of
the current collection, short pitch
corrugation measurement and evolution,
vehicle dynamics measurements
and testing, NVH, noise and vibration
annoyance and comfort, intelligent tyres
and intelligent transportation systems.
■
Measurements for space
In this field the research deals with
instrument design, design and development
of optical/near-infrared instruments
for remote sensing, dynamic errors in
atmospheric temperature measurements,
modelling of mechanical disturbances on
Fourier spectrometers, measurement data
analysis/correction. An example of the
activities carried-out is the “MIMA”
(Mars Infrared Mapper) project.
The developed spectrometer operates in
the 2-25 µm spectral range with a spectral
resolution of 5 cm-1. The thermal and
opto-mechanical design has been fully
carried out by the Mechanical and thermal
measurements team, along with the
assembly integration and testing.
Three mechanisms, the cover/calibration
system, the interferometer swing mechanism
and the locking systems have been
designed and developed, using DC motors,
piezoelectric and Shape Memory Alloys
based actuators specifically developed
for this application.
The purposely developed Interface
vibration damping system and kinematic
mounting have enabled using the
mechanically weak KBr optics (yield stress
lower than 5 MPa) despite the large design
loads (1000 m/s2) and the wide temperature
range (90÷120 °C).
Electro Mechanical Interaction
and Renewable Energy
In this ambit three main activity fields are
active.
Active, semi-active, semi-passive
and passive control of systems and
structures deals with: development
of vibration reduction strategies with different approaches, especially
semi-passive and semi-active.
Attenuation of vibrations is usually achieved
employing smart materials (e.g. piezomaterials), FPGA systems and time-variant
or time-invariant electrical networks.
Different strategies have been developed
taking into consideration different
requirements (i.e. mono-modal, multi-modal
and broad-band attenuation).
■
Harvester efficiency characterisation:
deals with the evaluation of the mechanical
design for piezo harvesters, to improve
their capability to produce energy.
■
Renewable energy: deals with design,
modelling and monitoring of devices to get
energy from marine currents.
■
Acoustic Measurements
The research in this field is mainly focused
on sound source localisation (beamforming,
near field acoustic holography, Helmotz
Equation Least Squares techniques –
HELS advanced volume intensimetry),
measurement tools to develop acoustic
barriers (arrays of microphones and
loudspeakers), active,
semi active and passive noise control.
Rehabilitation Measurements
design and development of sensors and
measurement techniques to help intelligent
and more effective rehabilitation after
serious injuries: techniques are developed to
improve existing devices, design new ones
(robots for patented rehabilitation methods)
and define their metrological features.
■
Large structures vibration monitoring
Whole Body and Hand Arm Vibration
It deals with the development of
measurement techniques for the assessment
of the vibration exposure of people, mostly
due to work related activities but also with
attention to everyday life, including sports;
modelling and characterisation of vibration
sources for the tools and machines; design
optimisation bound to the reduction of the
vibration transmitted to the users.
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Microphone array measurements on Truck Engine and acoustic emission map (dB) in the 4000 Hz Range, showing the air intake contribuition
■
Methods and Tools for Product Design
This research line encompasses two research
topics: Virtual Prototyping and Product
Design, whereby the fundamental methods
and tools underlying both disciplines and
their interconnections are investigated
and applied to industrial study cases. The
research line comprises 12 permanent
researchers who are not only actively
involved in all research activities and
numerous funded research projects but also
in educational activities, mainly through
courses at the School of Industrial and
Information Engineering and at the School
of Design.
The group working on Virtual Prototyping
addresses topics related to virtual
prototyping for product design and
evaluation, functional simulation, physicsbased modelling and simulation, ergonomic
validation based on virtual humans, new
methods and tools for interacting with
virtual models and reverse engineering.
The group working on Product Design
addresses topics related to process
modelling, engineering knowledge
management, product innovation methods,
systematic innovation principles and
methods, topology optimisation systems and
process and data interoperability.
For the most part, research in both areas is
supported by public funding from the Italian
Ministry of University and Research, from
the European Commission and from direct
collaborations with Italian and international
companies operating in various industrial
sectors.
Virtual Prototyping
The Virtual Prototyping research group
aims at promoting growing scientific interest
in Virtual Reality technologies developed
to support product design, simulation,
testing and evaluation. Methodologies, tools
and enabling technologies are developed,
evaluated and applied in various industrial
domains, including those pertaining to
the automotive, aeronautics, household
appliances and industrial design sectors.
The group has pioneered the use and
development of haptic interfaces and is one
of the most active European groups working
in this area. More specifically, the group has
coordinated two European FP6 projects on
the development of novel haptic interaction
tools for industrial design: the T’nD project
(www.kaemart.it/touch-and-design) and the
SATIN project (www.satin-project.eu). The
result of the T’nD project is a haptic system
for virtual shape modelling and exploration
based on two end effectors: a scraping tool
and a sanding tool. The SATIN project has
developed a new interaction tool based on
the multimodal use of haptics, sound and
stereo vision to evaluate and modify digital
shapes.
The group has set up a Virtual/Augmented
Reality environment based on the
integration of optical tracking systems,
see-through stereoscopic
head-mounted displays and haptic devices
for the development of applications
for functional and ergonomic product
simulation. Dynamic programmable
interaction devices, which simulate control
devices (knobs, dials and buttons), have been
developed within the context of national
projects (the MIUR-FIRB SIMBAR project
and the MIUR-PRIN2003 VERVE project)
and integrated into applications for the
ergonomic validation of industrial products
(e.g., microwaves, washing machines) and
into a seating-buck recently developed for
the virtual testing of a vehicle driver seat,
within the context of the MIUR-FIRB2005
PROGIMM project.
Research activities on physics-based
modelling and simulation began in 1994
following participation in national and
European projects addressing the topics
of non-rigid product simulation (car-top
roofs, cable handling, non-rigid product
packaging) and garment design. The group
has developed methods and systems for
modelling, visualisation and simulation of
deformable objects using a particle-based
approach; it has also developed a software
environment for physics-based modelling
and garment simulation together with a
physics-based simulation method oriented
towards virtual prototyping in industrial
sectors. The group has also contributed
to the development of an integrated
environment supporting the design of the
3D garments used in the MIUR-PRIN2003
Vi-Cloth project. The system is being extended
and used within the context of
the MIUR-FIRB Made-In-Italy project.
Finally, the group has developed strong
competencies in the area of Reverse
Engineering, based on optical scanning
techniques integrated into the product
development lifecycle. Depending on the
■
Multimodal interaction with virtual prototypes
50
type of objects provided by companies,
different reconstruction methodologies have
been developed. The group also featured
as a partner in the European CUSTOMFIT project (www.custom-fit.org) supporting
the definition of a methodology based on
Reverse Engineering and physics-based
techniques for the design of customised
lower limb prostheses.
The laboratories used by these groups are
equipped with state-of-the-art virtual reality
and augmented reality technologies and
tools. The Virtual Prototyping Lab is equipped
with a stereo, optically tracked, power
wall integrating a 6-DOF haptic device
(by Haption), and 10 high performing
workstations and a high-performance
parallel computer (NVidia Tesla S1070),
capable of developing massively parallel
algorithms using the CUDA framework
on GPGPU hardware, for the development
of virtual prototyping applications
and real-time realistic rendering.
The Haptic Lab is equipped with various
haptic devices (Phantom devices, MOOGHapticMaster systems) that allow users to
physically touch 3D virtual objects. The lab
also hosts the European T’nD and SATIN
project prototypes. The Reverse Engineering
Lab is equipped with VI-9i Minolta and
NextEngine optical 3D scanners and a
MicroScribe MX digitiser. Furthermore,
the lab hosts an additional optical
measuring system consisting of an Atos II
3D digitiser, a KR3 KUKA® robot arm,
a 6DOF and a high-precision positioning
control used to generate high-quality
polygon meshes.
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The Virtual/Augmented Reality Lab is
equipped with innovative technologies for
the development of VR/AR applications
for use in product development. The lab
houses the seating-buck and the VICON
460 optical tracking system equipped with
6 M2 cameras and several immersive and
see-through head-mounted displays.
Product Design
The research group on Product Design has
been working for more than 30 years in
the area of methods and tools supporting
product development, including domains
such as geometric modelling, parametric
and feature-based modelling, CAD, PDM
and Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE)
systems. These domains have recently been
incorporated into a larger area known as
Product Lifecycle Management - PLM,
where novel methodologies and tools,
■
Multimodal interaction with virtual prototypes
supporting product development lifecycles,
are developed. These range from the
inventive tasks involved in the conceptual
design phase to the management of
sustainability issues related to product reuse,
disassembly, dismantling and recycling.
The group has developed methods for
modelling product development processes
and for analysing reengineering business
processes (using IDEF, ARIS, UML
techniques) motivated by the adoption of
rapidly evolving “Computer Aided” tools
and techniques, and has worked on the
integration of various techniques and their
validation within the context of industrial
projects. A Roadmap for the evaluation
of impacts, benefits and costs related
to the adoption of new and innovative
technologies for knowledge and innovation
management in product development
processes has been developed.
This methodology has been validated
within the context of the European FP6
VIVACE project (www.vivaceproject.com)
in collaboration with major European
aeronautical companies, and has also been
applied to various industrial case studies.
Several methodologies based on KBE
systems and DfX principles have been
developed, explored and tested in different
industrial contexts. In-depth work has
been carried out on KBE topics within
the context of the VIVACE project, thus
offering the possibility of gaining deeper
insight into the activities performed in the
aeronautical field.
The group also boasts specific competencies
in the field of Systematic Innovation,
mastering methodologies such as TRIZ and
developing tools for both inventive design
and problem solving for product and process
innovation. The same techniques have also
been customised for strategic applications,
such as technology benchmarking and
forecasting, validated by means of several
industrial case studies in different fields,
such as, for example, household appliances,
healthcare devices, the food industry,
manufacturing technologies etc.
As one of the founding members of the
APEIRON association (www.aperon-triz.
org), whose mission is to disseminate
systematic innovation practices to
industries, and in particular to SMEs, the
group has contributed to the construction
of a worldwide network of universities
aimed at the definition of a standard
TRIZ curriculum (universitytriz.wikidot.
com/), in keeping with the requirements
of the majority of large companies where
TRIZ education is actually committed to
consulting services.
This activity is also focused on the
transition from human-based innovation
techniques to Computer-Aided systems, as
demonstrated by the active role played in
the IFIP Working Group 5.4 (ComputerAided Innovation); within this context,
further research has also been carried out
to demonstrate the possibility of integrating
the whole design process, from the earliest
stages of problem setting right down to
automated design driven by knowledge
and design rules. These activities, funded
partially by the MIUR-PRIN2003 PROSIT
project (www.kaemart.it/prosit), aim at
studying possible solutions for integrating
innovative tools: PLM, Engineering
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Laboratories
Knowledge Management, ComputerAided-Innovation systems and topology
optimization tools within the product
development cycle.
A study aimed at demonstrating
the possibility of applying an innovative
hybridisation kit to existing vehicles fitted
out with internal combustion engines in
order to transform them into dual mode
vehicles was recently carried out.
The modified vehicles are thus equipped
with the original internal combustion engine
(already present in the original vehicle
set-up) and with an electric propeller obtained
using the innovative hybridisation kit.
The group has also contributed
to the European MODTRAIN project
(www.modtrain.com) for the development
of an innovative linkage for rail vehicles.
■
“Touch and design” for high quality surface generation
The group has also participated in the
FP6 INTEROP-NoE research network
(www.interop-vlab.eu), focusing on data
interoperability, applications and processes
and addressing issues related to the problem
analysis of data interoperability in product
development.
In order to perform all of the above
mentioned research activities, the group
has equipped one of its laboratories with 20
PCs and workstations, used by researchers
and PhD students for the development
of PLM applications. The workstations
are equipped with several software suites
and applications, including PLM tools,
TRIZ-based software suites such as Creax
and Altair for the development of topology
optimisation applications.
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55
The vital core of research at the Department are its laboratories. In fact,
the Department boasts several of the finest set-ups in Europe - developed
following its transfer to the Bovisa Campus - fitted out with all the necessary,
most up-to-date cutting-edge equipment in the different research areas.
The Department has always aimed at guaranteeing the excellence of its
laboratories, continuing to invest heavily thanks to the subsidisation of
funds raised through research contracts.
The measuring devices described are based
on a special, statically determined, three
cantilever/spoke structure. In the case of
hubs being measured, this type of structure
replaces the wheel centre.
A telemetry system has been designed and
employed to transmit the signals deriving
from the measuring hubs to a data storage
unit.
The laboratories of the Department of Mechanical Engineering are grouped
into 18 areas as described in the next sections.
