Thesis Opportunities

Explore thesis directions in computational mechanics, experimental testing, fatigue and structural integrity at the University of Pisa and with potential research contacts abroad.

Interested in understanding why materials and structures fail and how to improve predictions? Bachelor’s and master’s students in mechanical engineering and related disciplines can discuss a thesis combining mechanics, simulations, programming or laboratory work.

Three computational and experimental thesis projects are proposed alongside broader research directions. The thesis objectives will be agreed according to your background, interests and available research activities.

01 / Thesis topics and projects

Research-led thesis opportunities

Numerical methods, experimental mechanics and structural integrity

See available thesis projects
Simplified blue connected segments and teal circular markers beside a lattice structure

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

Explore how welding affects the stresses and fatigue life of a component. A thesis can connect process simulations with measurements and tests on welded joints.

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

Numerical / computational

Multiaxial fatigue of metals

Study how metals accumulate fatigue damage when loads act in several directions. Develop and compare assessment methods, with opportunities for students interested in mechanics, 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

Investigate how polymeric materials behave under repeated loading and how to predict the life of polymer components. The balance between testing and modelling can follow your interests and the agreed project.

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

Explore the mechanical reliability of printed circuit boards and electronic assemblies. Potential applications include components exposed to cyclic or vibration loading in automotive and other engineering environments.

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

Explore whether data-driven methods can support fatigue prediction and structural assessment. Specific AI projects depend on suitable datasets, research collaborators and agreed thesis objectives; these are potential directions, not claims of established or validated tools.

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

Choose how you work

You can focus on computation, experiments, or their combination. The activity labels above are starting points; we will agree a feasible approach for your thesis.

Numerical / computational

Finite element simulations, analytical methods, programming and algorithm development. Compare models and check their predictions against reference data.

Experimental

Laboratory testing, specimen characterisation, measurements and data acquisition. Interpret results to understand material and component behaviour.

Combined

Build a numerical model and support it with experiments. Correlate simulations with measurements and validate structural or fatigue assessment methods.

Thesis activities in Italy and abroad

Projects may be developed within the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, University of Pisa, with local industrial companies, or by exploring collaboration with international research institutions.

Previous research exchanges provide contacts for discussing fatigue, structural integrity, computational and experimental mechanics, and potentially AI-supported modelling. Research environments to explore include:

These contacts do not imply permanently open or guaranteed placements. Any international thesis depends on project availability, agreement of potential supervisors, host-institution acceptance, academic requirements, and funding and mobility arrangements where relevant.

Interested in one of these topics?

Contact me directly by email with your degree programme, interests, relevant experience and expected timeframe. If one of the specific projects interests you, please mention its title.

andrea.chiocca@unipi.it