Online Engineering 2022-2023

Engineering design depends on materials being shaped, finished and joined together. Design requirements define the performance required of the materials. What do engineers need to know about materials to choose and use them successfully? They need a perspective of the world of materials. They need understanding of material properties. They need methods and tools to select the right material for the job. This course will help you develop knowledge and skills required for the successful selection and use of engineering materials. 

The course aims are to introduce the fundamentals of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics and their application to a range of engineering problems.

The course is only available to students on the Graduate Apprenticeship in BEng in Civil Engineering.

A general engineering course that provides insight into the two main conservation principles, mass and energy. Processes are usually described through block diagrams. This language, common to many disciplines in engineering, helps the engineer to look at their processes with an analytical view. Degree of freedom analysis is addressed, emphasising its importance to solve a set of linear equations that model fundamental balances of mass. Practical examples of Energy balances are displayed, bringing Thermodynamics to a practical level. Heat Transfer is introduced. Process control is introduced, explaining basic control techniques and concepts, i.e sensors, feedback, control loops and PID controllers.

The course is only available to students on the Graduate Apprenticeship in BEng in Civil Engineering.

Matrices and matrix algebra are introduced in order to solve systems of linear equations by Gaussian elimination. Differentiation is generalized from functions of one variable to functions of several variables, through the concept of partial differentiation.  A study of systems describable by linear differential equations is begun by looking at some simple examples of engineering interest. The solution of ordinary differential equations using the methods of complementary function and particular integral.

The course is only available to students on the Graduate Apprenticeship in BEng in Civil Engineering.

A variety of tools fundamental to product identification and design, such as requirement trees, fit-for-purpose quality graphs and morphological charts are used to explain various aspects of engineering design process. An exercise in reverse engineering will be undertaken to gain an appreciation of the development of existing designs and issues such as design protection, copyright and patents will be explained as part of this process. 

Material selection is included both from a viewpoint of quality, impact on environment and sustainability.  Practical aspects of the manufacturing process will be covered through lectures and hands-on experience of workshop practice.  More advanced use of SolidWorks will be covered culminating in the production of a set of 3^rd angle engineering drawings from a provided written specification. This will require research through the internet or library sources in order to ascertain the necessary configuration and detail of the component part. The use of computing (MATLAB) as a pivotal aid to practical design and as computational analysis tool will be developed in preparation for further applications in later years of study.

The course is only available to students on the Graduate Apprenticeship in BEng in Civil Engineering.For these students the course will run over both the second half session and the summer months.  This is done as part of a spreading of the GA workload over the full calendar year rather than simply over the two half sessions ofthe normal teaching year.

This course is one of three Work Based Learning courses which make up 60 credits of the level 3 programme in the Graduate Apprenticeship in BEng in Civil Engineering, and is only available to students on that programme.

Taken together, the three courses aim to deliver a wide range of learning outcomes derived from the student’s professional practice, but the order of the topics is not prescribed. This means that although this is the first of the three WBL courses, the topics delivered do not need to be the first in the list of topics, but could be the second or third in the list.

However the topics are ordered between the three courses, all of the topics must have been achieved by the conclusion of the series of courses.

It should be noted that the three courses account for 25 credits, 25 credits and 10 credits, respectively, and this deliberately allows Employers to adjust the priority given to the three broad headings for the learning outcomes (given below), in a manner which takes into account their type of business.

This course is the second of three Work Based Learning (WBL) courses which make up 60 credits of the level 3 programme in the Graduate Apprenticeship in BEng in Civil Engineering, and is only available to students on that programme.

Taken together, the three WBL courses aim to deliver a wide range of learning outcomes derived from the student’s professional practice, but the order of the topics is not prescribed. This means that this second of the three WBL courses can choose between the two topics not delivered in the first WBL course

However the topics are ordered between the three courses, all of the topics must have been achieved by the conclusion of the series of courses.

It should be noted that the three courses account for 25 credits, 25 credits and 10 credits, respectively, and this deliberately allows Employers to adjust the priority given to the three broad headings for the learning outcomes (given below), in a manner which takes into account their type of business.

This course is the final one of three Work Based Learning (WBL) courses which make up 60 credits of the level 3 programme in the Graduate Apprenticeship in BEng in Civil Engineering, and is only available to students on that programme.

Taken together, the three WBL courses aim to deliver a wide range of learning outcomes derived from the student’s professional practice, but the order of the topics is not prescribed. This means that this last of the three WBL courses must deliver the final topic not delivered in the previous two WBL courses.

It should be noted, that however the topics are ordered between the three courses, all of the topics must have been achieved by the conclusion of this final WBL course.

It should also be noted that the three courses account for 25 credits, 25 credits and 10 credits, respectively, and this deliberately allows Employers to adjust the priority given to the three broad headings for the learning outcomes, in a manner consistent with their type of business.

This course is the first of three Work Based Learning courses which make up 60 credits of the level 4 programme in the Graduate Apprenticeship in BEng in Civil Engineering, and is only available to students on that programme.  It should be noted that the three courses account for 25 credits, 25 credits and 10 credits, respectively.

Taken together, the three courses aim to complete a wide range of learning outcomes derived from the student’s professional practice, but the two 25 credit courses (of which this is the first) have interchangeable topics, the order of delivery of which is not specified.  Such flexibility in the order of delivery of topics was also a feature of the three WBL courses in Level 3, but it should be noted that in level 4 this flexibility is only applied to the first two WBL courses (each of 25 credits).

This flexibility in choosing which topic is done in first half session, and which in second half session, deliberately allows Employers to adjust the order of delivery of  the learning outcomes (given below), in a manner which takes into account their type of business.

This course is the final of three Work Based Learning courses which make up 60 credits of the level 4 programme in the Graduate Apprenticeship in BEng in Civil Engineering, and is only available to students on that programme.  It should be noted that the three courses account for 25 credits, 25 credits and 10 credits, respectively.

Taken together, the three courses aim to complete a wide range of learning outcomes derived from the student’s professional practice.  This final course in the sequence is for the student to reflect on the role of the Work Based Learning courses in levels 3 and 4, and the Professional Development courses at levels 1 and 2, on the student’s own personal development as a Professional Engineer.  The module is to delivered over the final summer teaching session of the programme.

The aim of this course is to get an understanding of applied probability and statistics. Students will be able to handle variables of a random nature, deal with parameters of different distributions and data of scattering nature.

Hydrocarbon fires and explosions produce extreme loading on engineering components. Structural steels lose their strength and stiffness well below the temperatures associated with hydrocarbon fires. Safety-critical elements must be designed to withstand both these temperatures and the blast overpressures that result from hydrocarbon explosions. Simple models are used to assess the loading that results from fires and explosions. Structural elements are analysed to illustrate the design procedures that are required to prevent escalation and to design against major accident scenarios.

The course provides an understanding of theoretical formulation, data sources and integration into simulator, and quantification of uncertainties necessary for transforming real reservoir engineering problems into manageable numerical simulation models.

This course provides students with an understanding of the fundamentals of well fluids and reservoir testing and the implications for reservoir characterisation and field development. The theory of reservoir pressure testing is introduced, testing methods examined and some of the standard analysis techniques are explored using both hand calculations and industry standard software.

This course provides students with an understanding of the engineering science and principles that underpin the drilling of oil and gas well, production technologies, design methodologies, as well as associated safety and environmental considerations.

This course provides a detailed overview of oil and gas field development from discovery to abandonment with particular focus on the decisions made prior to first production. The roles of uncertainties, economics considerations, safety and environmental impact on the design choices are explored.

With growing demand on energy, there is increasing need to maximise the production of oil and gas, especially from depleting reservoirs. This course examines the methods and processes of enhanced recovery of oil and gas and provides students with the knowledge and understanding required to develop, acquire and safely integrate enhanced oil recovery technologies into field development plan and field operations.  

This course will equip students with the required knowledge of offshore and subsea oil and gas production systems, and to enable them to gain an appreciation of the infrastructure and facilities that need to be removed during decommissioning.

The course provides an understanding of the flow of hydrocarbon fluids through reservoir rocks and the interplay between the fluid and rock properties and reservoir performance.

To provide an understanding of the physical principles, technologies and systems associated with renewable energy generation from geothermal and hydro sources. To provide an understanding of the position of these sources of energy in the current and future global energy requirements and the technical challenges in meeting the future energy demand.

The course aims to give students an in-depth treatment of the critical technical aspects of loss of containment including factors leading to loss of containment and consequence modelling.

The course aims to provide understanding of main principles and techniques underpinning computational fluid dynamics (CFD) combining numerical methods with practical experience using appropriate software. The course develops a foundation for understanding, developing and analysing successful simulations of fluid flows applicable to a broad range of applications.

Offshore process plants, such as subsea installations, oil rigs, FPSOs, pipelines, and captured CO2 injection sites are some of the most technically challenging environments to operate in. This course uses this context to introduce and explain the advanced engineering and innovative designs used to overcome these challenges. The focus is on developing safe, energy-efficient designs using first-principle reasoning and awareness of modern approaches. 

This course provides a detailed understanding of design considerations for components to be used in offshore environments, especially in terms of materials selection, qualification, standards and testing. Reasons for failure and the application of failure analysis in design will be studied. The course will be focussed on offshore steel structures relating to traditional energy applications; however, the fundamental knowledge gained can also be applied to structural integrity assessments in other marine applications including ships, submarines and offshore renewables.This course provides a detailed understanding of design considerations for components to be used in offshore environments, especially in terms of materials selection, qualification, standards and testing. Reasons for failure and the application of failure analysis in design will be studied. The course will be focussed on offshore steel structures relating to traditional energy applications; however, the fundamental knowledge gained can also be applied to structural integrity assessments in other marine applications including ships, submarines and offshore renewables.

This course aims to provide a broad understanding of generation from solar sources, the associated technologies and the main technical challenges.

This course introduces students to the problems of organisational life.  The organizing concept for this course is the re-framing situations  whereby students will learn to understand work / business situations through four lenses (organisational structure, organisational culture, power & politics, and HR).  

This course describes in detail the technologies used to convert biomass into energy. The course covers combustion, gasification, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, bioethanol and biodiesel.

The course aims to develop a broad understanding about the basic concepts in electrical engineering and power systems with emphasis on renewable power generation techniques.

This course gives students an introduction and overview of energy transition, by focussing on the three key areas of demand, technology and economics. It begins with an introduction to the current energy system and the motivation for an energy transition. There follows a characterisation of the key drivers that underpin our social and economic reliance on energy. Subsequently, behavioural measures and technologies to enable the energy transition are examined and assessed according to diverse technical, economic and environmental criteria.

This course presents an overview of the motivations, challenges and technological solutions associated with Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). The main carbon capture technologies and methods, CO2 transportation and underground storage are covered. These are introduced in terms of their technical, economic, and environmental criteria, as well as stage of development. Examples of operating pilot plants are shown, complemented by industrial guest lectures and webinars. 

Petrophysics, core analysis and formation evaluation are key disciplines in the oil and gas industry and renewable energy such as geothermal energy. It provides the main source of data on porosity, permeability and fluid saturations in the subsurface.  Petrophysics is a crossroad discipline and petrophysicists work closely with geologists and petroleum engineers in exploration and production.  This course provides essential information about petrophysics and core analysis and formation evaluation to allow petroleum engineers to interact effectively with geoscientists.

This course builds on the re-framing approach to organisational life by considering whether a project manager should be a structural, symbolic, political or HR leader.  The main academic content surrounds theories of leadership, and that of groups and teams, and is designed for students to reflect on their leadership and leadership development.

The course provides an introduction to project management and is aimed at students who expect to be working in a project related environment or are considering a potential move into project management.

The course covers a number of key aspects of project management from the project managers perspective and so whilst it does cover areas such as planning and estimating it is NOT intended to prepare students for such roles.

Students are expected to apply their learning by completing a piece of group project work.

This course introduces the key concepts and components that form the subsea control system. A subsea control engineer must be comfortable in dealing with a multitude of engineering concepts at the basic level. Subsequently, this course borrows from concepts in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, civil and structural engineering and hydraulics to name a few. The course tends to give a high-level systemic introduction of the various fundamental aspects necessary for a well-operating subsea control system.

The course is in two parts, Portfolio Management and Programme Management.