Automotive and Electric/Hybrid Vehicles
L.A.S.T.
La.S.T. was officially inaugurated in July 2001.
Research activity at La.S.T. is mainly devoted
to the passive and active safety of road
vehicles. The following topics refer to active
safety.
■ InTenso test rig
The InTenso test rig can measure the
location of the centre of gravity and
the full inertia tensor of rigid bodies.
The test rig consists of a three bar
pendulum carrying the body under
investigation. The spatial motion of
the pendulum is recorded by means of
absolute encoders. The components of the
inertia tensor are identified by a numerical
procedure based on a mathematical model
describing the motion of the pendulum.
The main characteristics of the test rig are:
measuring range: from 50 up to 3500 kg,
with an error of less than 1%
on the principal inertia moments.
■ Dummy for the objective evaluation of
■
Suspension systems under test on the Ruota Via test rig
■ RuotaVia
■
InTenso test rig in operation
vehicle ride comfort
The RuotaVia is composed of a horizontal
axis steel drum, providing a running contact
surface for road vehicle wheels. A number
of measurements, on either full vehicles or
vehicle sub-systems, such as single suspension
systems, tyres, rims, braking systems or rail
wheels, can be taken. The drum is driven
by an asynchronous 160 kW motor.
Two speed gearbox. First natural frequency
of the drum: 80 Hz.
Max speed >400 km/h. Max force
on the drum: 100kN.
6 axis load cell
These sensors can measure the 3 forces
and 3 moments acting on a point of a
structure. Different measuring hubs and
general purpose 6-axis load cells have been
manufactured and tested. Furthermore,
mathematical models have also been
implemented to evaluate the performances
of such devices.
A dummy has been designed and constructed
to measure the same vertical and longitudinal
accelerations that would be felt by a human
subject at body-seat interfaces. The dummy
has a vibrating mass moving along the spine
axis. The mass is connected to the H point
by means of adjustable springs and an
adjustable magnetic damper.
■ Measuring hubs and
Prototype Apollo. At the Shell Eco-Marathon® Europe 2011, Apollo set the new world record
of 1108 km/kWh, breaking for the first time
the barrier of 1000 km/kWh.
■
56
■ Hydrogen vehicles, solar vehicles
Innovative vehicles, that have won awards
at Shell Eco Marathon events (BOSCH
Technical innovation award 2007, Autodesk
Design award 2009) have been developed.
An extremely low energy consumption
(equivalent to 2741km per litre of gasoline)
was achieved both with the vehicle powered
by H2 as well as the one powered by solar
panels.
Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory
The aim of the vehicle dynamics laboratory
is to enable students to apply the theoretical
knowledge acquired in the field of vehicle
dynamics to real situations. In order to
achieve this purpose, a moving laboratory
was set up. This consists of a vehicle
instrumented with an inertial gyroscopic
platform to measure not only vehicle chassis
acceleration and roll but also pitch and yaw
rates, an optical sensor to measure the slip
■
57
angle and speed of vehicles, dynamometric
hubs to measure tire-road contact forces,
a dynamometric steering wheel to measure
steer angle and torque, pressure transducers
to measure braking pressure on the calipers
and several accelerometers to measure road
induced vibrations.
The moving laboratory thus allows students
to measure vehicle dynamics directly.
It also enables them to perform all the tests
required to both set up and validate
the numerical models developed.
Moreover, the possibility of by-passing
the vehicle ECU (Electronic Control Unit)
is now being studied in order to transfer
and test on the vehicle the control strategies
for vehicle dynamics of the vehicle
control implemented by the students.
The vehicle dynamics laboratory is also
equipped with an efficiency measurement
system to measure train driving efficiency.
Test bench for the assessment of the dynamic stability of two wheeled vehicles
In the case of conventional vehicles,
propelled by an Internal Combustion
Engine (ICE), this efficiency is evaluated
by using the information available on the
vehicle’s communication network (CAN
bus). This information originates from
all the transducers, generally installed
on board. As regards taking efficiency
measurements on innovative vehicles
(full electric or hybrid), the laboratory
is also equipped with a set of transducers
for electrical power flow measurement.
Both measurements (obtained from CAN
buses and electrical power trains) are
coordinated in order to accurately estimate
hybrid power train performance.
Electric Drives
The Laboratory of Electrical Drives is a lab
specialised in the research, development and
testing of electrical drives for industrial and
transport applications. The research team
has knowledge and expertise in the design
of: electromagnetic actuators and motors,
power electronics converters, embedded
control systems and algorithm custom
electronic boards for measurements and
monitoring.
The lab is provided with three electric drive
test benches with the following rated data:
• 35 Nm -7 kW 7500 rpm
(braking-motoring);
• 2500 Nm – 6500 rpm
(controlled passive braking);
• 500 Nm 100 kW (braking-motoring).
Hybridisation kit for passenger cars: detail of the hybrid propulsion system mechanical connection.
■
All the test rigs are fully instrumented
for measuring all the electric quantities
(voltages, currents, power and energy)
and also the mechanical ones ( speed and
torque).
electrical drives fed by an industrial electric
grid (up to 100 kW) or DC voltage (0-600
Vdc 20kW – 0-100Vdc 400A – 0-25Vdc
1600A).
The lab can perform tests on a complete
drive in order to define: rated value,
dynamic and control performances,
operating range and efficiency analysis.
The test rigs are suitable for testing electric
motors, power converters and complete
The lab is also supplied by different power
suppliers and the most recent measuring
58
instrumentation (scopes, current and voltage
probes, high accuracy multimeter, LCR
meter, analog and digital data loggers).
In the lab facility, all the instrumentation
for custom electronic board prototyping
59
is available both for signals and power
converters.
The research team is also involved in the
outdoor testing of electric and hybrid
vehicles that can be fully instrumented using
all the laboratory facilities.
CNC Machine Tools and Computer Aided Manufacturing
The Department of Mechanical
Engineering operates in many fields of
research. All these fields of research require
constant development of the mechanical
components necessary for the realisation of
prototypes useful for testing.
Having an internal centre for production
of these components allows the times of
experimental tests to be speeded up.
The realisation of prototypes is an iterative
process and only the constant interaction
between the researcher and workshop
allows the result to be obtained in a short
time.
The Department of Mechanical
Engineering has developed an internal
dedicated workshop where there are several
traditional and CNC machine tools and
dedicated CAD/CAM centres.
The synergy with leading companies in
the production of tools and in the field of
CAD/CAM software also allows us to offer
ourselves as a partners to the industry sector
on topics such as the optimisation of cutting
parameters and the study of complex
strategies CAM.
The main available equipment of this area
of laboratories is composed of:
•4 Axis CNC
Vertical Machining Centre HAAS;
•3 Axis CNC
Vertical Machining Centre FIDIA;
•3 Axis CNC
High Speed Vertical Machining FIDIA;
•CNC Turning Centre Biglia;
•CNC Lathe Haas;
•CNC Milling Machine HAAS;
•Presetting Conti;
•Presetting Speroni;
•Traditional machine tools;
•Software CAD/CAM:
Auton/Esprit, Catia, Solid Edge.
The laboratories in this area boost the
research activities mainly in the following
research fields:
• Computer Aided Manufacturing;
• Tools performance;
• Tools duration.
Non-destructive Tests
Due to the rapidly increasing importance
and to the modern normative requirements
of non-destructive testing (NDT) for
the structural integrity assessment of
structures and mechanical components,
the experimental activity carried out in this
laboratory deals with the application of
traditional and novel NDT methods to the
critical aspects regarding the production of
materials and the design, maintenance and
prognostics of mechanical systems.
In particular, metals, polymers, ceramics
and composites are experimentally
characterised by visual (VT), liquid
penetrants (PT), magnetic particles (MT),
ultrasonic (UT), acoustic emission (AE)
and eddy currents (ET) methods and also
by a series of experimental stress analysis
techniques: electric resistance strain gages,
2D and 3D digital image correlation
(DIC), fibre Bragg gratings, x-ray
diffractometry (XRD), photoelasticity (PSA),
thermography, holographic interferometry
(HI) and brittle coatings. Depending on
the technique to be applied, inspections
and measurements are carried out both
in the lab and on-site. Where the relevant
procedures require it, the personnel of
the lab is qualified and certified at Level II
and III in the EN473/ISO9712 frame.
It has also to be added that the lab is being
accredited under the ISO17025 standard.
The main available equipment of this area
of laboratories is composed of:
•PT: fluorescent, color contrast and
post-emulsifiable materials;
•MT: fluorescent and color contrast;
two magnetic yokes (both AC and DC),
a permanent magnet, a magnetoscope
(max 6000 A) with different prods and
a flexible cable;
•UT: a Gilardoni analogic flaw detector
(MG9s) and two Gilardoni digital flaw detectors (RDG500 and RDG2500) with different straight and angled single and double crystal probes; a Harfang X32 phased array flaw detector with 32 crystals probes at 2.5, 5 and 10 MHz; a TOFD
flaw detector;
Overlap between computed,
observed and numerical isochromatic fringes for a centre cracked disc under tensile loading
■
60
•ET: a Nortec 1000S+ flaw detector;
a Casoni EEC 35+ flaw detector; different absolute and differential probes;
•DIC: 2D and 3D systems for static and dynamic measurements at highly different scales, from microscope images to large structure analysis;
61
The laboratories in this area boost the
research activities in different research
areas: the first one regards the increase
of knowledge and the optimisation of the
NDT methods and procedure themselves.
From this point of view, the capabilities
of different techniques are studied in
order to define or refine the probability of
detection (POD) curves considering both
the traditional experimental approach and
the novel model-assisted probability of
detection (MAPOD) one.
A second aspect regards the interpretation
of NDT responses which, most of the
times, are not yet fully understood: special
experiments, such as for example, the
application of photoelasticity to visualise
sound beams or the optimisation of
many parameters in DIC, or numerical
approaches, such as CIVAnde or the finite
element method, are applied to produce
more understanding.
Ultrasonic phased array inspection of a railway axle sample containing defects
■
•XRD: a StressTech X-Stress 3000 X-ray diffractometer;
•PSA: a transmission polariscope
and a reflection polariscope;
•HI: a class 3b high-power helium
neon laser system;
•CIVAnde numerical tool for the simulation
of UT and ET inspections.
A third activity is the characterisation
of the scattering of defects on the NDT
stimulus in order to improve sizing.
The second research area of the lab is the
development of novel NDT procedures and
approaches for the inspection of particular
or difficult applicative cases. Examples are
the development of: an ET methodology
to individuate corrosion-fatigue damage in
railway axles or a UT one, based on guided
waves, for the structural health monitoring
of aeronautical composite panels.
Mechatronics and Smart Structures Lab
The Mechatronics and Smart Structures
Lab (M&SSlab) focuses on mechatronics
applications ranging from domotics to
industrial robotics. Particular emphasis
is given to the integrated design of smart
systems for noise and vibration control that
couple micro-sensors, energy harvesting
devices, miniaturised actuators and
innovative control architectures. Thus, the
approach needs to be multidisciplinary:
combining a thorough understanding of the
system, a deep knowledge of edge-cutting
sensor and actuator technologies and a
comprehensive experience of state-of-theart control algorithms allows the design of
groundbreaking devices and systems.
The laboratory is equipped with all the
mechanical and electronic instrumentation
necessary to design and test the developed
devices: shakers, an impedance tube for
the testing of noise propagation and the
design of noise suppression algorithms,
rapid prototyping boards that allow the
immediate implementation of Matlab/
Simulink® and LabView® codes… Also
small scale test benches reproducing
different control challenges (from maglev
to fluid flow) are available to immediately
test developed strategies. As far as robotics
is concerned, high precision redundant
architectures (closed loop parallel kinematic
chains as well as cooperating robots) have
been analysed, designed and tested together
with “soft” systems, combining active,
adaptive, self-optimising, portable plug-andproduce components with advanced sensing
and actuating functionalities, in which
the deformability of both joints and links
is used for improving HRI (human robot
interaction) at the cost of more complex
control algorithms for compensating
vibrations and positioning errors.
Mechatronics Lab
The Mechatronics Lab is equipped with
small scale test benches that represent
simple mechanical systems and allow for
the easy, realistic testing of the innovative
control logics directly implemented in
Matlab/Simulink®. These benches range
from vibration control (both linear and
torsional vibrations), to motion control (in
addition to a linear and rotational single
and double pendulum system, a magnetic
levitation plant is also available) to process
control (a duct equipped with multiple
temperature sensors, heating elements
and a blower, a system to regulate the
water level in multiple coupled tanks, an
industrial plant emulator that allows for
the set-up of control logics to compensate
for backlash and deformability and friction
along the transmission line and a 4 floor
lift model to test PLC logics) right up
to robotics (the proprietary logic of an
industrial robot is interfaced with Matlab/
Simulink® in order to facilitate the study
of new trajectories and interface the robot
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63
■
Design and testing of a MEMS gyro
Robotics Lab
The research group is assisted by both
Italian and foreign researchers, graduates
and thesis students from different disciplines
including mechanics, electronics, computer
sciences and work organisation. Numerous
international research centres from different
continents are also involved in Robotics Lab
projects. Laboratory skills include expertise
in software development and applications,
the use of innovative robotic technologies
and the development of prototypes in
collaboration with the main international
research centre. New concepts in intelligent
robotics are tested in international
projects for space robotics, environmental
protection, neuromotor control and
automotive assistance in safety.
Future applications currently in the pipeline
include reconfiguration in robotics and
intelligent systems in mechanics.
■
with vision systems, etc.). In addition to
the benches, the Mechatronics Lab is also
equipped with several additional sensors,
such as accelerometers, displacement
transducers (both lasers and LVDTs), force
sensors, a precision balance, thermocouples
and multimeters, that not only allow for
parameter identification of the various test
benches but also complete the measurement
set-up for redundant control feedback.
Mechatronics and robotics teaching lab
VAL – Vibroacoustics Lab
Vibroacoustics Lab competencies cover
the vibrations of continuous structures
and related radiated sound in various
applications, ranging from industrial
machinery to household appliances, from
railway systems to musical instruments.
On account of being based on
state-of-the-art experimental techniques,
vibroacoustic analysis complies with the
most recent computational methods.
Competencies:
•experimental modal analysis;
•indoor and outdoor radiated sound measurements;
•noise source identification and mapping;
•acoustic material testing;
•active control of noise and vibration;
•computational techniques (FEM-BEM).
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The main available equipment of this area
of laboratories is composed of:
•ICP piezo-accelerometer sets, covering different frequency,
sensitivity and measurement ranges;
•different sized impact hammers having
different frequency, sensitivity
and measurement ranges;
•magnetostrictive actuators
and electrodynamic shakers;
•a set of ICP microphones with
an integral preamplifier;
Identified (Experimental Modal Analysis)
and calculated (FEM)
vibration mode of a grand piano soundboard
■
•a multi-channel data acquisition system;
•a Brüel & Kjær impedance
tube kit 4206/4206-T.
The impedance tube kit permits acoustic
material testing in a 50Hz-6.4 kHz
frequency range including the measurement
of acoustic impedance and admittance,
coefficients for sound absorption, reflection
and transmission loss. Additionally,
feedback active noise control tests, based
on a secondary source driven according
to an adaptive control algorithm, can be
performed.
Finite element modelling and experimental modal analysis on a washing machine cabinet
■
The didactic laboratories have the following
thematic areas: machines and vehicles
design, metallurgy, mechanical and thermal
measurements, mechatronics and virtual
prototyping.
Some of these laboratories, such as those
concerning mechanical and thermal
measurements, mechatronics and virtual
prototyping, can host a huge number of
students that, working in small teams,
develop didactic experimental activities.
Other didactic laboratories use equipment
shared with the research staff for
experimental studies, such as machines
for tensile tests or electronic microscopes.
These last laboratories can host a lower
number of students at a time and therefore
in these cases the experimental activities are
organised with small groups of students that
use the laboratory in different times.
The extremely good feedback obtained
every year by the experimental activities
for the didactics confirms that this type of
teaching approach is good and pushes us to
a continuous improvement also in this field.
■
Didactic Laboratories
The Department of Mechanical
Engineering takes care of the connection
between theory and practice in the teaching
activity. With this goal in mind, the
Department makes a huge effort in order to
allow the students to have practical teaching
experiences in the ambit of dedicated
areas, properly equipped with up to date
instrumentation. Due to this reason specific
laboratories devoted to experimental
didactics were also developed, together with
the experimental laboratories dedicated to
the research. In these structures the students
have the chance to apply the concepts
gained during theoretical lessons in order
to execute practical experiences assigned by
the teaching staff.
The didactic laboratories of
the Department of Mechanical Engineering
cover more than 1500m2 and are organised
as follows:
• metallurgic analysis didactic laboratory (400m2);
• mechatronics didactic laboratory (150m2);
• measurements didactic laboratory (200m2);
• material testing didactic laboratory (300m2);
• manufacturing processes didactic laboratory (450m2).
The didactic laboratories of the
Department of Mechanical Engineering
are used by the students of Aerospace
Engineering, Automation Engineering,
Energy Engineering, Management and
Production Engineering, Mechanical
Engineering and Design&Engineering.
In total more than one thousand students
use our didactic laboratories every year.
Didactic experiences in the Measurements didactic laboratory
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Cable Dynamics
The study of cable dynamics represents
a key-point in several application fields.
In particular the knowledge of the cable
damping properties allows the correct
estimation, through numerical models,
of its response to external inputs such as
the wind disturbance. Moreover, because
of the small damping associated with these
kinds of structures and the consequent
instability issues arising when they are
immersed in force fields (e.g. cross wind),
the use of suitable damper devices are
often mandatory. In this sense experimental
activities able to define the performances
of these devices (e.g. Stockbridge force vs
displacement Frequency Response Function)
allow their introduction in the previously
defined numerical models. Finally
the combined system “cable+damper”
(or “cables bundle+spacers”) can be studied
and the effective dynamic properties
can be evaluated.
All these tests can be carried out following
the international standards (e.g. IEC
61897:1998), through a certified ISO 9001
procedure (ITALCERT–Certificate
N° 121gSGQ01, SINCERT SGQ N° 023A,
N° SGA A20D), or the customer
specifications.
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The Gearing & Watson Electrodynamic exciter and the laser displacement transducers
The laboratory equipment of this
laboratory can be summarised as:
•accelerometers and load cells conditioning and amplifiers;
The experimental activities can be
summarised as:
•gearing Watson electro-dynamical
shaker + amplifier (V617/DSA4-8k);
• NI DAQ board.
•cable self damping (Decay Method, Power Method and Inverse Standing Wave Ratio);
•unholtz&Dickie electro-dynamical
shaker + amplifier (SA15-S452);
•stockbridge damping performances (Force vs displacement FRF,
mechanical impedance…);
•electro-mechanic actuator for
the “50m length” cable span tensioning;
•cable effectiveness test (cable + damper);
•spacers stiffness and damping properties (hysteretic cycle…).
•B&K 1050 controller;
•HBM 250 kN load cell for the
“50m length” cable span tensile load;
•Kistler 30 kN piezoelectrical load
cells for Stockbridge dissipative force;
•B&K accelerometers for the cable
and the Stockbridge vibratory state;
•strain gage for the cable stress close
to the clamp;
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The 50 m test span for cable dynamics testing
•laser transducers for the cable
nodes vibrations;
The laboratory is mainly equipped with
a 50 m test span: special care has been
devoted to the project of the dead ends
and the tensioning sets.
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Control and acquisition systems
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Wind Tunnel
The Laboratories at the Department of
Mechanical Engineering use the Bovisa
Wind Tunnel (operative since 2001) for
testing purposes. This facility has a dual
purpose. On the one hand, it serves purely
as a research tool and, on the other,
as a modern instrument for
high-technology industrial applications
offering advantageous reciprocal synergies.
In particular, the Department of
Mechanical Engineering is responsible for
wind engineering research and applications.
Thanks to two different test rooms,
the facility is able to offer a wide range
of test set-ups and alternatives.
Haptics and Virtual Prototyping
Boundary Layer Test Section
In terms of dimensions, the Boundary
Layer test section measures 14m x 4m;
it has a maximum wind velocity of 16m/s
and a turbulence index of <2 percent.
The constant section test room, measuring
35m in length, allows for the setting up
of upstream passive or active turbulence
generators, used to simulate either the
atmospheric boundary layer or harmonic
wind. A special device, used for twisted
flow generation, has been designed to carry
out tests on sailboats. This test section is
equipped with a turntable measuring
13m in diameter.
The haptics and virtual prototyping lab is
equipped with the state of the art of Virtual
and Augmented Reality technologies for:
Low Turbulence Test Section
The Low Turbulence test section measures
4m in width, 3.84m in height and 6m
in length. Tests can be performed either
in a closed test section or in an open jet.
Maximum wind velocity is 55m/s while
the turbulence level is less than 0.1 percent.
The test section is equipped with a turntable
(measuring 2.5m in diameter) and a
traversing system designed to take wake
measurements. Several model supports
are equipped with a positioning system
in order to vary the incidence angle.
•development and use of Virtual and Mixed Prototypes for testing interactional
and functional aspects of industrial
products;
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Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel tests on High-Rise
buildings (City Life Development Milano)
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The expertise of the staff working at
the Wind Tunnel Facility covers a broad
spectrum of wind engineering research
and applications topics:
• road and railway vehicles;
• buildings and large roof structures;
• suspension and cable-stayed bridges;
• sailboats;
• wind energy.
• stereoscopic visualisation;
• haptic interaction;
• 3D sound rendering;
• motion capture;
Virtual Prototyping Lab
The Virtual Prototyping Lab is equipped
with 10 high-end workstations running
several professional software applications for
the development of virtual prototypes used
for the aesthetic, ergonomic and functional
analysis of products prior to manufacture.
• high-performance parallel computing.
Some of these devices are prototypes
developed in the context of national
and EU funded research projects.
The research activities can be classified into:
•development of software and hardware
technologies for Virtual and Mixed Reality applications;
•deformable object simulation on massively parallel computers.
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The equipment has been used in several
European and national research projects,
as well as in industrial projects.
The Lab includes a virtual room equipped
with a Cyviz - VIZ3D system for 3D
stereoscopic visualisation based on passive
rear-projection technology, used for the
visualisation of virtual prototypes in real
scale. Virtual environments and products
boasting photorealistic quality can be
displayed in real-time. The position of
the user standing in front of the screen
is tracked by means of an A.R.T. optical
tracking system. Furthermore, the Lab is
equipped with a 6 degree of freedom haptic
Furthermore, these resources and
equipment are used by the students of
the Master of Science and by PhD students,
to carry out studies related to the topics
of their thesis or of their research.
Mixed reality seating-buck
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“Satin” haptic strip for surfaces evaluation
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Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) investigation
Reverse Engineering Lab
device - the Haption Virtuouse system used for the development of applications
based on haptic interaction with virtual
objects. Computationally demanding
simulations, such as the simulation of
deformable objects, collision detection,
numerical integration and acoustic
rendering are developed by means of
massively parallel algorithms using a NVidia
CUDA framework on a high performing
parallel Tesla S1070 computing system.
Augmented Reality technologies are used
for the integration of virtual objects into
the real environment: the virtual objects
can be seen in the context of use and can
also be manipulated.
This equipment is used for the development
of applications requiring the digital
simulation of products and their behaviour
as well as for user interaction with these
products in various domains, including
automotive, aerospace, industrial design,
textile and garments, consumer products,
domestic appliances, and many others
besides. As an example, a configurable
seating buck integrating various technologies
was developed and used to assess the
functional, aesthetic and ergonomic aspects
of the driving seat of a car.
The Reverse Engineering Lab is equipped
with the latest generation systems for real
object acquisition and with software tools
for the subsequent creation of digital
models. More specifically, the Lab is
equipped with four 3D acquisition systems:
the optical 3D VI-9i Konica Minolta
digitiser, a high speed, high precision laser
scanner boasting a measurement accuracy
of ± 50μm; a NextEngine scanner based on
MultiStripe Laser Triangulation technology,
featuring an accuracy of ± 0,1mm; a GOM
Atos II 3D digitiser, based on the fringe
pattern projection principle, with a fixed
focal, mounted on a Kuka robot; and an
MLX MicroScribe by Immersion, consisting
of a mechanical, contact-based, manually
controlled digitising device boasting an
accuracy of around 0.3 mm.
These systems are used to digitise objects
with various shapes, such as, for example,
automotive parts, cast/stamped/plasticmoulded products, industrial design
products, physical mock-ups and others.
Process Metallurgy and Materials Analysis
This laboratory consists of a set of
analytical equipments as well as processing
and mechanical testing systems aimed at
investigating material behaviour during
processing and service. For obvious reasons,
the activities carried out and the equipment
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3D digitising for reverse engineering
available are strictly linked to those referred
to material testing labs described in the
following section.
The equipment is organised in four
laboratories, as described below.
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Microhardness instrumented indenter and scratch tester equipment for analyses on properties
and adhesion and surface coatings
Microstructure investigation:
forged duplex stainless steel
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Microstructural Investigations
and Failure Analysis Lab
Research studies are mainly aimed at
identifying the microstructural features
affecting the mechanical performance of
metals as well as their behaviour during
metalworking processes (i.e.: casting,
hot/cold plastic deformation, sintering,
welding…). Root Cause Failure Analysis
(RCFA) represents an important field in
terms of the activities performed in the lab.
