Overview
Key facts
Overview
Fatigue of Structures & Materials at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) may occur as a consequence of cyclic loading structures. In particular within the context of fatigue and damage tolerance certification, engineers should have the knowledge and skills to analyse and assess fatigue life and fatigue performance. This includes the ability to design against fatigue, and to validate designs with validated fatigue strength justifications. Fatigue fractures and related structural failures may be caused by a variety of factors, such as quality of applied materials, the production technology, the structural design, inappropriate reliability calculations, underestimations of load spectra, and inappropriate use of structures. With so many possible factors an integral and rigorous engineering approach is required.
The Fatigue of Structures & Materials course at Delft University of Technology suits mainly aerospace engineers whose responsibilities include aircraft structures. However civil engineers as well as engineers working in the manufacturing industry would benefit as well from high level review fatigue life assessment and damage growth.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Interpret and discuss the fatigue fracture features with respect to the characteristics of each phase in fatigue life.
- Define and determine stress concentration factors for notched structures with or without residual stresses.
- Explain and discuss S-N curves with respect to mean stress, material surface effects, and scatter, and perform fatigue life analyses considering mean stress and notch root plasticity.
- Assess the fatigue life of tension and shear joints, and explain limitations to the similarity principles.
- Explain Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics concepts for damage growth, and perform crack growth analyses with these concepts.
- Explain the consequences of variable- and constant amplitude loading on fatigue life and damage growth, and perform fatigue life analyses for arbitrary load spectra.
- Explain the effect of environment on fatigue life and fatigue phenomena.
- Perform residual strength analyses.
For anyone working on development, design or strength justification of engineering structures this course will be invaluable. It will not only learn the methods and best practices, but also explain thoroughly the fundamentals that allow to assess the limits of current practices, and ways to overcome such limitations. In short, you will become a fatigue and damage tolerance specialist!
CertificationIf you successfully complete your online course you will be awarded with a TU Delft certificate.
This certificate will state that you were registered as a non-degree-seeking student at TU Delft and successfully completed the course.
If you decide that you would like to apply to the full Master's program in Aerospace Engineering, you will need to go through the admission process as a regular MSc student. If you are admitted, you can then request an exemption for this course that you completed as a non-degree-seeking student. The Board of Examiners will evaluate your request and will decide whether or not you are exempted.
Programme Structure
Course Syllabus
- Week 1: Fatigue phenomena and societal consequences. Understanding the various fatigue fracture phenomena in engineering metallic and composite structures. Definition of fatigue and description of history of fatigue assessment. Principles for designing against fatigue. Fatigue damage initiation and growth mechanisms.
- Week 2: o stress concentration factors (SCFs), principles to work with and calculate SCFs and design against stress concentrations. Influence of residual stresses.
- Week 3: Assessment of fatigue life, definitions and best practices, discussion of scatter. Discussion of joining in relation to fatigue, aspects like fretting corrosion and pretensioning.
- Week 4: stress intensity factors (SIFs) and damage growth predictions. Relation between physics of phenomena and stress based methods. Crack growth predictions.
Key information
Duration
- Part-time
- 2 months
Start dates & application deadlines
- Starting
- Apply before
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Language
Delivered
Disciplines
Civil Engineering & Construction Aerospace Engineering Mechanical Engineering View 10 other Short Courses in Civil Engineering & Construction in NetherlandsAcademic requirements
We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.
English requirements
We are not aware of any English requirements for this programme.
Other requirements
General requirements
- A relevant BEng or BSc degree in a subject closely related to the content of the course or specialized program in question, such as aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering or (applied) physics.
- If you do not meet these requirements because you do not have a relevant Bachelor's degree but you have a Bachelor's degree from a reputable institution and you think you have sufficient knowledge and experience to complete the course, you are welcome to apply, stating your motivation and reasons for admission. The faculty of aerospace engineering will decide whether you will be admitted based on the information you have provided. Appeal against this decision is not possible.
Tuition Fee
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International
750 EUR/fullTuition FeeBased on the tuition of 750 EUR for the full programme during 2 months. -
EU/EEA
750 EUR/fullTuition FeeBased on the tuition of 750 EUR for the full programme during 2 months.