Thesis Opportunities

Bachelor’s and master’s thesis projects in fatigue, computational mechanics and experimental testing at the University of Pisa.

01 / Thesis topics and projects

Research-led thesis opportunities

Bachelor’s and master’s students in mechanical engineering and related fields can work on why materials and structures fail and how to predict it, through mechanics, simulation, programming or laboratory work.

Three computational and experimental thesis projects are available, plus open research directions. We agree the objectives together, based on your background and interests.

See available thesis projects

FIG. T01Critical plane explorer

Max DP/σa
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Critical plane (θ, φ)
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Pointer
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critical planes
Each point is a plane. Colour: Findley damage under axial + torsional loading. Drag to rotate.
How it is computed

Computed with multifat (multiaxial-fatigue) at commit 67f06ea: evaluate_findley with MCC shear amplitude, one call per plane on a 3° grid, k = 0.3. Loading: σxx = σa sin ωt, τxy = λσa sin(ωt − Δφ), zero mean. Illustrative coefficient, not a material calibration.

Data (JSON) · Generator script · multifat@67f06ea

02 / Student projects

Available thesis projects

01 / Computational research · Python

Open-source multiaxial fatigue methods

Contribute to the public FABER WG4.3 multiaxial-fatigue repository. Study fatigue assessment criteria from the scientific literature, implement the selected methods in Python and compare their results on documented loading cases.

  • Open source
  • Multiaxial fatigue
  • Python
Comparison of harmonic normal and shear stress histories at zero and ninety degrees phase difference, with straight and elliptical stress paths.
Illustrative proportional and non-proportional harmonic stress histories and stress-space paths. These are not experimental data or fatigue-life predictions.

Project activities Literature review; formulation and implementation of fatigue methods; unit tests and numerical examples; documented code contributions; comparison with available experimental data.

Related publications

  1. An efficient algorithm for critical plane factors evaluation (2023) DOI
  2. A closed-form solution for evaluating the Findley critical plane factor (2024) DOI
Discuss a project

02 / Experimental research · Vibration testing

Experimental fatigue of capacitors on electronic boards

Investigate the fatigue resistance of capacitors mounted on printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs). Design and prepare a capacitor test circuit, perform vibration tests using laboratory shakers and interpret the observed response and failure mechanisms.

  • PCBA
  • Vibration testing
  • Component reliability
Laboratory bending fixture with a thin curved specimen supported at two points and loaded by a central spherical tip.
Bending-test arrangement illustrating the laboratory's mechanical characterisation activities. The proposed project focuses on shaker tests of assembled electronic boards.

Project activities Circuit and specimen design; shaker-test planning and instrumentation; experimental measurements; analysis of capacitor fatigue and comparison with available prediction methods for electronic components.

Related publications

  1. Numerical-experimental characterization of the dynamic behavior of PCB for the fatigue analysis of PCBa (2023) DOI
Discuss a project

03 / Experimental and computational research · Thermal imaging

Fatigue of lattice structures and effects of surface coating

Investigate the fatigue resistance of additively manufactured lattice structures and the effect of surface coating. The project combines experimental tests on coated and uncoated specimens with infrared thermography and the assessment of fatigue behaviour using available methods.

  • Lattice structures
  • Surface coating
  • Thermal imaging
Infrared image of a lattice specimen mounted in a test rig, showing temperature variation and a colour scale.
Thermal image of a lattice specimen during mechanical testing.

View original thermal image

Project activities Design or selection of lattice specimens; coating and specimen preparation; static and cyclic tests; infrared thermal measurements; comparison of fatigue results and failure mechanisms.

Related publications

  1. Effects of coating on the fatigue endurance of FDM lattice structures (2022) DOI
Discuss a project

03 / Research topics

Explore a research direction

Numerical + experimental

Welded structures

How welding affects stresses and fatigue life, connecting process simulations with measurements and tests.

Typical activities Welding simulation; thermomechanical finite element models; residual stress evaluation; fatigue testing and numerical–experimental comparison.

Numerical / computational

Multiaxial fatigue of metals

How metals accumulate damage under multiaxial loads; develop and compare assessment methods, with programming and scientific computing.

Typical activities Critical-plane criteria; efficient algorithms; model benchmarking; validation against experimental datasets; Python-based scientific software.

Experimental + numerical

Fatigue behaviour of polymers

Cyclic behaviour and life prediction of polymer components, balancing testing and modelling as you prefer.

Typical activities Mechanical and cyclic characterisation; constitutive and fatigue-life models; component simulations; experimental validation. Temperature effects may be considered where feasible.

Numerical + experimental

PCB fatigue and reliability

Mechanical reliability of circuit boards and electronic assemblies under cyclic or vibration loading.

Typical activities Finite element models of boards and components; mechanical response and failure mechanisms; fatigue-life estimation; comparison with measurements.

Numerical / computational · exploratory

AI for structural integrity

Whether data-driven methods can support fatigue prediction. Exploratory: depends on suitable datasets and collaborators; no validated tool is implied.

Typical activities Machine-learning benchmarks; physics-based and data-driven models; surrogate modelling; interpretation of experimental data against reference results.

Choose how you work

Choose computation, experiments or both; we will agree a feasible plan.

Numerical / computational

Simulations, analytical methods and programming, checked against reference data.

Experimental

Laboratory tests, measurements and data analysis on materials and components.

Combined

A numerical model supported and validated by experiments.

Thesis activities in Italy and abroad

Projects run at the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, University of Pisa, with companies, or with international research institutions.

Research contacts from previous exchanges, to discuss a thesis abroad:

Placements abroad are not guaranteed: they depend on project availability, supervisors, host-institution acceptance, academic rules, and funding and mobility arrangements.

Interested in one of these topics?

Email me your degree programme, interests, relevant experience and timeframe. Mention the project title if one interests you.

andrea.chiocca@unipi.it