These investigations on ultimate failure
causes are carried out through observations,
experimental analyses, design of specific
tests, etc… Based on a macro and micro
scale approach, all the observations and
data collected are used to identify
the causal-effect relationships capable of
fully explaining broad failure hypotheses.
Microscopic devices are also used for
inclusion/defect rating according to
traditional and ‘extreme value’ concepts,
as a support to studies in the area of
structural integrity assessment.
The laboratory is equipped with a scanning
electron microscope linked to detectors
for microchemical and crystallographic
analyses. A set of optical metallographic
microscopes, hardness and microhardness
testers is also available together with the full
range of preparation equipment required
for macro-cutting, precision sectioning,
mounting, grinding, polishing and etching
of the metallographic samples.
The lab is generally used to carry out
microstructural analyses of metallic alloys
as well as those pertaining to the failure of
structural and functional parts.
Details of main equipment for
microstructural analyses:
•Zeiss EVO 50XVP Scanning Electron Microscope (200 V-30 kV);
•Oxford Instruments INCA-Energy
200 X-ray EDS microanalysis module;
•Oxford Instruments INCA-Crystal
200 Electron Backscattered Diffraction System module;
•Leitz Aristomet optical microscope (25x-500x; brightfield, darkfield modes, polarised light);
•Leica MEF4A / M inverted optical microscope (50x-1000x);
•WILD Heerbrugg / Leica MZ8 Stereomicroscopes;
•ERNST Twin hardness tester
(HV / HR / HB, load 150 - 1875 N);
•Zwick Z2.5/TS1, instrumented
universal hardness tester
(HV / HR / HB, load 2N-200N);
•Future Tech FM-700 / Leica VMHY30 microhardness testers
(KV / HK; load range: 0,01-20 N).
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Fatigue fracture
surface analysis
Physco-chemical Bulk
and Surface Analyses Lab
Staff expertise and the equipment found
in this lab are focused, in particular, on
physico-chemical analyses of metallic
alloys and surface coatings. Thermal
analyses for phase transformations, thermal
treatment simulations and microstructural
studies can be performed by means of a
differential scanning calorimeter and a
dilatometer capable of inducing thermal
cycles from room temperature to 1600°C.
In particular, the dilatometer can be
successfully employed for TTT and CCT
curve determination and for investigations
on transformation kinetics. A Glow
Discharge Optical Emission Spectrometer
is also available for accurate bulk chemical
analyses and concentration profiles of
samples having a chemical composition
gradient from the surface to the interior.
Surface material layers are not only
very important in several engineering
applications but also of broad interest
in the specific field pertaining to wear
and/or corrosion behaviour of parts for
structural and functional applications.
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The optimisation of the surface treating
process, the strength and toughness of the
surface layers under a wide range of service
conditions are of paramount importance
for the overall performance of the case-core
system. The lab is therefore equipped with a
pin-on-disk tribometer, a scratch tester and
instrumented micro-hardness testers which
are used to characterise the mechanical
properties of such surface layers.
Examples of research activities are:
the optimisation of heat treatments for
innovative aluminium alloys and new steel
grades, the development of hardened
layers of light metal parts for automotive
applications as well as thermochemical
surface treatments for titanium and hightemperature superalloys for aerospace
applications.
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•Future Tech FM-700 / Leica VMHY30 microhardness testers
(KV / HK; load range: 1-2000 g);
•Taylor-Hobson roughness tester and profilometer.
1200°C in ambient or inert atmospheres,
to simulate thermal treatments or hightemperature service. A melting resistance
furnace (crucible of about 1 litre with
temperatures of up to 1700°C) can be
used for the production of small amounts
of experimental alloys and castings while
a laboratory rolling mill is available for
cold and hot rolling under conventional or
asymmetrical conditions.
Other plastic deformation processes can
be studied by means of proper dies and
experimental devices installed in a universal
testing frame. Extrusion dies for small rod
and tube production are available together
with a hot compression/tension testing
device for hot working process optimisation.
Forming properties of metallic sheets and
forming limit curves can also be studied
by punching tests performed on mapped
specimens. Finally, process development can
Details of main equipment:
•Netzsch dilatometer equipped with furnaces boasting temperatures of up to 1350°C;
Details of main equipment:
•Nabertherm melting furnace
(boasting a temperature of up to 1700°C);
•Carbolite tube furnace
(boasting a temperature of up to 1200°C,
in ambient or inert atmospheres);
•Carbolite air-recirculation chamber furnace (boasting a temperature
of up to 750°C);
•OAM rolling mill (symmetric and asymmetric operation mode,
rolls of 150 mm diameter;
speed: 0-20 rpm continuously adjustable).
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Experimental heat treatment of steel
•CSM pin-on-disk tribometer instruments;
•CSM Microindenter instruments for instrumented microhardness (loads from 0,01 to 10 N) and scratch tester (conical stylus with 200 μm / 100 μm tip radius, loads in the range 0.3 - 30N);
The research unit can also provide
assistance at production plants for
measurements and the characterisation
of industrial production processes.
•Lenton chamber furnace (boasting
a temperature of up to 1300°C);
•Setaram DSC / GTA thermal analysis system equipped with furnace and rods for temperature cycles of up to 800 and 1600°C;
•Horiba Jobin-Yvon GDP2 glow discharge optical emission spectrometer (polychromator for simultaneous detection of 19 elements and dedicated UV lines for C, N, O);
also be conducted by means of simulations
using Finite Element Methods and the
application of multi-physics platforms
capable of coupling fluid-mechanics,
electromagnetic analysis, thermal aspects,
structural-mechanics, plastic deformation
processes, mass transport, solidification
and diffusion phenomena.
Process Metallurgy Lab
Simulation and experimental investigations
on metallurgical processes are carried out
in this lab by a series of muffle furnaces
that can be operated up to temperatures of
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Steelmaking process simulation
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Material Testing
Characterisation of Materials Lab
The full characterisation of materials often
requires investigations related to mechanical
and corrosion factors. At this Lecco-based
laboratory, additional facilities are available
for both static and dynamic mechanical
testing, corrosion characterisation and non
destructive testing.
Experimental activities are performed by
means of hydraulic and electro-mechanical
universal testing machines to determine the
tensile, bending and compression behaviour
of materials in a static and dynamic regime.
In particular, fatigue testing can outcome
single material fatigue limit or full Wöhler
diagram; the calculation of the Paris curve
(da/dN vs ΔK) of materials is also available.
Fracture mechanic tests can also be carried
out to determine material toughness
parameters such as KIC, JIC, CTOD.
In order to evaluate corrosion resistance, a
salty fog chamber with a 400 litre capacity,
is also available in the laboratory.
Material testing is a cross-cutting activity
between the two main disciplines of
metallurgy and mechanical behaviour of
materials. The experimental activities of
the latter can be grouped in two areas:
Mechanical behaviour of materials and
High temperature properties of materials.
Microstructure of sintered steels
from diffusion bonding powders
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Details of main equipment:
•Instron, MTS, DMG testing frames
for static and dynamic testing
(load cells from 1 to 200kN);
•ITALSIGMA machine for rotating
bending fatigue;
•ERICHSEN salty fog chamber for corrosion tests in accordance with EN ISO
9227 and ASTM B 117 certification;
•ERNST Twin hardness tester
(HV / HR / HB, load 150 - 1875 N);
•Zwick Z2.5/TS1, instrumented universal hardness tester
(HV / HR / HB, load 2N-200N);
•Taylor-Hobson roughness tester and profilometer;
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Crack path in sintered steels
•GIILARDONI ultrasonic tester.
Mechanical Behaviour of Materials
Lab
Studies dealing with the development of
new materials or new coatings are the field
where microstructural analysis is coupled
with a thorough material characterisation
under different conditions (tensile and
cyclic tests, fracture properties…).
An important part of the studies are
dedicated to the fracture and fatigue
characterisation of materials for ‘structural
integrity assessment’: the material properties
are the base for an assessment according
to the fracture triangle (material-servicedefect) in which they are combined with
the analysis of service conditions and of
potential defects for determining if the
component is suited for a given application.
Application of these concepts ranges from
aerospace structures to automotive and oil
& gas fields and they are also coupled with
an assessment of the ultimate load that can
be sustained by a structure, where static
fracture properties are combined with
FE analyses of the cracked structure.
A traditional field of application is also
the fatigue and durability assessment of
the components, where the determination
of the S-N diagram under different
conditions (load spectra, corrosion) allows
researchers to make accurate life predictions
for components. In this field a particular
role is played by the ability to run HCF
tests (N > 106 cycles) with tests containing
micronotches representing the extreme
defects that can be present in the material.
In recent years an increasing number of
activities is dedicated to the characterisation
of composite materials (static and fatigue
fracture resistance, fatigue) in order to study
the ‘metal replacement’ in some demanding
applications. An advanced field of research
is also the combination of these tests onto
adhesive joints/specimens in order to make
a structural integrity assessment
of composite-composite or hybrid
(metal-composite-joints).
Tri-axial (axial 250 kN, torsion 2200 Nm, pressurisation 100 MPa) universal testing machine
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The investigations into the mechanical
behaviour of materials are the basis for
developing constitutive models for static
and cyclic behaviour, characterisation under
static and cyclic fracture, endurance and
fatigue testing.
Accordingly the types that are currently
done are:
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High Temperature
Properties of Materials Lab
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Mono-axial 100 kN universal testing machine
•monotonic tensile tests with strain measurements;
•cyclic tests under monotonic
(ASTM E606) and biaxial/
traxial tests with strain measurements under load/strain control;
•fracture characterisation for ductile brittle transition of materials with
KIC and JIC measurements;
•crack propagation tests according
to ASTM E647 with closure measurements;
•static and cyclic fracture characterisation of composites
under Mode I and Mode II;
•fatigue characterisation
(S-N diagram) under axial,
bending and torsional loads
and multiaxial stress patterns;
•variable amplitude endurance fatigue tests under block loadings and stress histories.
Details of main equipment for mechanical
behaviour of materials
•6 hydraulic universal testing machines
(force up to 250 kN) equipped
with extensometers/clip-gages
and environmental chambers;
•1 hydraulic triaxial universal testing
machine (Force: 250 kN;
Torque 2200 Nm; pressure 100 MPa);
•2 electromechanical universal testing
machines (force up to 150 kN);
•1 resonant testing machine for dynamic
axial load applications (force 100 kN);
•3 resonant testing machines for dynamic
bending load applications
(bending moment: 160 Nm);
The high temperature mechanical
behaviour of materials is a specialised
branch of materials characterisation for
energy and engine components that are
serviced at temperatures up to 1200°C,
where it is important to identify constitutive
equations under monotonic and quasi-static
behaviour for long exposure times (creep)
together with specialised techniques for
determining crack initiation under quasistatic and cyclic loading and the fracture
resistance.
The different kind of experiments that can
be carried out are:
•monotonic and quasi-static tensile
and compressive stress up to 1250°C;
•cyclic tests for low-cycle fatigue characterisation up to 1000°C;
•fracture tests for JIC up to 1000°C;
•certified creep life and creep crack growth tests up to 1000°C equipped with potential-drop based crack-size measuring system.
•fatigue in HCF regime (frequency range 10-100 Hz) up to 1000°C.
•3 rotating bending fatigue testing machines for specimens
(bending moment: 35Nm).
•crack propagation tests
(according to ASTM E647)
up to 1000°C.
Three point bending fixture and clip
on displacement gage for fracture toughness
and fatigue crack growth tests.
Typical research fields include identification
of the creep behaviour of materials such
as structural steels, high-temperature alloys
and light alloys, with a view to defining
their safe service life and property evolution
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Induction heater and extensometer
for high temperature tests.
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as a function of their time spent at high
temperatures. Mechanical characterisation
is frequently coupled with analyses on
microstructural changes induced by
the high-temperature service.
These experimental testing campaigns are
often combined with modelling activities.
Hot tension and compression tests on
structural and microalloyed steels at working
temperatures corresponding to the range
used in hot rolling and in forging is another
field of considerable interest.
In this case also, mechanical characterisation
is carried out jointly by means of a thorough
investigation of the precipitates affecting
austenite grain-boundary cohesion and on
the kinetics of phase precipitation,
grain recrystallization and growth.
Material characterisation under LCF
and HCF is meant to establish material
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properties for life assessment and especially
for investigating defect tolerance of energy
components considering all the phases of
their service life (start-stop cycles + dwell
times, mission profile of gas turbines and
aeroengines). The materials characterisation
is also the base for the development of
‘life extension’ concepts to energy/engine
components where the degradation caused
by temperature/stress exposure has to be
modelled and incorporated into structural
integrity assessment.
Electromechanic machine specifically designed
for constant stress or load creep tests as well
as for other tests in the RT-1000°C range
where materials operate in the creep regime.
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Railway Engineering
The Railway Engineering laboratory
consists of some permanent dedicated test
stands, of reconfigurable facilities which can
be used for testing of railway components
and subsystems, and of outdoor testing and
measuring facilities.
Lever-arm creep machine for conventional
creep strain and creep rupture tests equipped
with 5 loading trains.
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The main equipment for high temperature
tests is composed of:
•a universal MTS servo-hydraulic testing machine equipped with extensometers and clip gage;
•Amsler creep testing frames equipped with 5 resistance furnaces for testing
at temperatures of up to 900°C, sets
of LVDT transducers and data
acquisition systems. This equipment
allows creep tests to be carried
out according to the UNI EN ISO 204
standard, in compliance with
the ISO 9001-2008 standard;
•2 single furnace creep machines equipped
with extensometers and potential drop
for creep-crack growth tests;
•induction heating systems and a resistance
tubular furnace (temperatures up
to 1250 °C) to be mounted onto axial
testing machines, the RUMUL axial
resonance machine and the triaxial testing
machine.
The Test Bench
for Pantograph-Catenary Contact:
allows full scale testing of the contact
between the contact wire and the contact
strip under the effect of mechanical
and electrical parameters, to define
experimentally the effect of mechanical
parameters (contact force, sliding speed)
and electrical parameters on the wear of
the contacting surfaces (electrical current
flow). The maximum sliding speed is 250
km/h and the system can be operated under
electric current flow in AC or DC mode up
to 1200 A (in DC mode).
The Hardware-in-the-Loop Test
Stand for Pantographs: to study
pantograph-catenary interaction by means
of hybrid simulation. Hybrid simulation
is based on the interaction, through the
use of a suitable testing apparatus and of
real-time computing, between hardware
components and a virtual simulation model.
In this test stand, a physical pantograph is
set in interaction with a catenary model: the
contact forces generated at the collectors
of the pantograph are measured by load
cells and processed by a real-time board
according to a mathematical model of the
overhead equipment to derive the vertical
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Test rig to study pantograph-catenary contact
displacements of the contact wire at the
collector strips. These displacements are
fed back on the pantograph head using a
suitable vertical actuation system. At the
same time, a lateral actuation system moves
the vertical actuators across the pantograph
head according to a triangular waveform
to reproduce the effect of the stagger in the
contact wire.
The Secondary Suspension
Test Rig:
this set-up aims at reproducing the
dynamic behaviour of a rail vehicle
secondary suspension, with special focus
on the experimental investigation of active
and semi-active suspensions. The rig is
composed by a high-speed bogie with
pneumatic secondary suspension resting
on two rails which are actuated by a
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A micro-crack is created on the surface of
the axle and crack propagation is studied
by repeatedly measuring the dimensions of
the crack as a function of the number and
amplitude of the bending fatigue cycles
applied. Corrosion effect can be simulated
by the controlled application of water on
the surface from where the crack originates.
Full scale laboratory demonstration
of a pneumatic active suspension
for a high speed train.
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combination of vertical and roll movement.
A steel structure filled by an adjustable
ballast mass is placed above the secondary
suspension, to reproduce in full scale the
inertial and gravitational effects associated
with the carbody mass. Curve negotiation
is reproduced by tilting the top of rail
according to a desired cant deficiency time
history. Furthermore, frequency response
functions can be investigated by applying
harmonic displacements to the rails.
The Test Rig to Calibrate
Instrumented Wheelssets:
this test rig is designed to allow the
calibration of wheel-rail contact force
measuring systems according to the
measuring system based on the application
of strain gauges on the axle and wheels
of one or more wheelsets. The test rig is
designed to host various types of railway
bogies after the wheelsets are instrumented
by strain gauges. Hydraulic actuators are
used to apply on the bogie a combination
of static and dynamic loads in vertical and
lateral directions and the corresponding
vertical, lateral and longitudinal contact
forces are measured by a system of load
cells. Based on these measurements, the
instrumented wheelsets can be calibrated
according to different (deterministic
/ non-deterministic) methods.
The Rotating Bending Fatigue Test
Stend for Railway Axles: this bench
is used to investigate crack propagation in
railway axles as a function of the service
loads and of environmental conditions.
The Reconfigurable
Testing Facilities:
consist of adaptable loading frames
having various dimensions and allowing
the dynamic / fatigue testing of railway
subsystems / components ranging
from large size (whole bogie, secondary
suspension) to mid-small size (primary
suspension, yaw dampers etc.). Force,
deformation and vibration transducers
can be fitted on the system under test,
depending on the specific requirements
of the test being performed.
The Outdoor Testing
and Measuring Facilities
consist of portable actuators (including a
range of instrumented hammers), portable
data acquisition and storage devices and of
a large set of transducers, including a linear
array of 24 microphones, different types
of vibration transducers (accelerometers,
linear / angular displacement tranducers,
gyroscopes) and strain gauge data
acquisition systems. This equipment is
used to perform line tests and/or modal
characterisation of railway vehicles, of
the railway track and of the overhead
equipment.
Manufacturing
Transformation processes play a key role
in the strategies adopted by industrial
companies who wish to compete on the
market with high quality, sustainable
products.
Material and information transforming
processes use not only technologies and
physical systems but also methods and
tools to design and manage transformation
activities during product life cycles.
Technological solutions for future
transformation processes need to respond to
the increasing needs of competitiveness and
global sustainability.
The Laboratory of Manufacturing is mainly
dedicated to support the activities of the
research line Manufacturing and Production
Systems, whose mission is to integrate all the
activities required to transform ideas into
products. It is organised in different areas
dedicated to specific research subjects, and
in particular:
• MI_crolab - Micro Machining Laboratory;
• SITEC Laboratory for Laser Application;
• Water Jet Lab;
• Geometrical Metrology Lab;
• Manufacturing Systems Lab.
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MI_crolab - Micro Machining Lab
MI_crolab activities were initiated at the
Mechanical Engineering Department in
2008, following co-founding of its launch
project by the Politecnico di Milano and
the Italian Ministry of Education,
University and Research (MIUR).
The laboratory’s mission is to study the
fundamentals of the material removal
mechanism during micro-mechanical
machining (micro-milling, micro-drilling,
micro-turning, etc.) and to apply this type
of knowledge to the industrial field based
on real case studies and applied research
projects.
Micro-mechanical machining involves
tolerances on the workpiece in the vicinity
of less than 3 μm; this class of precision
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5-axis ultra precision machining centre
85
is commonly called “ultra precision” and
can only be obtained by means of high
performance machine tools, such as the
one available at the MI_crolab (Kern EVO
5 axis CNC machining centre; precision
on the workpiece: ±2.0 μm; spindle speed:
50,000 rpm; controller: Heidenhain).
MI_crolab offers new research opportunities
in the field of high precision manufacturing
processes, particularly important for well
established and fast-growing industrial
sectors - bio-medical, energetic, aerospace
and electronic - which require the
production of real 3D micro-components
on a wide range of materials (metallic
alloys, composites, polymers and ceramic
materials) and on large volumes.
MI_crolab aims to promote high precision
and micro-machining in Italy, offering
specific knowledge and equipment to
industries through targeted projects and
a network of contacts with the most
important Italian and international research
centres and associations in the micro-world.
SITEC Laboratory
for Laser Application
The SITEC-Laser was installed
in 2000 with the aim of broadening
the Department’s knowledge in relation
to the application of power lasers.
The experimental laboratory currently
possesses fibre -laser sources with power
ranging form 1 to 3 kW cw, and one of 50 W
pw suitable for micro-machining. In addition,
diode lasers (2 to 6 kW) and Nd:YAG lasers
(120 W to 1 kW) are also available.
The fibre -laser sources were acquired in
2007, thus making SITEC the first Italian
University laboratory boasting expertise on
fibre sources and processes, even though
previous research activities had already
been initiated in 2004 in collaboration with
IPG Photonics (Italy). This leading position
is also corroborated by the organisation
of an Italian workshop on high brightness
laser applications, which is fast becoming
the Italian forum for high brightness laser
producers and users.
SITEC competencies focus on the
characterisation of laser processes in terms
of process definition, parameter selection
and process optimisation for different laser
processes, such as laser welding, cutting and
drilling of different materials both at macro
and at micro scale, laser cladding and laser
hardening.
■
Laser cladding
Moreover, the 1 kW source was designed
using a special device aimed at directly
monitoring the laser process using the
optical combiner of the source itself. This is
a unique solution. In fact there are no other
similar applications in the field of fibre
lasers thus making the prototype installed at
the Politecnico the only equipment available
for experimental testing.
Water Jet Lab
Research activities related to Water Jet (WJ)
and Abrasive Water Jet (AWJ) applications
were initiated more than 15 years ago thus
making the WJ Lab one of the foremost in
the world. These activities can be divided
into two main areas: WJ/AWJ processes
and the understanding of system behaviour.
The first area covers traditional and new
water jet applications such as the cutting
of a broad spectrum of materials, surface
treatments, rapid prototyping and forming.
The research area on system behaviour
deals with simulation, measurement and
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control of the most relevant quantities and
signals generated by the pumping system (oil
and water pressure and flow rate, electric
power required by the pump, piston velocity,
abrasive mass flow rate, water jet velocity
and structure, etc.). The aim of this area
is to evaluate the performance of system
components; to monitor their working
conditions (also for diagnostic purposes); to
explain process physics, to identify a system
model as an instrument for the study of
new components and to analyse the effect
of the plant (pump and handling system)
on machining quality. Furthermore, specific
equipment was also developed by the WJ
Lab to improve machining capabilities:
a patented closed loop controlled abrasive
feeder, a laser Doppler water jet velocity
measuring instrument and an additive
mixing and injecting system were
engineered, created and made available for
research and industrial project applications.
Additionally, the WJ Lab can count on a
WJ/AWJ plant (a 5 axis Tecnocut handling
system and a 380 MPa flow pump).
Other unconventional technologies available
at the lab include plasma cutting and
ultrasonic metal welding.
Geometrical Metrology Lab
The Geometrical Metrology laboratory of
the Department is devoted to performing
high accuracy measurements.
The laboratory is located in a strictly
controlled environment (80 m2) with a
■
Water Jet cutting
temperature range of 20° ± 0.5° C (0.2 °C/
hour and 0.5 °C/m limits) and a relative
humidity of 45% ± 5%. Additionally, it
is isolated from external vibrations (low
pass frequency cut-off 4 Hz, with 0.001
m/s² up to 50 Hz). This creates a perfect
environment for research and industrial
applications involving dimensional and
geometrical measurements. At present,
the laboratory owns the following measuring
instruments:
•Alicona Infinite Focus micro coordinate measurement system
(vertical resolution of up to 10 nm);
•Zeiss Prismo 5 VAST MPS HTG coordinate measuring machine
(EL,MPE = 2,0 + L/300 μm);
•Microrep DMS 680 universal length measuring system (EL,MPE = 0,5 μm);
•Zeiss Rondcom 41-A roundness
and cylindricity measuring instrument;
•Mahr Perthometer PGK surface
finish measuring instrument.
Together with several other traditional
measuring instruments, including length,
geometric and micro-geometric reference
material standards. At present, the
laboratory is accredited for geometric
master calibration and CMM performance
verification.
The Geometrical Metrology lab boasts
competencies in the geometrical
characterisation of manufacturing
processes, complex shaped products
reconstruction and verification, uncertainty
evaluation and cost effective inspection
planning. In particular, research in the lab
is focused on studying and developing:
■
CMM based product verification
•scale independent geometrical metrology
methods (from large to micro scale),
like multi-sensor data fusion
and manufacturing signature model identification;
•approaches for coordinate measuring
system inspection planning, from sampling
strategies to sensor configuration and path
planning;
•virtual CMM software for task specific uncertainty evaluation.
Manufacturing System Lab
The Manufacturing Systems Lab is
equipped with servers and workstations
for research and teaching. A variety
of commercial software is currently
available at the lab including CAD/CAM
(SolidEdge, Esprit, Hypercam, Parasolid,
CATIA), manufacturing system simulation
(ARENA), mathematical and constraint
programming (ILOG CPLEX, SOLVER,
SCHEDULER) and process simulation
(VERICUT). Moreover, a set of internally
developed software is installed and available
for research, industrial applications and
consulting. These ensure the most advanced
research results achieved in the lab in the
areas of manufacturing system analysis,
production and process planning and
machine tool simulation.
The software FLOWLINE is based on
analytical methods for manufacturing
systems analysis. FLOWLINE is capable of
estimating the production flow performance
of complex manufacturing systems both
rapidly and accurately. It represents a valid
alternative to simulation during the system
configuration / reconfiguration phase.
The TPS software TPS (Total Production
Scheduling) is able to generate production
plans and schedules under finite
capacity constraints, based on constraint
programming. TPS is currently successfully
implemented in real production plants
covering several industrial sectors.
With regard to simulation, the research
carried out has generated a language for
production flow optimisation (DEOS,
Discrete-Event Object-oriented Simulation),
applications for machine tool simulation
(customised plug-ins for VERICUT) and
reconfigurable simulation models for the
design of diagnostic laboratories for health
care applications. The list of software
available in the lab is continuously upgraded
depending on research requirements and
results.
The Lab is connected via a videoconferencing system to a European
network of labs called VRL KCiP,
recently transformed into the European
EMIRACLE Association, and it is part
of the Visionair European research
infrastructure for virtual manufacturing
applications.
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Numerical Simulation
The numerical simulation supports
the research and development activities
that include the verification of product
behaviour and their optimisation as
well as support for the definition of the
experimental test rig required by the
laboratory physical tests on the products.
To this purpose, the laboratory is equipped
with a set of computational software, both
commercial and developed by internal
research groups. All of this software runs on
dedicated server also able to realise parallel
computing.
The most of the software tools as well as
the hardware are structured in order to
obtain a certified output, meaning that they
produce results associated with a formal
proof that are correct.
The laboratories in this area boost the
research activities mainly in four research
fields, as briefly described below.
Geometric modeling and numeric
simulation of machine components subject
■
Composite Material Parts and Models
Numerical analysis of the dynamic behavior
of a fan chassis
■
to physical phenomena of static or dynamic
type and also in the presence of fluids.
Virtual simulations for design, product
development, optimisation, ergonomic
analysis and comfort.
Study of the systems and the methods of
technical verification of numerical models
in connection with experimental models.
Techniques of geometric modelling for
virtual simulation.
Geometrical model for the design and optimisation of a tram boogie
■
Geometric modelling and numerical analysis for the definition of an experimental test rig for a washing machine
The possibility to manufacture models
in carbon fibre or composite materials is
assuming more and more importance in
many research fields. In particular these
models can be adopted in wind tunnel (WT)
tests and control logic development test rigs.
Concerning the WT tests, the lightness and
stiffness are two very important features in
all the aerodynamic “static” tests. On the
other hand, aero-elastic models can also be
created considering a suitable design of the
composite structures (reproduction of the
dynamic properties).
Besides WT applications, composite models
represent a very attractive solution in many
control test rigs. The possibility to embed
sensors and actuators (e.g. FBG optical
fibre and piezoelectric patches) inside
the model leads to the so-called “smart
structures”. In this field several studies are
carried out dealing with observation and
actuation issues as well as the development
of innovative control strategies for vibration
suppression.
For the WT tests, the experimental activities
in which carbon fibre or composite
materials are used can be summarised as:
•vehicle aerodynamics;
•civil application aerodynamics
(high rise buildings, long span bridges,…);
•sail plan analysis (with rigid sails).
Test rigs for vibration control applications
have been created for the study of:
Composite material model of sails for performance evaluation by means of wind tunnel tests
■
•independent Modal Space Control (IMSC);
•disturbance Estimators;
•resonant Controllers;
•distributed sensors control.
The models are created mainly by applying
the “vacuum bagging” technique.
Other techniques are also available.
The 120°C oven dimensions are 2x2x1.5 m.
The control laboratory has also 1 D-Space
and 2 National Instruments (NI) PCIE-6259
control boards and several consumable
materials (FBG, piezoelectric patches…).
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Tests of Mechanical Components
The Laboratory Tests on Mechanical
Components performs tests on full scale
components. Components can be either
simple machine elements (i.e. cogwheel
or bearings), sections of complex devices
(i.e. power transmission lines or modules
of aircraft fuselage) or complete machines
(i.e. crane lifting or household appliances).
The large size of our laboratories also
allows to set up tests both on mechanical
components and civil constructions
(i.e. acoustic panels for railway lines or
portions of bridge carpentry).
Different types of tests are performed:
static strength tests, tests to characterise
the dynamic behaviour of the components,
fatigue tests, approval tests, etc.
The main areas of experimentation are:
machine construction, railway, automotive,
aviation, civil constructions and household
appliances.
The design of a suitable set-up test,
able to reproduce real load conditions,
is performed by our researchers, who can
count on hydraulic and electric actuators,
controlled motors, shakers, test machines
and innovative devices for the application
of forces.
The availability of modular frames,
together with the internal workshop,
allows the design of the more realistic and
congenial set-up test.
The main available equipment of this area
of laboratories is composed of:
•hydraulic and electrical actuators with capacities between 2 KN and 1000 kN;
•shaker with capacity between 100 N
and 20 kN;
•electric drives with capacities
up to 100 kW;
•test frames dimensioned for loads up
to 1000 kN that can host larger objects,
up to 15 metres high.
The laboratories in this area boost the
research activities mainly in the following
research fields:
•energy;
•transportation;
•aerospace;
•constructions and land infrastructure.
Diagnostics Lab
The Diagnostics Lab applies the experience
acquired by the Rotordynamics Research
Group and, in particular, that related to the
dynamics of rotating machinery for power
generation. It has now also been expanded
to encompass general machine diagnostics
including machine and traction equipment
components.
Outdoor testing performed by the
Diagnostics Lab includes:
•technical assistance during initial start-ups of new power generation installations;
Full scale test-rig for the diagnostics of traction system of high speed trains.
This rig is able to reproduce the dynamics of wheel/track contact and it is suitable for the diagnostics of components like gear and rolling element bearing and for the testing of other components, like joints, motors, etc.
■
•power plant activation tests for thermal and hydro turbines. This service includes monitoring the correct functioning
of safety systems;
•“on-site” diagnostics of rotating machinery, in particular with regard to power generation.
Ongoing collaboration is currently under
way with Franco Tosi, Ansaldo, General
Electric and Edison.
The Diagnostics Lab is also involved in
the diagnosis of machine and traction
equipment components: roller and oil-film
bearings, gearboxes and transmissions;
electrical motors and turbine blades.
The Diagnostics Lab is equipped with:
•hardware and software for field testing;
•test rigs for oil-film bearing analysis, diagnostics and characterisation;
•test rigs for roller bearing diagnostics;
•test rigs for gearbox/transmission diagnostics.
A joint cooperation project with
Bombardier Transportation has seen
the instalment of a full-scale test rig for
the diagnosis of train traction equipment
in Vado Ligure (SV).
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Several types of tests are conducted at the
laboratories: fatigue tests, in accordance
with the regulations in force, resistance
control and characterisation of static and
dynamic behaviour, modal identification,
vibration and noise controls and the settingup of active-control systems for machines
and complex systems.
We are also able to carry out test bench
(bench-test) prototypes for the analysis
of specific industrial needs.
■
100 kW “VIBRU” test rig for transmission error, vibration and noise of gears
■
Gear and Power
Transmission Lab
•a mechanical resonance pulsator for
STF (Single Tooth Fatigue) bending
tests at constant load amplitude;
The following testing facilities are available
at the Gear and Power Transmission
laboratory:
•a VIBRU test bench for TE
(Transmission Error) and noise
measurements on single gear sets and
gearboxes, a 100 kW AC motor,
boasting a maximum speed of
3800 rpm, and two eddy current brakes equipped with high resolution optical encoders;
•a Back-to-Back bench for pitting,
micropitting and scuffing tests boasting
a circulating power of up to 300 kW
and a load torque applied by means
of a rotating hydraulic actuator thus
making it suitable for variable load
amplitude (VLA) tests. Splash or oil
jet (in- and out- of mesh) lubrication;
“back-to-back” test rig for gears with hydraulic torque application
•a 30 kW DC motor/brake test bench for endurance and efficiency tests on gearboxes.
Thanks to the general purpose testing
machines available at the Department, in
addition to backlash and torsional stiffness
tests, VLA STF tests can also be carried out.
Complex Tests Lab
The laboratories at the Department of
Mechanical Engineering are constituted by
three large covered areas, capable of hosting
large experimental set-ups. In particular,
thanks to the size of these areas, tests on
full-scale components can be carried out.
Among others, experimental tests have
been conducted on metallic structures,
civil structures, operating machines,
vehicles, aircraft, railway vehicles and their
components.
In particular, with regard to railway
activities, the labs are equipped with
three complex test benches: the first, in
accordance with international regulations,
is designed to carry out fatigue tests on
railway boogies. The second is a frame,
capable of not only hosting and moving
a railway boogie but also a section of
a full-scale wagon, in order to optimise
the active-control system of pneumatic
secondary suspensions. The third test bench
recreates load conditions during wheel-rail
contact. Thanks to this last set-up, suitably
instrumented railway boogies can be
gauged and then sent on-line to register and
diagnose the actions exchanged between the
wheel and the rail under service conditions.
Furthermore, there are also several
hydraulic actuators which can be controlled
in a closed or forced closed loop position.
In order to simulate service actions,
actuator capacity varies between
1 and 1000kN. Additionally, our digital
multi-channel control systems allow
for complex test management.
Outdoor Testing
The Department of Mechanical
Engineering is equipped to perform a wide
variety of field tests. A few examples
of the options on offer are listed below:
• Railway dynamics: the Department boasts years of experience in this field
and a number of ongoing partnerships
with the FS group (Italian railway
company), AnsaldoBreda, ATM Spa
(Milanese Public Transport Company),
Firema and many others.
• Vibration measurements: varying
competencies range from mechanical
system characterisation to vibration
impact on individuals.
• Dynamic testing of civil structures:
tests to check and verify project hypotheses,
design and deployment of integrated
measurement systems for the purpose of
structural health monitoring.
The department has years of expertise
in this field with examples including
the G. Meazza stadium, the Duomo
and the new Regione Lombardia
complex, the highest building in Italy.
• Noise measurements: the department
offers a series of technologies targeted
at noise source localisation. Among these,
worthy of particular note are
beamforming, acoustic holography, 3D
acoustic intensity and the HELS method.
• In-field evaluation of load cycles and
the load spectra of running machinery,
exploiting integrated strain, acceleration
and displacement measurements.
• Non-contact measurements using vision
based techniques.
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•calibration of vernier calipers;
•verification and calibration of force measuring systems;
•geometric masters calibration by means of CMM
•calibration of micrometers for external measurement;
•calibration of extensometers used
in uniaxial testing;
•calibration of measurement circuits
in strain gage applications;
•calibration of Weighing machines;
•calibration of Electromechanical manometers;
•calibration of LVDT.
■
In field measurements of natural frequencies and mode shaped of the buckets of a Pelton runner
Measuring Devices and Calibration
The experimental aspects of the research
plays a crucial role in the activity
of the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, therefore a huge effort is
done to continuously enrich and renew the
experimental facilities. In this perspective
the Measuring Devices and Calibration
Laboratory manages the whole procedure
of transducer maintenance and calibration.
Politecnico di Milano is a calibration
Laboratory accredited by Accredia
(calibration laboratory number 104).
The calibration sector for acceleration is
located at the Department of Mechanical
Engineering.
The Department of Mechanical
Engineering has also developed processes
for calibration activities, mainly used for
calibrating the laboratory instrumentation.
These processes, part of the quality
Management System implemented by
Politecnico di Milano, involve:
The equipment in the Measuring Devices
and Calibration Laboratory is composed
of about 2000 transducers and measuring
devices for the measurement of a huge
number of quantities, including: lengths,
acceleration, temperature, pressure, mass,
acoustic emission and forces.
Other relevant equipment includes:
data acquisition and storage devices,
telemetry systems and spectral analysers.
Thanks to the abovementioned skills
in metrology and to the large amount
of available equipment, a number
of experimental activities rely on the
Measuring Devices and Calibration
Laboratory for the experimental activities
of different research types, ranging from
systems static and dynamic analysis to
structural long term monitoring, and
including experimental vehicle dynamics,
material testing and so on.
Measuring Lab
The activity of the mechanical and thermal
measurements laboratory of the Lecco
Campus is devoted to the monitoring and
control of systems involving mechanical
and thermal quantities. Along with the
common topics related to metrology
and instrumentation characterisation,
the laboratory develops instruments
and measuring systems for nonstandard
applications. A relevant part of
the laboratory activities are focused on
the design, development and testing of
instruments and components for space
applications. The laboratory is active in
acoustic measurement problems and in
particular in the use of acoustic intensity
as a tool for noise sources characterisation.
Measurement and reduction of vibrations
transmitted to workers is studied, with
reference to both the hand-arm system
(HAV) and the whole body (WBV).
The main available equipment in this area
of laboratories is composed of:
•instruments for vibration measurement:
laser vibrometers, 2d scanning systems
and single point, with velocity and
displacement measurement capability,
software for modal shapes visualisation.
Measuring systems for hand-arm and
whole-body vibration measurement
and vibrations exposure assessment
in accordance with the ISO5349
and ISO2631 standards. Piezoelectric
accelerometers with frequency bandwidth
up to 50 kHz, multichannel conditioning
and DAQ system with sampling
frequencies up to 500 kHz, software for
frequency analysis
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■ Thermo-vacuum chamber with feed-through for electromagnetic shaker, allowing for the mechanical testing
of components under space-like environment
•geometric measurements with both
conventional contact instrumentation
and with contactless systems. Geometric
and displacement measurements based
on images data processing.
•force and pressure measurements, load
cells both based on piezoelectric elements
and strain gages bridges. Contact pressure
mapping system based on capacitive mats.
•strain measurement based on electrical
strain gages, conditioning system for
static and dynamic measurements with
bandwidths up to 30 kHz.
•heavy weight tripod suitable for laser
scanners;
•acoustic measurements, sound pressure
level, 3D intensimetry, noise monitoring,
coherence based source separation, testing
methods with calibrated sound sources
and floor testing machines.
•calibrated test objects for instrument
characterisation;
•temperature measurements multichannel
conditioning and recording system for
thermocouples and RTD, thermal
mapping with microbolometric thermal
imager, setup for thermo-vacuum testing.
•facility for full qualification of space
components according to ECSS
standards, both for mechanical and
thermal environments, thermo-vacuum
80-400 K for thermal cycling and thermal
tests, electro-dynamic shaker and closed
loop controller for sine, random and shock
testing, pneumatic system for landing-type
shock acceleration generation.
3D vision
The experimental activity carried out in
this laboratory include: three-dimensional
acquisition of physical objects through
active and passive systems, study of
active range devices with single laser
sheet or multiple sheets of light (pattern
projection), image based 3D acquisition,
calibration of digital cameras, metrological
characterisation of active and passive
three-dimensional measurement systems,
3D measurement systems integration,
polygonal modelling from dense and sparse
clouds of instrumentally acquired 3D
points, texture mapping, digital replicas
in the fields of industry, design, cultural
•portable grid for camera calibration;
•various software for modelling from
acquired 3D data. Photogrammetry
software.
Application of active three-dimensional
acquisition systems for generating realitybased digital models of mock-ups and
industrial products in fields such as
Engineering and Design, with various size
and geometrical complexity, from small
objects for daily use to car components
and entire boats. Application of active
and passive three-dimensional acquisition
systems for generating digital replicas of
Cultural Heritage, from small artifacts
to buildings and complex archaeological
structures.
VB Lab
heritage for the purpose of project, quality
control, documentation, communication
and virtual exploration.
The main available equipment of this area
of laboratories is composed of:
•double camera pattern projection
range device GOM ATOS;
•3D scanner based on a single sheet
of laser light Minolta 9i, including its
calibration system and turntable for
rapid 3D acquisition of small objects;
•3D Scanner based on quadruple sheet
of laser light NextEngine, including
turntable.
VB Lab, which stands for “Vision Bricks
Lab”, is the Image Processing Laboratory
of the Politecnico di Milano’s Department
of Mechanical Engineering. A vision brick
can be described as a hardware or software
component having well-defined and welldocumented inputs and outputs.
The choice of name underlines the fact
that the laboratory’s goal is to build up
only reusable components. The aim of
this methodological approach is to allow
staff members to continuously increase
laboratory expertise and to dramatically
reduce dead time.
3D vision system for pantograph dynamic measurement analysis
■
The VB Lab aims at:
•improving the efficiency of current
research activities;
•making its expertise available to the
Department of Mechanical Engineering;
•transferring technological know-how to
other research centres and to the industry.
The VB Lab is mainly involved in
industrial, biomedical and forensic fields.
It cooperates with several other Italian
and European laboratories on a number
of research projects. At the same time, it
has the necessary expertise and technology
to deal with the needs of the industry and
end users active in the fields in which it
operates. The VB Lab is a valuable scientific
partner for regional, national and European
research grant projects.
3D scanning for classification of carcasses
of bovine animals
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Quality System
Preface
Based on the feasibility study of a Quality System carried out in 1991,
the Politecnico di Milano developed a Quality System (SQP) to manage the
multidisciplinary experimental activities supporting planning, research and
technology development, in compliance with the requirements of European
quality standards.
The aim of the Quality Management System adopted by the Politecnico di
Milano is to ensure that internal processes are performed in compliance
with the specifications outlined in the reference rules.
The Politecnico di Milano Quality
Management System encompasses:
•multidisciplinary experimental activities
pertaining to research, testing and
calibration;
•calibration activities
under Accredia accreditation;
•test activities under
Accredia accreditation;
•educational activities and specific projects
for institutional teaching methodologies;
•design and technological
development activities;
•consultancy for the planning of quality
systems and/or quality/environment
integrated management systems.
The Department of Mechanical
Engineering plans and develops its own
processes for service implementation.
Based on scope and time frames, each
service undertakes an activity planning
program based on annual objectives,
available resources and validating and
monitoring activities. The results of these
planning activities are then adapted
to suit the needs of each single service.
The Quality System adopted by the
Department of Mechanical Engineering
guarantees the fairness, transparency
and accuracy of all managerial activities
pertaining to relationships with users
involved in providing performance realised
by its own area in the SQP field, including
those, if necessary, subcontracted both
to internal and external customers,
considered as activities of experimentation,
calibration, consultancy and training.
The Quality Management System
implemented by the Department of
Mechanical Engineering fully complies
with the ISO 9001 standard for the
processes regarding training activities,
higher academic education and some
of the experimental activities.
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Consortia and Spin-offs
The Quality Management System also
involves the internal calibration of
several types of measuring instruments.
Among them: force measuring systems,
vernier calipers, micrometers for external
measurement, Weighing machines,
extensometers, LVDT, measurement
circuits in strain gage applications,
Electromechanical manometers, Geometric
masters calibration by means of CMM.
The Department of Mechanical
Engineering Laboratory complies with
the ISO/IEC 17025 standard and is
accredited by ACCREDIA for some of the
experimental activities (LAB N° 1275 D)
as officially stated in the Accredia website.
Furthermore, the Department also hosts
the calibration section for acceleration of
Politecnico di Milano, subject to Accredia
accreditation (calibration laboratory
number 104).
Accredia link http://www.accredia.it/
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103
Consortia
Italcertifer
Italcertifer, the Italian Institute for
Railway Research and Certification,
was incorporated in 2001 to implement
the European Union’s fundamental
regulations on freedom of movement for
goods, capital and persons. The EU’s
growth and expansion is closely linked
to the development of a viable network
of communications by rail, road and air
between all member States.
The abolition of national borders turned
out to be essential to the vitality of
infrastructure viability. The free circulation
of goods and people within the EU requires
a ‘no-borders’ railway network based on the
total inter-operability of individual national
railway systems.
In order to build a truly trans-European
railway system, over the past decade, the
EU has enacted a number of directives
concerning both high-speed and ordinary
trains. Over time, all these regulations have
been incorporated into Italian Government
Legislative Decrees.
In order to enter the European railway
market, all operators must submit
components and sub-systems for
certification. The inter-operability of
the Trans-European railway system is
governed by Inter-operability Technical
Specifications, STI, stating applicable
requirements. In addition to railway
builders, managers and companies,
a key role is also played by verification
and certification bodies such as Italcertifer.
Italcertifer intervenes from the very
beginning by supplying analyses and virtual
reality prototype simulations, with particular
attention being paid to software and systems
safety architectures certification.
The Italcertifer evaluation process complies
with EN 50129 regulations:
Basically speaking, both European and,
consequently, Italian legislation foster three
macro-processes:
Italcertifer’s highly specialised research
and testing laboratories use accredited
test protocols certified by third parties or
by Certifer itself. Standard measurement
processes are guaranteed by a constant
control of the laboratories accreditation
procedures in order to perform,
simultaneously, multiple tests as required by
STI or specific customer needs. Italcertifer
relies on university laboratories, the RFI
Experimental Institute and the Trenitalia
•implementation by building firms,
infrastructure managers and railway
companies;
•certification by independent safety
verification agencies;
•green-light start-up procedures by
national authorities.
laboratory on rolling stock technologies in
accordance with National and European
Railway regulations on SINAL accredited
tests. A specific test laboratory is devoted
to the study of braking systems and
verifications while a testing site, powered
by its own substation, investigates single
sub-systems and electric power components.
Among Certifer state-of-the-art mobile
laboratories, the ETR 500 Y1 train is
devoted to the experimentation and
certification of high speed lines. It also
conducts real-time monitoring of all
critical parameters, including rolling
stock stability and pantograph-catenary
integration. The ETR 500 Y1 is the first
train designed to collect data at speeds
of up to 350 km/h in accordance with
European regulations n. 22/2004 and
17025. As regards conventional railways,
Certifer uses Archimede, an RFI diagnostic
train operating at speeds of up to 200
km/h, covering 115 basic parameters on
railway line verification. The development
and verification of last-generation signal
systems such as the Train Running Control
System, SCMT and the European Rail
Traffic Management System, ERTMS,
are monitored by two specially equipped
Trenitalia Ale 601 Electric Multiple Units.
Italcertifer is equipped to support
customers during all stages of the
homologation procedure involving
components and subsystems that will
be used by the Italian Railway network.
Italcertifer’s strong points include
unparalleled professionalism, an in-depth
knowledge of railway systems and full
interaction with other similar European
agencies. Italcertifer is Italy’s reference
point on the railway market boasting full
certification capabilities on the European
railway scene.
•safety case and documentation examination;
•functional aspects and safety integrity;
•conformity with applicable Cenelec regulations.
MUSP
MUSP (Macchine Utensili e Sistemi di
Produzione, Machine tools and production
systems) – a laboratory focused on applied
research in the machine tools industry –
was established in 2005 in Piacenza.
The original idea of a laboratory was
conceived at the IV School of Engineering
at the Piacenza branch of the Politecnico di
Milano. In 2004, the Lab project started to
take shape after being included in PRIITT
(Plan for Industrial Research, Innovation
and Technology Transfer), promoted by
the Emilia Romagna Region. This plan
was heavily subsidised by the Fondazione di
Piacenza e Vigevano.
Not only does MUSP belong to the Emilia
Romagna High Technology Network but
also to the regional platform for Advanced
Mechanics and Materials.
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The MUSP Lab reports to the eponymous
Consortium whose current partners are:
Area 1: Configuration and Management of
Integrated Production Systems. Area Head:
Andrea Matta, Politecnico di Milano
MCM
•Companies: Capellini, Jobs, Lafer, Mandelli, MCM, Sandvik, Samputensili, Tecnocut, Working Process.
Area 2: Precision Engineering and
Acceptance Testing. Area Head:
Giovanni Moroni, Politecnico di Milano
Sector: Industrial and Power Electronics
•Universities: Politecnico di Milano, Università Cattolica.
Area 3: Advanced Design, Materials and
Technologies. Area Head: Michele Monno,
Politecnico di Milano
•Associations: UCIMU,
Confindustria Piacenza.
•Institutions: Fondazione di Piacenza e Vigevano, Piacenza Province, Piacenza Municipality.
Five research areas, and a small group
dedicated to marketing and innovation,
are nowadays operative:
Area 4: Sector Studies and Protection
of Intellectual Property. Area Head:
Paolo Rizzi, Università Cattolica
Area 5: Production Technologies for
the Aerospace Industry. Area Head:
Matteo Strano, Politecnico di Milano
i-MUSP: Innovazione MUSP.
Area Head: Mario Salmon
Founded in: 2006
Activity: MCM’s line of business consists
in the development, design and supply of
digital control and static energy conversion
systems that can be used as critical
components in various applications for
energy saving purposes. The cornerstone
of MCM technology is the Universal Digital
Control System providing an advanced
interface for the public electricity network
for Distributed Generation systems.
This interface is suitable for all sources
including wind power, photovoltaic and
gas-fired microgeneration plants as well
as mini hydroelectric plants.
Products: Digital controllers, static energy
converters, electronic power feeders, special
drives for electrical machines electric
engines.
Reference Market: Distributed electric
generation plants, from renewable
and alternative sources (wind power,
photovoltaic, gas-fired micro-cogeneration
and mini hybrid power plants), electronics
for energy efficiency, electric traction for
vehicles and laboratory instrumentation
and equipment.
Contact: info@mcmenergylab.com
Website: www.mcmenergylab.com
Spin-offs
TIVET
Founded in: 2005
Sector: Mechanical Engineering
Activity: T.I.Ve.T deals with the design,
development and industrial use of
innovative passive, semi-active and actively
controlled and regulated systems for
aircraft, maritime vehicles, road vehicles,
trains and vehicles for special applications.
In particular, its aim is to develop active
dampers for vehicles in order to improve
both performance and safety. At present,
the company is involved in the development
of rail vehicle systems.
Product under development: An active
anti-yaw electromechanical damper
Reference market: Automotive
Contact: ferruccio.resta@polimi.it
ISS – Innovative Security Solutions
Founded in: 2006
Sector: 3D robot guidance, product and
process quality control
Activity: ISS has a broad expertise
in various methodologies related to
measurement for industry:
• 2D and 3D vision
• active triangulation
• time-of-flight
• traditional sensors
and in the most advanced data analysis
techniques.
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The products developed on the basis
of the patents are:
•SM-InTenso+/SM-InTensino+: test systems able to measure the location of the centre of gravity and the inertia tensor of vehicles and subsystems, the main characteristics of the test systems are
very high accuracy and limited testing time;
In particular, ISS develops and markets
high-technology solutions for:
• robot guidance for bin-picking
• product and process quality control
These two application fields are tightly
connected, as they share measurement
and analysis methodologies. Moreover,
they are the basis of effective flexible
manufacturing systems, which are more and
more important to be able to compete in the
current global market.
The most relevant ISS product is 3D CPS
(3D Control and Picking Solution): this is an
embedded 3D robot guidance system which
integrates a laser scanner and an on-board
intelligence, so being able to perform all
the 3D measurement and analysis tasks
needed to estimate the poses of the parts
present in the bin. This product may be
the key to solve machine loading problems
in flexible manufacturing systems allowing
capitalisation of the robot’s versatility,
currently limited by a completely rigid
mechanical periphery.
In relation to product and process quality
control, ISS is able to project innovative
solutions customised on specific application
needs.
In particular regarding:
•geometric conformity analysis;
•assembly analysis;
•surface integrity analysis;
•alphanumeric characters reading by means of OCR algorithms.
Products: 3D CPS, customised solutions
for product and process quality control.
Reference market: Industrial automation
Contacts: info@issweb.it
Website: www.issweb.it
•SM-Wheel: family of six axis force and
torque measuring wheels that include
transducers and wireless interface.
Activity: SmartMechanical-Company has
been created to exploit a number of patents
originated within Politecnico di Milano.
Products: Systems for measuring
the inertia tensor of rigid bodies
(SM-InTenso+, SM-InTensino+). Six Axis
Force & Torque Sensors, Measuring wheels
(SM-Wheel) and load cells (SM-LC).
Reference market: Road vehicles,
indoor road vehicle testing, laboratory
instrumentation and equipment.
Contacts:
info@SmartMechanical-Company.it
Website:
www.SmartMechanical-Company.it
E-Co
Founded in: 2012
Sector: Automotive
Activity: E-CO’s core business consists
in the development, design, prototyping,
production and system integration of hybrid
conversion kits to obtain vehicles with low
or no environmental impact in order to
allow a sustainable mobility and a quick
growth of the hybrid and electric market.
Products: Range Extender and Hybrid
Transformation kit.
SmartMechanical-Company
Founded in: 2012
Sector: Experimental Mechanics,
Automotive
•SM-LC: family of six axis force and torque sensors that include transducers and interface electronics able to measure accurately the three force and three torque components acting on a structural element (Fx, Fy, Fz, Mx, My, Mz);
electronics designed for real time data
acquisition on cars, heavy vehicles
and motorcycles.
Reference Market: there are three
target markets: production of kits
for the hybridisation of vehicles
(“Transformers” market); “ad hoc” hybrid
transformation of fleets of vehicles for
standard and/or specific applications
(PA, Corporate market), technology support
(Design & Engineering) for hybrid systems
for Manufactures/OEMs to develop own
vehicles and subsystems. Perspective:
production of kits for private end users.
Contact: Ing. Paolo Bernardini.
Website: www.eco-hev.com
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Teaching Activities
The teaching activity of the staff of the Department of Mechanical
Engineering is mainly concentrated within the School of Industrial and
Information Engineering, nevertheless a significant contribution is also
provided for other Schools of the Politecnico di Milano.
The Mechanical Engineering programme courses are taught at three
campuses: Milano Bovisa (the largest campus), Lecco and Piacenza.
The Mechanical Engineering study programme has a three-level structural
organization: Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and PhD.
The Bachelor of Science graduate
is a university-trained professional,
having the ability to develop products
or manage industrial processes.
The use of consolidated engineering
methods and technologies that do not
require the development of complex
and innovative technologies
is normally required of a Bachelor
of Science graduate.
The Master of Science graduate is a
professional capable of independently
developing innovative projects related
to products, processes or production
systems, both in the industrial and
advanced tertiary fields.
A PhD graduate in Mechanical
Engineering is a highly qualified
professional who is able to carry out
independently complex applied
research projects, organise a team
and perform complex activities.
Master of Science
PhD
Bachelor of Science
1st year
2nd year
1st and 2nd year
3rd year (preparatory path)
3rd year (professional path)
■
Structure of the Mechanical Engineering study programme
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Bachelor
The aim of the Mechanical Engineering
programme is to provide a broad-based
education and training in mechanical
engineering sciences and their applications
that will enable graduates to meet the
challenges of carrying out a number of
different jobs by providing them with a
sound scientific, economic, technical and
practical background in order to guarantee
the necessary knowledge required to carry
out professional activities.
A Bachelor of Science graduate involved
either in design or production processes
must have an advanced technical
preparation in applied mechanics and
machine design, energy transformation,
construction materials, fluid mechanics,
manufacturing, total lifecycle management
and the basics of industrial automation.
Professional perspectives
Students graduating with a Bachelor of
Science will have the ability to design and
develop mechanical products or processes,
to coordinate the installation and the
commissioning of complex machinery
and mechanical systems, to manage and
maintain production plants and, finally,
to make technical evaluations, conduct
inspections and perform technical services
at industrial level. Technical skills are
typically focused on the mechanical
industry sector, even though such skills
can be deployed in the broader industrial
engineering field, or in service-oriented
companies and in public administration.
Bachelor of Science graduates, trained at
the Politecnico di Milano, will thus have
multiple opportunities to work in a number
of industrial sectors.
Students are asked to develop a complex
project by applying all the necessary
functional, construction and energy skills
acquired on successful completion of
the programme. Additionally, Bachelor of
Science graduates are trained in disciplines
related to the manufacturing industry
(production plants) involving design
activities, the production and development
of new technologies, measurement
techniques and the choice of the most
appropriate materials. Each qualification of
each academic level described previously,
corresponds to a well defined professional
capable of engaging successfully in the job
market.
The Master of Science qualification
provides access to PhD courses, second level
Specialisation and second level University
Master Programmes.
Professional perspectives
The Master of Science graduate in
Mechanical Engineering is a professional
boasting an advanced cultural and
professional education, capable of
independently developing innovative
projects related to product or process
development. The Master of Science
graduate in Mechanical Engineering
has a thorough grounding in functional,
constructive and energy-related disciplines
and is trained to select materials and related
manufacturing and processing technologies.
Furthermore, graduates have the ability to
evaluate systems and their components in
terms of layout design, management
of plant machinery and related services.
In addition to in-depth knowledge in
the field of automation, other skills include
an ability to take measurements and carry
out inspections. Apart from the mechanical
industry, many of our graduates enter other
fields including the design, operation and
maintenance of plants and machinery.
Ph.D. Programme on Mechanical Engineering
Master of Science
The Master of Science in Mechanical
Engineering prepares professionals who
are capable of independently developing
projects related to product or process
preparation of core subjects provided by
an in-depth scientific approach; additionally
a broad overview of technical applications
is provided to help gain immediate
employment. In particular, the aim is to
prepare and develop graduates’ ability to
design, build, implement and optimise the
use of products or plants and machinery,
their actuation mechanisms and related
services. Thanks to this approach, particular
attention is focused on technical preparation
in all areas of mechanical engineering
and mechanics which, thanks to thorough
grounding, allows for rapid adaptation
to various business needs.
Together with Bachelor of Science
graduates, Master of Science graduates
share in-depth preparation which
encourages a well-balanced curriculum
of practical and theoretical training and,
as a consequence, the ability to confront
real-world technological issues as
engineering professionals. Master of
Science graduates differ from Bachelor of
Science graduates due to a greater ability
to innovate and apply complex models
to manage, service, design and improve
upon existing as well as new products or
processes.
innovation, both in the industry and service
sectors.
The wide range of tasks and duties required
of a mechanical engineer involve a sound
The PhD Course in Mechanical
Engineering is organised within the
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
and included in the PhD School of
Politecnico di Milano. The Programme
covers a number of different disciplines in
the field of Mechanical Engineering, being
devoted, in particular, to innovation.
It addresses both theoretical and
experimental activities referring to different
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research areas including Dynamics and
Vibrations of Mechanical Systems and
Vehicles, Machine and Vehicle design,
Manufacturing and Production Systems,
Methods and Tools for Product Design,
Materials, Measurements and Experimental
Techniques.
The Faculty’s academic staff is mainly made
up of Professors from the Department
of Mechanical Engineering at Politecnico
di Milano.
Research activities benefit from
the availability of the wide range
of experimental facilities described
in section 5.
The PhD Programme aims to serve
industrial needs in the fields of research
and development related to Mechanical
Engineering; PhD graduates are prepared
to embrace careers and industrial paths
at the forefront of technology, responding
efficiently to industrial requests for
innovation and highest level research.
At the end of the Programme they will be
expected to manage innovative research
activities, holding top-level roles in key
enterprises both in Italy
and in the international outlook.
Each year an average of 30 students, many
of whom are supported by scholarships
from public institutions and private
companies, register in the Doctoral
Programme in Mechanical Engineering.
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During a 3 year period PhD candidates will
master a continuative research activity that
will lead to a Doctoral Thesis, and take part
in courses designed to develop full expertise
in structuring research programs, pertinent
to refining tools and methods in order
to develop high-level research in the last
part of the PhD period. Students are also
prompted to attend stages, external courses,
national and international seminars,
conferences and workshops, encouraged
to participate in national and international
research projects, asked to develop scientific
paper writing and paper presentation and
to support teaching activities. International
mobility of PhD candidates is also strongly
recommended by means of agreements
and protocols with foreign institutions and
with extra financial support for students
with scholarships.
CONTACTS
Head of the Programme:
Prof. Bianca M. Colosimo:
biancamaria.colosimo@polimi.it
Secretary: Rosalia Agostino: rosalia.
agostino@ceda.polimi.it
Location: Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Politecnico di Milano
www.mecc.polimi.it
Address: via Giuseppe La Masa 1
20156 Milan, Italy
Tel. +39 02 2399 8227
Fax +39 02 2399 8202
Lifelong Learning
Training and ongoing, technicalprofessional refresher courses, targeted
at company personnel, are one of
the tools inherent in developing innovative
skills, increasing competitiveness, fostering
Research & Development and, finally,
motivating not only technical staff but also
professionals to remain focused on continual
improvement. Dedicating oneself full-time
to refresher courses and training, devoted
to research and innovation, in a stimulating
environment such as that offered by the
Politecnico di Milano is undoubtedly not
only useful but also highly productive,
offering interesting returns in terms of
know-how, new ideas and new stimuli.
Bearing these objectives in mind and
following the success achieved during past
editions, the Politecnico di Milano offers a
series of well-coordinated, highly targeted
training courses. Strongly endorsed by
Contacts
companies in the sector, for over a decade,
these courses are continually updated
to respond to the contemporary needs
of a fast-moving world. Each year,
the Department’s academic staff, all
specialists in their own individual
field, assisted by highly skilled outside
professionals and experts, offer some ten
courses which are attended by more than
one hundred participants. Several of
the programmes offered include tests and
on-site simulations at the Department’s
laboratories, considered among the most
advanced and modern in Europe
in mechanics-related sectors.
The aim of these courses is to respond to
the need to find a more responsibly aware
approach, based on a comparison between
the world of academia and the more
practical world of companies.
Department of Mechanical Engineering main building:
via G. La Masa, 1
20156 Milano
ITALY
Head Secretary:
Ph. +39-02.2399.8500
Fax +39-02.2399.8202
For further information:
e-mail: info@mecc.polimi.it
Website: www.mecc.polimi.it
Edited by: Emanuele Zappa and Paolo Pennacchi
Book Design: Graphicamente – Milano
Printed by: Stampa 2009 – Azzate (VA)
Photography by: Corrado Crisciani