Polymer & Mechanical Engineering (Add-on) – BEng (Hons)

Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices industries must comply with the regulatory requirements of the markets that they supply to. This module aims to equip students with the requisite knowledge that will allow them to adhere to the specific regulatory requirements of safety, efficacy, quality and performance.
Validation is a regulatory requirement as well as a process of establishing documentary evidence demonstrating that a procedure, process, or activity carried out in testing or production maintains the desired level of compliance. This module will incorporate the documentary and testing requirements of a validation programme.

The successful alignment and integrated implementation of all analytical and computational techniques resulting in a more streamlined engineering design/manufacturing process with reduced costs, decreased development time and improved quality through the efficient usage and application of computational engines and appropriate industry-specific software.

The successful alignment and integrated application of appropriate analytical and computational techniques for the design of plastic products, parts and/or assemblies resulting in a streamlined engineering design/manufacturing process with reduced costs, decreased development time and improved quality.

This module will build on the theoretical and practical aspects of polymer processing methods covered in year 2 and 3. The module will enable the student to develop a comprehensive knowledge of polymer process validation including test method development, DOE and scientific injection moulding.

To build upon the student’s knowledge of polymer engineering materials and to bring about a more detailed technical understanding of engineering polymeric materials and their response under load.
To compare and contrast various composites used in the polymer industry, and understand the benefit of using different types of composites reinforcements and polymer matrices combinations for improvement of mechanical performances and various types of resistances including chemical, failure and environmental. Also showing how additives affect the thermal and electrical conductivity of the composite materials.
To quantify and predict these responses to aid design using proper material selection. To understand and appreciate the failure modes pervasive in polymer material selection for appropriate design, and how environmental aspects will affect the mechanical properties and life of composite material.
To appreciate and apply the philosophies of “circular economy” and “green design” as important considerations in composite material design.

To develop the student’s ability to carry out independent research into a relevant topic of technical merit related to the particular field of study.
To demonstrate the student’s ability to draw together in-depth knowledge and skills gained throughout the programme of study, together with independent learning, and to apply to a current and relevant industrial based engineering project.
To instil in the student the techniques required for effective dissertation preparation and presentation at an industrial

This module addresses two important areas of management that are essential to an engineering graduate; operations and sustainability. Operations management as a concept is introduced by exploring the role that operations management plays in productivity as well as global operating environments and strategy. Key aspects of designing operations are explored such as product design & development decisions in particular design for sustainability and product safety, process design, layout decisions, job design, ergonomics, and workplace safety. Sustainability at the level of the organisation is explored with particular emphasis on the sustainability of the transformation process.

To build upon the student’s knowledge of polymer engineering state-of-the-art and to bring to their awareness emerging trends from R&D and industrial settings in the areas of production/design, manufacturing and materials.
Exposure and familiarisation of cutting-edge technological trends and SOTA with a bias for polymer engineering; dividing the approach into 3 different clusters:
1) digitalised industries and IoT.
2) Advanced/hybrid/novel manufacturing techniques and technologies. 3) Materials science advancements, trends and R&D.
A full semester project will be the main strategy to explore these clusters in a team-effort manner which will develop engineering soft skills such as negotiation, team collaboration, and project and time management amongst others.

To equip candidates with the necessary skills and knowledge to design optimised plastic parts, components and assemblies for structural and thermal applications while ensuring these designs can be manufactured efficiently i.e. appropriate cooling during processing. The module contains theoretical, practical and empirical material.

This module provides the student with the knowledge to apply structure-property relationships to a variety of high performance polymers and polymers for the medical device industry and provides the student with the necessary background to select a polymer for a particular application. It also provides the student with practical laboratory experience in the synthesis and characterisation of high performance and biomedical polymers.

This module aims to develop an understanding of control theory as applied to the polymer industry.