THREAD – PhD Program of the European Union

Within the framework of the EU-funded doctoral student network «THREAD – Joint Training on Numerical Modelling of Highly Flexible Structures for Industrial Applications», a total of 14 young researchers are working at twelve universities and research institutions from eight European countries. Over the next four years, the EU will provide €3.6 million in funding for 14 doctoral positions and a very special training environment.

The Institute of Mathematics at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) coordinates the THREAD PhD network. Our institute is a central part of this network. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Linn from our division »Mathematics for Vehicle Engineering« played a decisive role in the conception of THREAD and the composition of the consortium.

The research projects focus on the question of how thin, flexible structures such as ropes, cable bundles or hoses can be better modelled and simulated on the computer in the future. The application spectrum of the simulation models developed ranges from cable cars for ski lifts and cable harnesses in automotive engineering to medical endoscopes or hoses for maritime applications, for example on drilling platforms.

Promoting a Strong Network and Young Talent

A clear advantage is also the strengthening of the existing network. Together, the twelve scientific partners are European leaders in the modeling and simulation of flexible multi-body systems. However, the promotion of young scientists is also very important: »Everyone is interested in well-trained young scientists; this applies to the industrial partners who support the project as well as to the scientific project partners«, says Dr.-Ing. Joachim Linn. 

THREAD PhD Student Davide Manfredo

Since April 1, 2020 Davide Manfredo is our new doctoral student within the program. He has completed his Master’s degree in Mathematics for Life Sciences at Università di Trento, in Italy. After finishing his Bachelor’s degree in pure Mathematics at Università di Torino, he decided to go into applied mathematics. During his academic path, he also had the chance to study in France and Thailand, and to do an internship in Spain where he already gained a lot of international experience.

Thanks to his Bachelor’s degree he has a solid base in pure mathematics and during his Master’s degree, he specialized in numerical analysis, simulations, and coding. During his Master's degree he focused more on biomedical applications. As a PhD student at the Fraunhofer ITWM, he then dealt with cables and tubes, among other things. THREAD's research projects focus on the question of how thin flexible structures such as ropes, cable bundles, tubes or medical devices such as endoscopes can be better modelled and simulated on the computer in the future.

»I am confident that working in the THREAD project will undoubtedly not only improve my scientific expertise but will also allow me to meet inspiring people and make me discover new aspects of the world around me,« says Manfredo.

Focal Points and Supporting Colleagues

Among these new people (besides Joachim Linn) is also Vanessa Dörlich. She is active in the supervision of doctoral students at the ITWM too. Our focus in THREAD is »Investigation and modelling of the effective structural-mechanical properties of composite cables and cable bundles«. This is Vanessa Dörlich's area of expertise and also the topic of her dissertation.

Armin Bosten is also part of the team. He is a PhD student, although not in the THREAD program, and is supervised together with Prof. Olivier Brüls (University of Liège (ULg) (French: Université de Liège)). He is doing his doctorate with a doctoral scholarship of the ITWM. However, his PhD topic is the detailed modelling of cable bundles and thus complements other PhD theses in THREAD and UrWerk.