Research project title
Magnetoelastic torquemeter
Education level
Master (research-based)
Director/co-director
Director: David Ménard
Co-director(s): David Ménard, Frédéric Sirois
End of display
January 31, 2026
Areas of expertise
Instrumentation and measurements
Modelling, simulation and finite element methods
Magnetic properties and magnetic materials
Materials science and technology
Unit(s) and department(s)
Department of Engineering Physics
Laboratory of Superconductivity and Magnetism (LSM)
Conditions
Background: Undergraduate and/or Master’s degree in a field comprising a strong component of engineering physics, electrical engineering or mechanical engineering.
Skills and interests: Interest in magnetism and magnetic materials, magnetic sensors and actuators, as well as in advanced fabrication techniques (here electroplating) and in modeling (an experience with finite elements is an asset). Ability to communicate with industrial partners.
Personal qualities: Autonomy, critical thinking and creativity.
Working language: The candidate should possess at least a good level of English, both written and oral, and should also ideally be comfortable in French, since Polytechnique Montréal is a French-speaking institution.
Detailed description
In this project, a research team from Polytechnique Montreal, in collaboration with Les industries BRP Mégatech Inc. will explore the design and performance of magnetoelastic torquemeters used in automotive applications. The goals are to explore alternative materials and/or treatments, in particular the possibility of adding a magnetic coating to a mechanically optimized steel shaft and to review and improve the magnetic detection scheme used in the device. Torque monitoring is very important for real-time control and fault diagnosis of mechanical equipment, such as the rotation of shafts in pumps, rotational cutting equipment, gearbox shafts, vehicle axles, and electric motors. The research on magnetic field detection could also find potential applications in the detection of magnetic anomalies, in geoprospection, in security and in biomedical imaging.
The main goals of the research project are:
- Improving the magnetoelastic response of the steel shaft using a brush electroplating technique to coat a ferromagnetic material on the steel and measurement of magnetoelastic properties of the materials.
- Improving magnetic detection of magnetoelastic coupling using micromagnetic modeling and simulations of different detection schemes, passive or active, to help us understand the signal-to-noise response of the torquemeters.
All Masters and PhD students will work closely with industrial partners throughout the project.
Please contact Professor David Menard (https://www.polymtl.ca/expertises/en/menard-david) for more information about the above project. PLEASE PROVIDE a CV, your MARK TRANSCRIPTS, and a LETTER OF MOTIVATION which also briefly explains your background.
Financing possibility
A financial support is available for the successful candidates. The amount of financial assistance is 22,000 $ (Canadian dollars) per year for the Master’s (maximum 2 years), and 26,000 $ per year for the Ph.D. (maximum 4 years), in order to allow the candidate to work full time on his research.
A student who obtains his own scholarship (NSERC, FRQNT or other) will be granted a bonus (typically 25% of the amount of the scholarship, to discuss case by case).
