Name Activity "Production Engineering, Machine Design and Automation (PMA) Section" "The division PMA (Production techniques, Machine design and Automation) is unique in its multi-disciplinary system approach in the study and development of innovative products, production processes and intelligent (production) machines. Research programs are primarily defined based on social (industrial) relevance. In addition, fundamental contributions are made to the underlying scientific disciplines (computational dynamics, optimization, control theory, tribology, signal processing, etc.). Particular attention is also paid to valorisation via spin-off companies. PMA participates with a number of Core Labs in Flanders Make (www.flandersmake.be).PMA's strategic research programs are:Innovative products, production techniques and systems: additive manufacturing, sheet metal working, subtractive machining and complex products, dimensional measurement technology, product development.Design and analysis of machines: simulation and testing of the high bandwidth dynamic behaviour of systems, intelligent lightweight structures, modelling of multi-body systems, estimation techniques for mechatronic systems, mechatronic systems with smart dynamics.Mechatronics and robotics: design of mechatronic systems, ultra-precision machines, micro- and meso-mechatronic systems, optimization and control for autonomous and cognitive systems and for human-machine interaction, real-time and embedded control, new industrial robotics." "DESIGN & OPTIMISATION" "Demand for customised production is rising dramatically, and introducing a single product to market is no longer enough. Using model-based design methods and supporting software, we help developers improve the increasingly-complex design process. An entire product family is expected from the outset. This is only possible if the design process is aligned accordingly, right from the very first phase. After all, the further you are into the design process, the more expensive and time-consuming it is to implement any changes.Specific tools give designers near-instant insight into the different possible concepts and optimal design choices. We also offer support for production environments, in which we take the impact of production on the design into account.More: https://www.flandersmake.be/en/research/design-optimisation" "Architectural Engineering" "Lars De Laet" "The research within the ae-lab is focused on 'the use of engineering tools to create architecture'. This approach is applied on three topics which ask for interdisciplinary studies: the design of light-weight structures, the issue of re-use, and the incorporation of 4D-design. LIGHTWEIGHT STRUCTURES Architectural and structural engineering are subject to an ongoing process of optimization. The search for lighter, more efficient and more performing structural systems is and has always been an essential part of this process. Achieving lightness is a complex task which equally and simultaneously addresses the knowledge, ability and experience as well as the fantasy and intuition of a dedicated architect or engineer. Lightweight structures challenge the boundaries set by static and dynamic structural theories. Cutting-edge materials and complicated three-dimensional shapes dare our calculating and manufacturing procedures and put our technological capabilities to the test. Lightweight structures give expression to ingenious and efficient concepts and thereby contribute to the visualization of contemporary architectural space. The 'Lightweight Structures' research group contributes with a wide range of research topics to the further development of 'Tensile Surface Structures', 'Kinetic Structures', 'Morphological Indicators' and 'Graphical Analysis and Form Finding'. A number of topics are currently under investigation: the design and implementation of pneumatic components in structural systems, the comfort assessment of spaces enclosed by translucent membranes, the design and calculation of new typologies for fabric structures, the design and analysis of deployable bar structures for mobile architectural applications, the use of scissor structures in retractable roofs,... RE-USE The research group on 'Re-use' studies the modern industrial and architectural patrimony (1800-2000). The main objective is to reconcile the authenticity of the architectural heritage with the modern standards asking for more comfort and safety. The assessment of a building typically deals with the evaluation of historical, structural and architectural aspects. The starting point of the research is the construction history. Studying the used construction techniques, calculation methods and material characteristics offers information for the structural behavior. In combination with the structural assessment, the historical, architectural and esthetical qualities are evaluated to determine the cultural value of the building. On the basis of these findings proposals are formulated to retain, refurbish, strengthen or demolish the building. Supplementary, contemporary re-design strategies, applied by designers who rehabilitate and re-use buildings, are analyzed to help converting the historical and recent data into specific proposals and recommendations. Critical analyses of recent rehabilitation projects constantly question and indicate the historical, architectural, cultural and social significance. TRANSFORM The '4 Dimensional Design Strategy' (4D) includes a dynamic view on the built environment. By designing adaptable