Advanced Computational Methods in Civil Engineering
In the last decades, the field of computational methods in Civil Engineering has grown constantly and has delivered essential tools for modern engineers. As a consequence, nowadays nearly every engineering problem can solely be solved with computational methods.
Advanced Computational Methods in Civil Engineering (AdCom) is one reaction to that development and is a new area of concentration taught in English within the Master’s degree Civil Engineering at RWTH Aachen University. AdCom graduates are able to apply and develop numerical methods and simulations for the realization of innovative civil engineering structures. The curriculum is interdisciplinary with courses from the faculties of Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Math to get a deeper understanding in the key-skills in structural mechanics, fluid mechanics, and numerical mathematics.
Students learn to master challenges which arise from the use of new resource-conserving materials and advanced composite materials as well as from the trend towards extremely light load-bearing structures. They are able to assess and develop lightweight structures which are subject to dynamic loads such as wind and traffic. In order to assess the strengths and limits of numerical modeling in civil engineering, students are trained in numerical methods, the development of software codes, and in mechanical principles.
The curriculum involves the following courses, among others
- Nonlinear Analysis
- Continuum Mechanics and Mechanics of Materials
- Biomechanics
- Advanced Structural Analysis
- Finite Elements in Fluids and Solids
- Multiscale Techniques
- Parallel Computing Methods
Furthermore, the curriculum is highly scientific and research-orientated and thus prepares graduates for a Ph.D. program and a scientific career in research and industry. For this end, a new research module and a scientific mini-thesis are part of the curriculum in addition to the Master’s thesis.
The detailed course of study is regularly published as an addendum of the respective current exam regulations. You can find the link to the exam regulations at the bottom of this website. This area of concentration will begin in the winter semester 2018/19.