The institute

Head

Prof. Grégoire Winckelmans
Secretariat: Tel. +32 10/47.22.00 Fax. +32 10/45.26.92
secretariat-immc@uclouvain.be

Address

Stevin building
Parking ground P14
Universite catholique de Louvain
Place du levant, 2 L5.04.01
B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

The institute

The Institute of Mechanics, Materials, and Civil Engineering (iMMC) at the Louvain School of Engineering (EPL) of the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) is a leading international center for research in engineering. Its core strengths span several of the major engineering disciplines, and are grouped into five inter-related topics:

• energy, thermodynamics, and chemical engineering
• mechatronics and biomechanics
• processing, materials, assembly, and structures
• fluid mechanics, environmental engineering, and geomechanics
• numerical and computational methods

The Institute provides an integrated environment for the advancement of engineering, with an emphasis on creativity and problem solving, and on bridging the gap between fundamental and applied research. The academic staff of the Institute consists of about 30 faculty members, 100 researchers and 50 technical and administrative support staff who pursue both research in both experimentation and modeling. Experimental resources cover the processing, assembly, characterization, and testing of materials of all kinds, as well as the development of prototype units and systems in chemical engineering, energy conversion, thermodynamics, mechatronics, biomechanics, hydraulics, aerodynamics, environmental engineering, and geomechanics. A strong emphasis is placed on a multidisciplinary approach, and on the development of multiscale and multiphysics models, novel numerical methods and the associated high performance computing.

The Institute maintains strong connections with local and international industrial partners, and has created and supported many successful spin-off companies. The main fields of application are energy conversion, nuclear energy, combustion, aeronautics, railway transportation, hydraulics, chemical engineering, chemical and biological processes, climatology, civil engineering, metallurgy, coatings and composites, mechatronic systems and robotics, and simulation software.

In regards to education, the Institute and its staff members support the four Master's degrees in mechanical engineering, electromechanical engineering, civil engineering, and materials science and chemical engineering. The goal of the Institute is to nurture a new generation of engineers and graduate students who transcend the traditional engineering divisions and are prepared and committed to meet the changing needs of our society and to forge a sustainable future.

Objectives and missions

The research objective of the Institute is to design, implement, and understand macroscopic systems in engineering technology. This research combines experimentation, mathematical modeling and numerical simulation. Recognizing the strong interaction between the various disciplines of engineering, the Institute provides an environment where inter-disciplinary research can flourish and thus contribute to sustainable and economically-viable development.

The central mission is to combine fundamental research and industrial applications while excelling in both. In the first case, publications, peer recognition, and international prizes are the indicators of quality, while in the second case, innovation, patents, and spinoffs are the indicators. Only institutes of critical size can meet this challenge by providing adequate scientific expertise and technical resources. We believe we can offer a unique research training environment for students, as well as be a partner of choice for businesses that work in high-technology niches.

From a pratical point of view, it is critical to :

• Share the best technologies, this requires the coordination of everyone involved in the institute
• Find funding mechanisms to initiate new and innovative projects
• Decompartmentalize research groups
• Strengthen relationships with the competitiveness clusters MecaTech and SkyWin, as well as with the major Wallon industries and research centres (CENAERO)
• Put these goals within a framework of quality, mindful of human relations

Research directions

• Fluid mechanics (aerodynamics, turbulence, hydraulic, geophysical flows, river morphology and dynamics, porous media, polymers, foams, suspensions);
• Mechanics of solids and structures (geotechnical and geomaterials, composite materials, fracture mechanics);
• Mechanics of granular media (liquefaction of saturated soils, dispersive and distributive mixing);
• Thermodynamics, electromechanics and energy (combustion, thermal and electrical machinery, production techniques and conversion of energy, nuclear technology and renewable energy, electrical power);
• Simulation and design of mechanical processes (extrusion, stamping, assembly, welding), thermal (crystallization, solidification) and chemical (electrochemical, chemical kinetics, catalysis, separation and treatment of pollutants, biomass) and biological (bioreactors, biocatalysis );
• Chemical (reactive flow modeling of catalysis and chemical kinetics, reactor design);
• Methods of modeling, design, optimization and prototyping of mechatronic systems (applications in robotics, biomedical and aerospace);
• Development of multi-body models, multi-physics and multi-scales;
• Physico-chemical characterization (eg electron microscopy, X-rays) and modeling of the phenomena involved in the development of micro-structures of a material during its implementation and its manufacturing (micro-macro models, damage, micro mechanics, rheology of materials microstructure evolving). Development of new methods for characterization and mechanical testing;
• Development of new materials (multi-materials, hybrid materials and architectures, thin films, biomaterials);
• Numerical methods (finite differences, finite elements, finite volume, particle methods, hybrid methods, adaptive techniques, stochastic approaches). Algorithms for Scientific Computing (parallel computing). Interpretation and representation of numerical results of complex models.

These disciplines have high fundamental importance, high societal or economic value, and often require integration of several expert groups. For example,

• New energy production processes requiring new materials and new devices
• Biomechanical systems involving multi-physics simulation and multi-body, mechatronics, bio-materials, and bio-coatings
• Multi-physics simulation of aeronatautical systems including fluid-structure integration and modeling of new composite materials and electromechanical systems
• Environmental systems and climate modeling involving the river and sea such that the problems of sedimentation and ecological processes can be investigated
• Hybrid actuation systems requiring multi-physics simulation and multi-body and advanced methods of mechatronics design

These examples show clearly, at the methodological level, the importance of the integration of research in modeling and numerical simulation, experimentation, and multi-physics and multi-scale approaches. It is important to add that if the macroscopic object is the ultimate goal, it will remain essential in this research to reach a precise understanding of underlying mechanisms, based on physics, mechanics, thermodynamics, and chemistry.

Règlement d'ordre intérieur