About this position

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is a continuous process of damage identification strategies and can be used for condition monitoring of a navy vessel. Knowing the structural condition of a navy vessel is important to maximize the operability of the vessel. For vessels, damage prognostics after an extreme event like a blast is even important but significantly more complex. Recently Inverse FEM combined with AI techniques has emerged as a potential technology to help with this and be able to identify, localize and assess the damage after any extreme military threat. Inverse Finite Element Method (iFEM) is a shape and stress-sensing technique to reconstruct the displacement field using a limited number of sensors. To apply this approach, iFEM combined with an AI model needs to be developed, trained and validated. This work will be done in collaboration with and under the guidance of TNO Naval and Offshore Structure Department. There is also the possibility of combining this with an internship.

What will be your role?

During this graduation internship, you will investigate and develop how structural damage can be localized after an extreme accidental load. You will develop iFEM tooling to reconstruct displacement and stress/strain fields for loading condition and geometry. Developing and validating a Deep Neural Network or other machine learning method to identify the damage locations. You will combine literature research with calculations and numerical analyses, using tools such as Python and finite element software.

Your task will include:

Through your work, you will contribute to a larger development of investigating how monitoring implemented can improve operations, support long-term ambition of decision-making SHM for Maritime and offshore structures. You will learn how to implement and improve state-of-the-art technology for maritime and offshore applications and how to adopt technology from other fields into the maritime domain.

What we expect from you

We are looking for a student with a background in maritime engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, aerospace engineering or a similar technical degree. You have an interest in ship structures, numerical simulations and artificial intelligence. You are curious and able to work independently within a multidisciplinary environment.

Desired experience:

What you'll get in return

An internship at TNO means working in an environment where substance and impact are central. You will become part of a knowledge organisation where research and practice come together, and where experts collaborate on solutions to current societal and technological challenges.

Your internship is a period in which you can discover what suits you, where your strengths lie and what you would like to learn next. You are part of a professional working environment, gain insight into how things work in practice, and have the opportunity to build experience that goes beyond this internship alone. For many students, an internship is therefore also a first step in discovering whether TNO could be a potential next step after graduation.

In addition, we offer you: