MKMohammad KhalikujjamanMechanical engineer
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Aarhus, Denmark - MSc student - Graduating January 2027

I turn test data and complex models into engineering decisions.

Mechanical engineer working on experimental testing and validation - currently a tribological screening campaign for industrial robot reduction gears - with CFD, structural and energy-system modelling alongside, and nearly three years of vessel inspection and commissioning experience.

Explore selected work Download CV
Current direction

MSc thesis on tribological evaluation of food-grade grease for industrial robot reduction gears. Available now for student assistant work and thesis collaboration; full-time graduate roles from February 2027.

Ball-on-disc screening - 70 N Friction + surface evidence
RSFG-B3-T18 coefficient-of-friction trace at 70 newtons and 150 revolutions per minute, with mean 0.0946 and coefficient of variation 2.0 percent
RSFG-B4-T19 post-test surface with the beginning of visible material removal circled in red

Stable friction, unacceptable surface.

0.0946Mean COF
2.0%Coefficient of variation
2.57 GPaPeak Hertzian pressure
23tribology rig trials
65vessels across 3 procurement programmes
13power-system scenarios
1peer-reviewed journal paper
Profile / 01

An engineer who connects physics, evidence and implementation.

My work spans the full engineering loop: define the question, build or instrument the model, test sensitivity, compare with evidence, quantify the remaining error, and communicate the decision without hiding uncertainty.

That approach links my current MSc projects in Denmark with earlier marine work in Bangladesh, where I supported construction inspection, commissioning and acceptance testing across major dredger programmes.

ORCID 0009-0005-3217-4819 LinkedIn
Portrait of Mohammad Khalikujjaman
Mohammad Khalikujjaman
01

Test & validation

From a defensible test matrix and rig setup to reproducible processing and a pass/fail recommendation.

  • Bruker UMT
  • Gwyddion
  • Python
  • Statistics
  • Hertz contact
  • V&V
02

CFD & wind

Finite-volume modelling, turbulence, wake physics and validation against higher-fidelity data.

  • OpenFOAM
  • FLORIS
  • ParaView
  • RANS
  • Actuator disk
  • FFT
03

FEA & reliability

Parametric mechanics, experimental correlation, uncertainty propagation and surrogate modelling.

  • ANSYS APDL
  • pyMAPDL
  • COMSOL
  • MATLAB
  • DoE
  • Monte Carlo
04

Energy & marine systems

Scenario-based optimisation, sector coupling and a practical foundation in vessel design and commissioning.

  • PyPSA
  • Power-to-X
  • HTRI
  • Python
  • AutoCAD
  • Hydrostatics
  • Propulsion
Selected work / 02

Selected engineering case studies

Every result is paired with its scope, method and limitation - not just the best-looking number.

5 selected MSc projects
Bruker UMT TriboLab running beside the test-control workstation at Aarhus University01

Team of 2 - Industry-linked R&D

Food-grade grease benchmarking for robot gears

Planned and executed 23 ball-on-disc trials on a Bruker UMT TriboLab, then built one consistent Python workflow for run-in removal, friction statistics and stability screening.

Engineering outcome

The strongest food-grade case reached mean COF 0.0946 at 2.0% CV. Surface evidence still prevented a premature replacement approval based on friction alone.

  • Experimental testing
  • Python
  • Tribology
  • 2.57 GPa contact

Team of 2 · My contribution: test-matrix development, tribometer operation, Python processing and interpretation.

Read technical report
LES and RANS hub-height velocity-deficit contours for a six-turbine wind-farm layout02

Individual project - Wind energy

Wind-farm wake modelling, validated against LES

Built three six-turbine actuator-disk cases in OpenFOAM and quantified where steady RANS is reliable - and where it becomes non-conservative for dense aligned arrays.

Engineering outcome

The staggered layout reached a row-power RMSE of 0.037, while the 5D aligned layout rose to 0.083 because RANS recovered the wake too quickly.

  • OpenFOAM
  • Python
  • RANS / LES
  • ParaView
Read technical report
COMSOL stress distributions for long and short sandwich-composite beam specimens03

Team project - