Off-Campus Degree Programme

MSc in Structural
Integrity

An industry-led postgraduate degree programme delivered

at the National Structural Integrity Research Centre.
 Structural
The course enjoys strong
industrial links with a
number of organisations
including TWI

Integrity MSc
The Structural Integrity MSc programme has been developed
by Brunel University London in collaboration with engineering
research and technology organisation TWI. Students on this
specialised degree programme are based at the National
Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC), a dedicated
research facility embedded within TWIs headquarters just
outside Cambridge.
We look forward to welcoming you to study our MSc which combines
academic excellence through Brunel University London, with extensive up-
to-date industrial experience of TWIs experts across the varied disciplines
essential to structural integrity, which includes material degradation, asset
ageing and inspection.
This programme, which requires students to work across multiple
disciplines, is specifically tailored to provide graduates or practising
engineers with the skills needed to develop a successful career in
engineering. By the time they graduate, our students are equipped to plan
in-situ inspections and develop risk management and mitigation strategies
that conform to international codes and standards valuable skills that
distinguish them for recruitment by a diverse range of companies and
organisations all over the world.
For current funding and scholarship opportunities please visit the Brunel
website (www.brunel.ac.uk/pgscholarships).

Dr Kevin Hughes
Senior Lecturer in Structural Integrity / MSc Course Director
T +44 (0)1223 940 107
E kevin.hughes@brunel.ac.uk
Skype hughes.kev

What is NSIRC?
NSIRC is a state-of-the-art postgraduate engineering facility established and
managed by a collaboration of leading industrial organisations. Brunel University
is the lead university partner in NSIRC, and works with the main industrial
partner TWI to manage the research and educational programmes within NSIRC.
NSIRC is a unique model of university-industry interaction in the UK, pursuing
academic programmes informed by the needs of industry, whilst embedded in a
dynamic industrial environment.
www.nsirc.co.uk

Cover image: Damage / Flaw detection on a pressure vessel

2
Why the world needs Entry Requirements

integrity engineers A UK first or second class Honours

degree or equivalent internationally
recognised qualification in
When structures fail, the results can be catastrophic. Not only in terms of
engineering, science or technology.
potential loss of life and operational downtime, but also because of the huge
costs associated with subsequent inspection and repair. Integrity engineers
IELTS: 6 (minimum 5.5 in all areas)
play a crucial role in preventing these failures. Their decisions influence
structural design, determine service life extensions and improve safety
Pearson: 51 (51 in all subscores)
for a wide range of sectors, including oil and gas, power generation and
transportation. BrunELT: 60% (minimum 55% in
all areas)

Who is the degree for? Scholarships for 2017/18 entry

This MSc programme will appeal to mechanical engineers wanting to
specialise in stress analysis and existing integrity engineers wishing to For current funding and
upskill and gain a broader understanding of structural integrity. Due to its scholarship opportunities
multidisciplinary nature, this MSc provides a bridge for other branches of please visit our website:
engineering, such as civil, where engineers may be considering expanding www.brunel.ac.uk/pgscholarships
their careers into the energy or transportation sectors.
www.brunel.ac.uk/msc-si
This unique postgraduate programme provides the necessary training needed
to detect the existence, formation and growth of damage and defects, and
to assess the influence of loads and stresses arising from manufacture and
applied in service. While being able to detect defects is vital, it is knowing
what to do with these defects that is at the core of this programme. You
can expect to be taught by industrial experts involved in developing codes,
standards and working practices.
Being industry-led, this programme provides an opportunity to work on real
engineering projects, equipping graduates with applied knowledge of material
In-service damage: application of
and structural failure, finite element analysis, non-destructive testing and
fitness-for-service approach and finite
project management. element analysis to determine
if equipment should remain in service,
Why study this course? be repaired or be replaced

This degree awarded by Brunel is unique in the UK: there are no other
postgraduate opportunities that combine academic excellence with extensive,
up-to-date industrial experience across the many and varied disciplines
essential to structural integrity, as applied in the oil and gas, power
generation and transportation sectors.
The MSc in Structural Integrity is based around eight modules and an
industry led dissertation project:
Metallurgy and Materials
Fracture Mechanics and Fatigue Analysis
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Inspection Methodology
Reliability Engineering
Stress Analysis and Plant Inspection
Structural Health Monitoring
Codes of Practice with Principles and Application
Numerical Modelling of Solids and Structures (Finite Element Analysis)
You graduate as industry ready, your research is linked to industrial
application, tackling real problems in industry.

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 NSIRC, Granta Park
What experience will
students gain from studying
this programme?
The high level of industrial involvement within the
programme is unique in the UK, allowing students to gain
academic knowledge and industrial experience at the
same time.
This early contact with industry, working and networking
in a professional environment greatly increases students
employability and ensures they are industry-ready and in
high demand.
Accreditation
Accreditation by external professional bodies is further
testament to our teaching standards and course content.
Graduates are able to use this degree to satisfy part of the
further learning requirements for Chartered Engineer (CEng)
status with the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
and Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3).
How we teach
The course runs from September to September, with the key
activities in the period up to the end of April being taught
lecture modules and seminars from leading experts in the
UK. From May until the end of the programme, students work
full-time on their industrially supported Dissertation project.
The programme employs a wide range of teaching
methods designed to create a demanding and varied
learning environment.
Each module is assessed through a range of assessment
types (including group work), to ensure students have a
comprehensive understanding and can readily apply the
taught material to real engineering problems.
Failure testing of mooring chains under accelerated
corrosion conditions
4
Facilities
The bespoke teaching, research and experimental facilities
found at NSIRC are outstanding, featuring all the cutting-
edge equipment required to support the variety of
research topics specified by our industrial partners:
Industry-standard commercial software including
SIMULIA Abaqus, MATLAB and TWI-developed
packages including CrackWISE (fracture and fatigue
assessment) and IntegriWISE (fitness-for-service
assessment for ageing equipment).
Access to joint testing facilities across Brunel and
TWI, which includes mechanical and fatigue testing
under different environmental conditions and NDT
capability, together with access to 4D tomography and
microscopy facilities.
Access to an onsite, dedicated high-performance
computing facility, which permits large-scale
computational research projects to be performed.
Example dissertation topics
4D computed tomography study of additive
manufactured metal lattice structures
Corrosion resistance of anodised aluminium in marine
energy monitoring systems
Destructive testing of open rotor propeller blades
Implementing ultrasonic inspection of underwater
structures from a submersed platform
Correlating cathodic protection levels to external
corrosion in underground pipes
Generation and ingress of hydrogen in cathodically
polarised high-strength steels
Multiscale modelling of dynamic behaviour in
composite materials
Ultrasonic inspection of mooring chains using array
ultrasonic techniques
Influence of side grooving on fracture toughness specimens
Crack growing behaviour under residual stress
Effect of post-weld heat treatment on corrosion
performance of FSW 7050-T7451 aluminium alloys
Careers Fees Information

The MSc in Structural Integrity will prepare you for an exciting career, ranging UK/EU/International students:
from finite element and stress analysis of structures, developing inspection 18,500 full-time
strategies, through to defining safe life and life extension protocols for long
MSc Structural Integrity
term asset management, and much more.
scholarships for 2017/18 Entry
Our graduates have gone on to work for industrial companies, research and
Please visit www.brunel.ac.uk/
consultancy organisations including TWI Ltd, Mott McDonald, PTT Global
pgscholarships for more
Chemical Company and Network Rail, taking up positions not only in the UK,
information on scholarships.
but across the world in the following areas:
Applicants apply through the
Oil and gas industry
Brunel University course webpage,
Engineering consultancies indicating a desire to be considered
for a scholarship and including in
Asset management
the personal statement evidence
Research organisations of a desire to pursue a career in
Graduates from the MSc programme are actively encouraged to continue structural integrity. All required
their studies through a PhD. You will have ample opportunities to discuss information will be taken from
potential project areas with your academic and industrial supervisors. the course application form and
verified at registration.

PhD opportunities within NSIRC The course director and the NSIRC
technical director will consider
Graduates from the MSc programme are actively encouraged to continue eligible applicants for scholarship
their studies through a PhD, as you will have ample opportunities to discuss before making a recommendation
potential project areas with your academic and industrial supervisors. to the university.

Student diversity
Our students come from a variety of personal and professional backgrounds.
Many have specific careers in mind, or are already practising integrity
engineers working in the oil and gas or power generation sectors. This mix of
experience creates an extremely valuable learning environment and excellent
opportunities for networking.

Location
Located in a purpose-built facility adjacent
to the headquarters of TWI, this specialist
off-campus programme is solely delivered
at the Granta Park science campus just
outside Cambridge. The setting allows
students to work alongside leading
academics and industrial experts who
are at the forefront of structural integrity
research.
Getting to Granta Park is convenient and
straightforward, with several shuttle buses
travelling directly from the city centre every
day. Students can enjoy life in Cambridge
and benefit from the many sporting,
cultural and social events this compact
cosmopolitan city provides. Cambridge is
also conveniently close to London, just a
45-minute journey by train, and enjoys easy
access to the major London airports and
road links to the rest of the country.

5
 Graduate testimonials
Andreea-Maria Crintea from Romania graduated
with an MSc Structural Integrity in November 2015
What I liked about the course was its industrially relevant
technical content, which was delivered by professionals
at TWI, experts in their field, and by experienced
researchers at Brunel. The opportunity to study and carry
out my dissertation in a very professional environment
at the National Structural Integrity Research Centre
in Cambridge equipped me not only with the technical
knowledge, but also with the soft skills necessary to
perform well in my current position.
On graduation, Andreea secured employment with TWI as
a technology project leader.
I graduated from the Structural
Integrity MSc in September 2015
and now work for a large engineering
company, Mott MacDonald, in Cork,
Ireland. Im working in the structural
engineering department, where I undertake
finite element analysis of new and existing
structures and carry out site inspections looking
for damage to structures, whether that be cracks or
other visible signs
6
Warren Bath graduated with an MSc in
Structural Integrity in November 2015.
I was attracted to the course as it offered modules that
were of particular interest to me, such as finite element
analysis, non-destructive testing and radiography.
Working in both an academic and industry environment
has helped me enormously in my career search. Upon
completion of the MSc in Structural Integrity, I began
employment with TWI as a project leader, an appointment
that was made possible through the knowledge, skills and
the network of connections obtained during my time on
my masters degree.
Please see www.nsirc.co.uk for full graduate articles.
I was very excited to be
accepted onto the Network Rail
Mechanical Engineering Graduate
Scheme in 2016. The rail sector is a
promising area in the UK and I felt that
this position is an ideal starting point for a
mechanical engineer graduate. Moreover this is
a position where I am able to put the skills and the
knowledge gained from the MSc into practice.
 Typical brittle fracture (courtesy of TWI)

Facilities include various capacity (kN->MN) servo-hydraulic

mechanical testing machines for static, fatigue and fracture Measuring crack tip opening displacement
testing (courtesy of TWI) under three-point bending (courtesy of TWI)

Measuring the energy absorbed by a

material during fracture by Charpy
Solidifcation crack in a butt weld (courtesy of TWI) Impact Testing (courtesy of TWI)

Back cover: Top: Full scale sour corrosion fatigue pipe test machine (Courtesy of TWI)
Bottom: Guided wave inspection of an offshore structure (Courtesy of TWI)
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Get in touch wed love to hear from you
Admissions, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, UK
admissions@brunel.ac.uk +44 (0)1895 265265
Catherine Wells, Brunel NSIRC and Theme Administrator
catherine.wells@brunel.ac.uk +44 (0)1223 940101

www.brunel.ac.uk www.nsirc.co.uk

Explore and connect with us, anytime.

/bruneluniversity @BrunelUni /BrunelUniversity /edu/brunel-

university-
london-12575

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this brochure and the University will take all reasonable action to
deliver courses and services in accordance with the descriptions set out in it. A contract is made at the point when an applicant accepts an
offer from Brunel, meeting any conditions, and the acceptance is communicated to Brunel or the clearing system acting for Brunel, and this
contract is confirmed. All students are required, as a condition of registration, to abide by and submit to the Universitys statutes, ordinances,
regulations and rules, which are published on the Universitys website (a hard copy is available from the Registry at the Uxbridge address).
Note: the information contained within this course brochure is correct at the time of going to print (May 2016).

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