Mechanics Applied to Machines

This scientific discipline focuses on scientific and educational activities in the field of Applied Mechanics to Machines. It encompasses the cultural, scientific, professional and historical aspects inherent in the study of mechanical systems, machines, their components and structures.

The subject is approached using a unifying systems-based methodology, drawing on the methods of theoretical, applied and experimental mechanics, leading to technological and industrial applications, with a focus on environmental and energy sustainability.

The range of mechanical systems considered is entirely general: power and working machines, mechanical and mechatronic devices, mechanisms, transmissions and drives, automatic machines and robotic systems, vehicles, conventional and autonomous transport systems, lifting systems, energy production systems, biomechanical systems, and components and systems at the micro- and nano-scales. The department utilises experimental, modelling and simulation methods for the analysis of mechanical behaviour and the functional design of machines and mechanical systems.

The methods and applications are based on the study of kinematics, statics, dynamics (both linear and non-linear), interactions with the environment in general and between material surfaces (contact mechanics), control, automation and the identification of mechanical systems.

The department’s research interests also include vibrational, vibroacoustic and tribological phenomena, mechatronics, fluid-structure interactions, the monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics of mechanical systems, fluid automation and robotics, fluidics and microfluidics, and functional biomechanics.

The implementation of the developed methods through hardware and software systems forms an integral part of the sector’s expertise.

Kinematics and Dynamics

Tribology

Vehicles

Robotics

Mechanical vibrations

Biomechanics

Mechatronics and Industrial Automation

Diagnostics of mechanical systems