Structural Integrity MSc

About the Course

The MSc in Structural Integrity is a new course for 2013, focusing on the technical knowledge and skills most relevant to developing a career in technical and engineering roles where understanding and achieving structural integrity is a key component.

The technology and applications of structural integrity are wide-ranging and constantly evolving. The course aims to create a synergy of relevant knowledge from the fields of materials, structural analysis and non-destructive testing and inspection. Major users include the oil and gas, power generation, petrochemical, nuclear and transportation sectors.

Who should attend?

The course is aimed at new graduates who wish to develop their careers in this direction, together with practicing engineers who wish to gain a recognised postgraduate qualification in an important discipline

The overall objective is to produce high quality engineers with an in-depth knowledge of the science and technology of structural integrity, materials degradation, asset ageing and inspection. The underpinning theory and principles of these disciplines will be covered in a set of eight taught modules. Application of theory will be consolidated during a research project.

The course aims to equip students with an ability to oversee all aspects of asset integrity management and the necessary knowledge and skills to analyse and act on the survey results obtained.

Learning outcomes

A graduate of this course will have integrated knowledge of materials performance, structural integrity and inspection engineering including:

• Understanding what structural integrity is and how it is achieved and demonstrated
• Awareness of the importance of good engineering specification and design
• Knowledge of how materials perform, age and degrade in different service environments
• Appreciation of the concept of a mitigation process and knowing how to manage integrity in-service
• Ability to apply advanced structural analysis techniques to determine stressors
• Knowledge of structural reliability analysis
• An understanding of structural condition monitoring
• Learning to develop appropriate risk based inspection, maintenance and service plans.
• Ability to choose between the capabilities and inherent limitations of different NDT techniques.
• Ability to detect and quantify structural integrity issues by utilising appropriate NDT techniques.
• Ability to make decisions when dealing with structures with flaws and other damage. 

Aims

The course aims to produce engineers and technologists who can quickly make a contribution to achieving and assuring structural integrity in industry through materials testing, structural analysis, inspection, including state-of-the-art methods and NDT techniques, and fitness-for-service assessment.

The key outputs are industry-ready, world-class engineers and technologists in structural integrity disciplines such as fail-safe design, corrosion control, structural health monitoring and ageing asset management.

Enquiries

Marketing and Recruitment Officer
School of Engineering and Design
Email sed-pg-admissions@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 265814 or 266633

Course Director: Dr Bin Wang

Special Features

The MSc in Structural Integrity is an industry led degree offered by Brunel University, with support from its industrial partner, The Welding Institute (TWI Ltd). The MSc course will combine academic excellence with the extensive up-to-date industrial experience of TWI’s experts across the many and varied disciplines that are essential to structural integrity.

The course is taught at Brunel University’s School of Engineering and Design. However, some lab work may be conducted at TWI’s premises in Great Abington, Cambridge.

Accreditation

The School will be seeking accreditation with the Welding Institute in due course.

Facts and Figures

Brunel’s School of Engineering and Design is one of the largest of its kind in the UK, with over 150 academics and a substantial and high quality pool of technical and administrative staff. As a result, we have excellent resources to support your time here as a student.

Course Content

The course consists of 180 credits, consisting of 120 credits of compulsory and optional taught modules followed by a 60 credit research project. Please be aware modules may be subject to change.

Part 1

Compulsory modules

• Structural Integrity
• Metallurgy and Materials Degradation
• NDT Inspection methodology
• Plant, Process and Inspection
• Condition Based Maintenance
• Reliability Engineering and NDT Effectiveness

Optional modules (choose 2)

• Advanced Fracture Mechanics and Fatigue Analysis
• Numerical Modelling of Solids and Structures (FEA & BEM)
• Advanced Ultrasonic Testing
• Advanced Radiography Testing
• Advanced Analysis in Structural Reliability Assessment
• Structural Health Monitoring

Part 2

• Dissertation (60 credits)

Typical Dissertations

Students will conduct research in the area of advanced NDT, Structural Life assessment, Asset Integrity Management and Reliability Engineering. At the end of the research, students must produce a dissertation of not more than 30,000 words. It is anticipated that a large number of students will carry out their dissertation in industry.