construction systems, which are compatible with each other, a dynamic - and by this sustainable - answer can be given to an unexpected and unpredictable future. These construction systems are made of a minimum number of basic elements and a set of combination rules. They allow the conversion of each artefact to a different configuration, by means of adding, removing or transforming the basic elements which it is made of. It offers a high potential of recycling and (direct) re-use. The outcome can be compared with the 'Meccano' building set, which, in this view, encloses all materials and techniques, and is applicable to all scales. A set of standardization rules, called a generating form and dimensioning system is the generating system and the central concept in the design strategy, in the sense that it ensures full compatibility of form and dimensions between all basic elements. Current research concentrates on the implementation of new 4D design principles and tools into the strategy. Feasibility studies made/make it possible to evaluate and tune 4D. A variety of applications are currently studied: temporary shelters after a disaster, temporary units for housing, social housing, refurbishment of social housing." DMMS-D "The Flanders MakeDMMS core lab consistsof two research teams of the KU LeuvenDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, being the Noise and Vibration Research Group and the MECO research group. Together, thesegroups have a longstanding history and are internationally highly recognizedexperts in the fields of:·        Numericalmodelling;·        Engineeringdynamics; ·        Mechatronicanalysis and design;·        Vibro-acousticanalysis and lightweight structure design and analysis;·        Sensing,identification, control, optimization and monitoring of mechanical andmechatronic systems withapplications in,amongst others, the automotive and machine buildingindustry. Expertise in these domains is valorised in various regional, national andinternational projects and programmes. DMMSis involved in Flanders Make in two core labs: DMMS-M and DMMS-D.  Core lab DMMS-D (D for Design) covers key aspects for the clusterDesign & Optimisation involving:·        Designand development of physically inspired models;·        Modelorder reduction schemes;·        Real-timeanalysis, ·        co-design, co-simulation and optimization. " "Architectural Engineering" "The department of architectural engineering has set up an interdisciplinary 'research lab on architectural engineering' to bring together research in the field. Find out more about the latest research on http://www.vub.ac.be/ARCH/ae-lab/home" "Structural Analysis" "TOPIC A : Mechanical Properties of Composite Materials Systems and their application in mechanical constructions (Long fibre reinforced composite materials) (Cardon A.) - Anisotropic elasticity, plasticity and viscoelasticity, development of numerical models for finite element analysis through experimentation, under controlled temperature, moisture and stress/displacement conditions - Mechanical properties of materials, reinforced with long fibres and their use in mechanical constructions - Formulation, application, performance and durability of technopolymere based composites - Study of dynamical properties and development of fibrous structures with sensors - dentification of stiffness and damping properties through mixed numerical and experimental techniques - Experimental and numerical analysis of fibre reinforced composites - Research on joints in composites. - Analysis of coupling phenomena: mechanical, thermal and hygrothermal fields - Description of the interface and its evolution under complex load states, including environmental loads - Study of interfaces in composite materials TOPIC B : Experimental analysis and computer aided design of structural elements (W.P. De Wilde) - Computer aided design of structural elements - Study of the behaviour and optimisation of composite structures, subject to unusual loads - Computers and their use in the analysis and design of structures - Experimental and numerical analysis of joints in hybrid composites - Research on joints in composites - Optimisation of sandwich panels with hybrid composites - Development of finite element analysis algorithms in the field of composite materials, structural vibrations and eigenvalue problems; stochastic finite element method - nfluence of surface properties on hygrothermal behaviour of composites. Study of the vibrational behaviour of clamped anisotropic plates, application to NDI. - Mechanical properties of composites, stochastic finite element method - Computer graphics and software tools - Consultance in the selection of computer equipment TOPIC C : Low Temperature Mineral Polymer Matrix Composites (J. Wastiels) - Mechanical properties in function of matrix materials and interphase - Addition of synthetic or natural fibres - Application in low cost housing materials and earthquake resistant design - Application in lightweight materials. - Development of a material for high temperature application" "Applied Continuum Mechanics" "TOPIC A : Mechanical Properties of Composite Materials Systems and their application in mechanical constructions (Long fibre reinforced composite materials) (Cardon A.) - Anisotropic elasticity, plasticity and viscoelasticity, development of numerical models for finite element analysis through experimentation, under controlled temperature, moisture and stress/displacement conditions - Mechanical properties of materials, reinforced with long fibres and their use in mechanical constructions - Formulation, application, performance and durability of technopolymere based composites - Study of dynamical properties and development of fibrous structures with sensors - dentification of stiffness and damping properties through mixed numerical and experimental techniques - Experimental and numerical analysis of fibre reinforced composites - Research on joints in composites. - Analysis of coupling phenomena: mechanical, thermal and hygrothermal fields - Description of the interface and its evolution under complex load states, including environmental loads - Study of interfaces in composite materials TOPIC B : Experimental analysis and computer aided design of structural elements (W.P. De Wilde) - Computer aided design of structural elements - Study of the behaviour and optimisation of composite structures, subject to unusual loads - Computers and their use in the analysis and design of structures - Experimental and numerical analysis of joints in hybrid composites - Research on joints in composites - Optimisation of sandwich panels with hybrid composites - Development of finite element analysis algorithms in the field of composite materials, structural vibrations and eigenvalue problems; stochastic finite element method - nfluence of surface properties on hygrothermal behaviour of composites. Study of the vibrational behaviour of clamped anisotropic plates, application to NDI. - Mechanical properties of composites, stochastic finite element method - Computer graphics and software tools - Consultance in the selection of computer equipment TOPIC C : Low Temperature Mineral Polymer Matrix Composites (J. Wastiels) - Mechanical properties in function of matrix materials and interphase - Addition of synthetic or natural fibres - Application in low cost housing materials and earthquake resistant design - Application in lightweight materials. - Development of a material for high temperature application" DMMS-M "The Flanders MakeDMMS core lab consistsof two research teams of the KU LeuvenDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, being the Noise and Vibration Research Group and the MECO research group. Together, thesegroups have a longstanding history and are internationally highly recognizedexperts in the fields of:·        Numericalmodelling;·        Engineeringdynamics; ·        Mechatronicanalysis and design;·        Vibro-acousticanalysis and lightweight structure design and analysis;·        Sensing,identification, control, optimization and monitoring of mechanical andmechatronic systems withapplications in,amongst others, the automotive and machine buildingindustry. Expertise in these domains is valorised in various regional, national and internationalprojects and programmes. DMMSis involved in Flanders Make in two core labs: DMMS-M and DMMS-D. With DMMS-M(M for mechatronic), we coverkey aspects for the competence cluster Decision & Control. Our researchinvolves:·        Physicalmodel-based sensing and monitoring;·        Systemidentification and parameter and state estimation;·        Advanced(motion) control and motion optimization;Signalprocessing in service to condition and health monitoring." "Programming Technology Lab" "The Programming Technology Lab (Prog for short) is a research and teaching lab within the VUB's Department of Computer Science. From a research perspective, Prog has always been active in the broad domains of software engineering and programming language engineering. In the former domain, our research consists of designing, implementing and formalising meta level techniques that support programming and modelling activities. In the latter domain, our research comprises the design, specification, formalisation and implementation of new programming languages belonging to the dynamic paradigm. See our Research Topics for more detailed information. From a teaching perspective, Prog has always taken a leading role in the design of the VUB's bachelor and master programmes in computer science. Prog's early history in dynamic programming paradigms is very tangible through the omnipresence of Scheme in the bachelor programme. Pico is Prog's homeground programming language for teaching. Throughout the years, Prog has been trying to disseminate its didactic values in international programmes such as EMOOSE. More recently, in UbiLab, we try to project these didactic values onto teaching embedded and ubiquitous systems. More details are found on the teaching pages. PROG's current research activities are being conducted within two (non-disjoint) groups of people which study software engineering and programming language engineering to ease the management of crosscutting phenomena and ambient phenomena... Aspect Technology and Understanding Crosscutting Phenomena Right from the start of the field in 1997, Prog has been active in aspect-oriented programming (AOP) and aspect-oriented software development (AOSD). AOP tries to centralise code that crosscuts an entire system -- but that conceptually belongs together -- into a new kind of module that is referred to as an aspect. An aspect weaver injects these aspects into a set of predetermined locations in the system. This set is described by an expression in a pointcut language. The power of a particular aspect-oriented language is largely determined by the expressiveness of its pointcut language: the easier and the more precise the injection locations can be described, the more complex systems the weaver can produce. Currently the notion of crosscutting phenomena in software engineering transcends mere AOP. Prog researchers are working on languages and techniques that strive for a better understanding and mastery of crosscutting phenomena. Designing better aspect-oriented languages. We design more powerful AOP languages by designing richer pointcut languages based on executable logic (e.g. Prolog's Horn clauses), by designing meta-aspect protocols and metacircular aspect languages, by inventing AOP for event-based languages using temporal-logic pointcuts, and by designing aspect languages for system level technologies such as C and make-files. Understanding crosscutting phenomena. We apply automated reasoning technology (e.g. Prolog, forward-chaining, abstract interpretation) on the meta level in order to extract crosscutting phenomena from existing code. Research includes dynamic analysis of code in order to verify crosscutting dynamic system properties, abstract interpretation techniques to enable behavioural queries over existing code, and meta-level reasoning technology that verifies system-wide structural properties of source code. Exploring non-aspect technologies to support crosscutting phenomena. Research includes the specification of how to convey inter-module knowledge in the implementation of modular compilers for domain-specific languages, and the design of context-oriented programming languages which allow us to express systems in which entire control flow paths (which crosscut a system) can be modified using a single instruction. More information can be found on the Context-Oriented Programming portal, the Logic Pointcuts in Carma portal, the declarative meta programming portal, and the intensional views portal. Programming Ambient Systems and Open Networks The term Ambient Systems is sometimes classified as euro-speak for ""ubiquitous systems"". The idea is that in the near future, human beings will be surrounded by a processor cloud of cooperating devices that together form a Personal Area Network. Such ambient systems have to function in the face of volatile connections, in the absence of shared infrastructure (like servers) and have to be highly aware of their context. Ambient-Oriented Programming (AmOP) is a name for Prog's research programme that strives for the design and implementation of high level programming technology that will facilitate the construction of such systems. Ambient-Oriented Programming Languages We are designing a family of programming languages that is designed to operate in environments where failure is the rule rather than the exception. We come up with new service discovery techniques, techniques to deal with managing facts (i.e. knowledge) that are distributed over volatile connections, advanced remote object referencing techniques, replication and reversible computations. Ambient-Oriented Virtual Machine Technology The programming languages conceived until now have been implemented on smart phones using prototypical recursive implementations. More recently, we are also doing research in implementation technology for our languages. Research includes distributed memory management in the face of volatile connections and lightweight virtual machines that are to be deployed on machinery as simple as sensor network nodes. Context-Aware Programming Ambient Systems are to be context aware. Instead of conceiving context dependencies by mere if-tests, we come up with techniques in which multi-layered programs can be written in which layers correspond to contexts. Also the application of rule-based formalisms is being investigated in this context. More information can be found on the Ambient-Oriented Programming Portal." "Department of Materials Engineering" "Bart Blanpain" "The Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering (MTM: Metaalkunde en Toegepaste Materiaalkunde) is dedicated to both fundamental and application-oriented research in metals, ceramics, polymers, and in composite materials. Its strength lies in the multi-method approach at the levels of elaboration and processing, of characterization, and of evaluation of the functional behavior of materials. The aim is, starting from fundamental concepts, to understand the physical, mechanical, chemical and electrochemical behavior of a wide variety of engineering materials. This knowledge forms the basis for the development of new metallic materials, ceramics, polymers, metallic and non-metallic composites as well as the study and optimization of the related processing conditions. MTM is at the center of gravity of the materials R&D activities at the KU Leuven and operates within the Materials Research Center (MRC) of the KU Leuven. It offers a polyvalent education in materials science and engineering, at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level. It operates in a multilingual environment, and attracts scientists from all over the world. Students' participation in the research activities is a substantial part of their training as materials engineers. The research of the Department has been structured in 6 research groups:1.Thermodynamics in materials engineering (P. Wollants, B. Blanpain) 2.Surface engineering (J.. Celis, M. De Bonte, J. Fransaer) 3.Advanced alloys & production processes (L. Froyen, L. Delaey, J. Van Humbeeck) 4.Deformation processing & mechanical behaviour of metals (B. Verlinden, E. Aenoudt, P. Van Houtte) 5.Composites and ceramics (I. Verpoest, O. Van Der Biest) 6.Materials Performance & nondestructive evaluation (P. De Meester, W. Bogaerts, M. Wevers)."