Master of Engineering Thesis (UNSW): HD With Publishable Findings

J.N., MEng (Structural) · UNSW Sydney · Master's · Structural Engineering

The challenge

Novel fatigue-analysis method needed rigorous validation against three benchmark datasets. Student needed help with MATLAB, ANSYS, and IEEE-style writing.

What we did

• MATLAB scripts for signal processing and rainflow counting.
• ANSYS validation across three benchmark structural datasets.
• IEEE-style writing with a publishable methods section.

The outcome

HD awarded. Methods section extracted and published as a co-authored conference paper at ACAM 2026.

Result: HD (High Distinction). Turnaround: 16 weeks. Length: 24,000 words.

Starting Point

The candidate had a novel adaptation of the rainflow-counting algorithm for variable-amplitude fatigue but no validated implementation. His supervisor wanted the method benchmarked against three published datasets before it could go in the thesis.

What We Did

A commented MATLAB implementation was written, unit-tested, and benchmarked against the three published datasets. ANSYS models corroborated the MATLAB results within 3.1% across all three benchmarks.

The methods chapter was drafted in IEEE style so it could be lifted into a conference submission with minimal reformatting.

The Result

HD awarded. The methods section was extracted as a co-authored conference paper accepted at ACAM 2026.