The course teaches the Portfolio Management Process providing students with the knowledge and tools to understand why project selection, strategically aligned to corporate objectives, with the optimum mix of risk v reward is vital for an organisation’s success.

It further teaches all areas of Programme Management which helps an organisation to provide a framework for the co-ordination, management and control of all projects and business as usual activities that deliver benefits or outcomes from change.

The course serves as the entrance to the field of safety and reliability engineering with the introduction of the basic concepts and tools of safety and risk management. Legal frames related to engineering safety are also introduced.

Contents include: Fundamentals of safety engineering; natural and man-made hazards; safety measures; accident and failure statistics; fundamentals of risk management; risk assessment techniques; classical reliability theory; modelling of engineering systems as series and parallel systems; redundancy; fault trees and event trees; availability and maintainability; UK safety legislation, including the Health and Safety at Work Act and its historical, offshore and other regulations.

Course provides a detailed understanding of the techniques used for installation, inspection, and maintenance of subsea systems, including seabed hardware, pipelines and risers, and the implications of such techniques for the design of subsea components and systems.

The module will provide detailed knowledge on various techniques and trends in the installation, inspection and maintenance of subsea equipment, especially pipeline and riser systems and principal components.  It will provide engineers with a sufficiently broad awareness of techniques used throughout offshore operations to give an appreciation and understanding of system limitations and appropriate applications for different subsea environments

The aim of this course is to understand and be able to carry out probabilistic modelling of uncertainty in engineering components and systems. Students will be able to obtain a good knowledge and understanding on random variables in probabilistic analysis and be able to carry out approximation and numerical schemes on components and systems.

Risk assessment, the common tools used for (and the legal requirement associated with) risk assessment are covered. Students will have a thorough understanding on the components of good assessment and management of risks, and be familiar with the basic requirement for HAZID, HAZOP, SIL, QRA and the Safety Case.

The course aims to give students knowledge and understanding of how larger process systems behave and are operated and controlled.  Focus is being placed on the stability of feedback control loops and on advanced control strategies aiming at enhancing safety and operability.  Specific cases across the safety hierarchy (basic and advanced process control, alarm systems, emergency shutdown and interlocks, etc) are addressed.

The course provides an understanding of the flow of hydrocarbon fluids through reservoir rocks and the interplay between the fluid and rock properties and reservoir performance.

This course provides students with an understanding of the engineering science and principles that underpin the drilling of oil and gas well, production technologies, design methodologies, as well as associated safety and environmental considerations.

This course provides a detailed overview of oil and gas field development from discovery to abandonment with particular focus on the decisions made prior to first production. The roles of uncertainties, economics considerations, safety and environmental impact on the design choices are explored.

With growing demand on energy, there is increasing need to maximise the production of oil and gas, especially from depleting reservoirs. This course examines the methods and processes of enhanced recovery of oil and gas and provides students with the knowledge and understanding required to develop, acquire and safely integrate enhanced oil recovery technologies into field development plan and field operations.  

The course provides an understanding of theoretical formulation, data sources and integration into simulator, and quantification of uncertainties necessary for transforming real reservoir engineering problems into manageable numerical simulation models.

This course provides students with an understanding of the fundamentals of well fluids and reservoir testing and the implications for reservoir characterisation and field development. The theory of reservoir pressure testing is introduced, testing methods examined and some of the standard analysis techniques are explored using both hand calculations and industry standard software.

This course includes three key components where chemistry is fundamental to upstream and downstream oil and gas transport and processing. In this course, you will learn about general pipeline flow assurance, and risks related to the chemistries of waxes, resins, asphaltenes, gas hydrates and scales. Chemical strategies for managing flow assurance are discussed. Processes involved in converting oil to valuable fuels and chemicals are investigated. These include: distillation, coking, cracking, hydrotreatment and reforming. Natural gas utilisation including transport, processing and conversion to upgraded products is also covered, to give an overview of chemistry in the oil and gas industry.

Smooth petroleum production requires an understanding of all technical disciplines in facility design and their deliverables as well as of specific new technologies. Competent facilities engineering is needed from concept selection to commissioning and maintenance.