Teaching and Learning

Our philosophy

The ethos of Structural Integrity Engineering at Brunel stems from the initial formation of the University as a technological institution in the mid-1960s.

Our philosophy is to underpin theoretical aspects of the subject with hands-on experience in applying structural integrity engineering techniques, such as NDT. Although you may move on to project management and supervision roles, we feel it important that your knowledge is firmly based on an understanding of how things are done. To this end, industrial partners will provide guest lectures on specialist topics.

In addition to teaching, all Structural Integrity engineering staff members are active researchers. This keeps us at the cutting edge of developments and, we hope, allows us to pass on our enthusiasm for the subject.

Hours

As Course is delivered in a bock teaching mode, contact between students and academic staff is high at around 40 hours during the teaching week, and becomes various during the following study weeks with tutorials and lab sessions as appropriate to the contents. As the course progresses the number of contact hours may be reduced as you undertake more project-based work.

How will I be taught?

Lectures

These provide a broad overview of the main concepts and ideas you need to understand and give you a framework on which to expand your knowledge by private study.

Laboratories

Practicals are generally two- or three-hour sessions in which you can practise your observational and analytical skills, and develop a deeper understanding of theoretical concepts.

Simulation workshops

In the workshop you will work on individual and group projects with guidance from members of staff. You may be required to produce a numerical modelling to develop a solution to an engineering problem. These sessions allow you to develop your specific modelling capacity and practice your teamwork skills.

Site visits

Learning from real-world examples in an important part of the course. You will visit sites featuring a range of engineering approaches and asked to evaluate what you see.

One-to-one

On registration for the course you will be allocated a personal tutor who will be available to provide academic and pastoral support during your time at university. You will get one-to-one supervision on all project work.

Assessment

Modules are taught over eight months (from October to May) and will be assessed by combination of assignments and end of year examinations.

For the final four months (June to September), students will conduct an individual project and prepare a dissertation, allowing the opportunity to undertake original research.

Employability

This course allows practitioners in relevant technical and engineering based subject areas to both broaden their knowledge and understanding of all aspects of structural integrity (which they may not be quite familiar with), and also to specialise further in this discipline. It also allows practising engineers to build upon both the basic and advanced theory that underpins their discipline.

It is anticipated that since this course is geared for UK and overseas structural integrity practitioners, it will enhance all participants’ career prospects.

In terms of the UK, participants would be attracted to the type of work carried out by specialist modelling and analysis consultants, government agencies, operators of large infrastructures, and large scale energy (including nuclear and oil and gas), transportation (eg. rail) and civil engineering firms working in this field.

In terms of the overseas participants, it would enhance their skills base to work with international companies with specialist divisions in assets integrity management (AIM) and structural integrity management (SIM), large local engineering firms, and also with their own domestic regulatory set-ups.

Careers

The MSc in Structural Integrity course provides the required advanced theoretical knowledge and essential practical skills for graduates to develop their career in the field of service and consultancy in oil and gas, power generation, petrochemical, nuclear and transport sectors.

Placements

All dissertation projects will be linked to an industrial research scheme thus providing placements to various extents appropriate to the project requirement.

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £17,000 full-time

International students: £17,000 full-time

Scholarship funds provided by our industrial sponsors are available for exceptional applicants to the 2013 entry. The scholarship is open to both UK and international applicants.

Please email the Course Director (Dr Bin Wang, bin.wang@brunel.ac.uk) the reasons why you think you should be considered for this industry scholarship.

Read about other funding opportunities available to postgraduate students.

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements

At least a second class Honours degree, or equivalent, in a relevant branch of engineering or science.

Other qualifications and relevant experience will be assessed on an individual basis.

English Language Requirements

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.