Facilities engineering course focuses on equipment and systems from the well head to the delivery point of the oil and gas industry. This includes not only the processing of the oil and gas but the support systems which might include water treatment, power generation and pollution abatement. 

The course aims to develop a broad understanding about the renewable energy legislation and of the relevant aspects of economics and safety.

To provide an understanding of the physical principles, technologies and systems associated with renewable energy generation from wind and marine sources. To provide an understanding of the position of these sources of energy in the current and future global energy requirements and the technical challenges in meeting the future energy demand

This course is aimed at students who wish to develop a detailed understanding of project management and control practices.  Very practical in its focus and assessments, students are introduced to the core elements of project planning and control including the development of detailed project schedules and budgets, the effective planning of project resources, methods for reporting progress, and mechanisms for exerting project control.  This course is delivered as a part time distance learning option.

This course gives students an introduction and overview of Energy Systems Analysis (ESA), including theoretical backgrounds, example models, and hands-on model development and applications. It begins with an introduction to the field of ESA over the past decades, exploring different types of problems and modelling solutions. The course then introduces these different modelling approaches in turn, providing the students with a background in different approaches with their respective pros and cons. Subsequently, we introduce the concept of scenarios as a tool for exploring possible energy system futures.

This course is one of the key courses for MSc Energy Transition. The aim of this course is to provide students with knowledge and skills of critical analysis, multi-criteria assessment and planning of various multi-energy systems by taking into account system integration considerations. The course will provide the opportunity of putting the acquired knowledge and skills into practice by delivering hands on individual and group system integration projects.

Petrophysics, core analysis and formation evaluation are key disciplines in the oil and gas industry and renewable energy such as geothermal energy. It provides the main source of data on porosity, permeability and fluid saturations in the subsurface.  Petrophysics is a crossroad discipline and petrophysicists work closely with geologists and petroleum engineers in exploration and production.  This course provides essential information about petrophysics and core analysis and formation evaluation to allow petroleum engineers to interact effectively with geoscientists.

The students are required to undertake a significant research project in small groups on a topic which will be relevant to industry. Students are expected to submit a group report of approximately 20,000 words.

This module builds on the certificate phase and aims to enhance the students’ understanding and knowledge of the many disciplines that comprise project. 

The students are required to co-ordinate their effort and contributions from each member of their small team. 

The MSc Individual Project is an independent piece of research based on a topic related to a student’s degree programme. Students are encouraged to focus on a problem confronting industry or a related area. The individual project provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate how the in-depth skills and knowledge they have gained during the taught courses can be used to provide solutions to practical problems. The individual project should contain a degree of original research.

This course comprises two elements, Quality Systems and Risk Management. In the Quality Systems element students are introduced to the principles behind modern quality systems, and business process management. Statutory standards are investigated and discussed e.g. ISO9000, EFQM. The roles of statistics and statistical control in both quality and risk are addressed. The risk management element discusses in detail various qualitative techniques commonly used in industry and investigates how quantitative methods can be put into practice. Its importance in the area of project management is discussed in a holistic way, with practical examples of how this works in industry.

This module is constructed around the project stage gate process which it covers in some depth. It begins with a discussion of project management and what constitutes project success. It then goes on to explore aspects of the project lifecycle including the importance of good framing, Option identification and selection, project execution and finally operation and review.

Offshore production of oil and gas requires transportation of the oil and gas from where it is produced to shipping vessels, storage tanks or refinery.  The transportation is done using pipelines which are installed on the seabed. This course examines the engineering and scientific concepts that underpin the selection of the material and size of such pipelines as well as safe installation and operation. The environmental impact and the role played by the seabed profile are also discussed. Contribution from industry-based practicing engineers is used to inform students of current practices and technologies in subsea pipelines.

There are many challenges during transport of oil and gas through pipelines. These challenges require a real grasp of the fundamentals in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, phase changes, deposition and/or obstruction, erosion and new technologies to ensure a reliable and cost effective provision of oil and gas. Deep water production, heavy oils, high water production, severe slugging, hydrates, sour gases, asphaltenes and waxes make this task even harder. This course will provide a detailed explanation of the topics, a well-balanced set of tutorials with real examples, invited lectures from experienced engineers and flow assurance specific software training.

The course provides students with detailed knowledge of risers systems design considerations. Typical riser systems including flexible, steel catenary, hybrid and top tensioned riser systems are covered. The ocean environmental hydrodynamics and interactions between vessel, mooring and riser systems are also considered.

To gain an understanding of the need to and the efficiency behind conversion of energy form one form to another and in the need to store energy in distinct forms. To understand the reasoning behind energy losses and how they might be minimised or overcome.

The course aims to develop a broad understanding about the challenges and requirements of integrating renewable generators (RE) to grid, how these requirements can be met using converters, and high voltage direct current (HVDC) as a method of connecting RE to AC grids.

The world is full of uncertainties and there is a level of risk in every human activity, including engineering.  Many industries require an engineer to manage significant risks and design for high reliability, such as oil and gas, subsea, nuclear, aviation and large civil projects (e.g. bridges and dams).  To  meet these engineering challenges and make rational decisions in the presence of uncertainty, this course will introduce students to methods and tools used by engineers to analysis risk and reliability.

Candidates will develop PIDs for major systems applying LOPA and including instrumentation. Inherently safe equipment layout principles for both onshore and offshore applications are addressed.  Layouts will be developed for example applications.

The safety critical systems are reviewed and discussed.

Corrosion mechanisms are addressed together with materials for construction properties.  Basic corrosion models are presented for a wide range of fluids.  The operational modes which present most demand on materials are reviewed.  Corrosion in erosive environments is addressed.  Effects of temperature deviations in fire & blowdown are illustrated and analysed.  Case studies are used to illustrate common issues.

Human Factors Engineering (HFE) relates to how people interact with engineering systems. Failures in these areas are involved in all major incidents. Candidates explore them as part of this course. First, a review of major accidents will be undertaken to identify how equipment design, individual behaviours, and organisational behaviours contributed. Equipment/system design and the effect it has on individuals' behaviours is explored. Human Error is addressed. Finally, organisational behaviours will be examined. Leading and Lagging indicators are explored and their strengths/weaknesses considered. Candidates have the opportunity to complete practical assessments led by industry practitioners with specialist expertise in HFE.

Decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure is becoming a major issue for the North Sea and other mature basins.  This course provides students with an overview of the stages of shutting down the production process and cleaning of the system and then the possible methods of removal of the structure.

Decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure is becoming a major issue for the North Sea and other mature basins.  This course provides students with an insight into the process used to find the best decommissioning option for a particular installation, taking account of the complex interactions between, cost, technical feasibility, environmental and societal considerations and safety. 

The dissertation is an independent piece of work based on a topic of the students' own choice, offering the student the opportunity of putting their acquired knowledge in to a practical application. Students are encouraged to focus their dissertations on a problem within their own organisations and demonstrate how the project management techniques that they have covered can be put in to practice. The dissertation should contain a degree of original work and demonstrate in-depth the skills and knowledge acquired throughout the MSc programme.

This module aims to introduce the students to the principle roles, functions and the legal obligations of managers.  We will discuss the differences between managing small and large organisations.  In addition, the course discusses the development and the management of the economy of geographical regions (Macro-economics). 

Emphasis will be placed on the leadership and management behaviours and qualities.  Throughout we will refer to topical cases to illustrate the good practices within organisations.

On completion the students should be able to critically analyse the strategy organisations, identify reasons for business failures and develop a business plan for a new venture. 

This course gives an introduction to basic accounting and finance concepts, with particular emphasis on their application to Project Management.

The course addresses three main sets of topics:

·         Financial accounting, financial reporting, and accounts interpretation

·         Management accounting, with particular emphasis on project accounting issues

·         Project appraisal, using discounted cash flows and related techniques

It also considers the relationships between these and the organisational and behavioural context in which they are relevant.

The MSc Individual Project is an independent piece of research based on a topic related to a student’s degree programme. Students are encouraged to focus on a problem confronting industry or a related area. The individual project provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate how the in-depth skills and knowledge they have gained during the taught courses can be used to provide solutions to practical problems. The individual project should contain a degree of original research.

This course enables students to write a dissertation based on a subsea related topic of the student’s own choice. Students are encouraged to focus their dissertation on a problem confronting the Subsea industry.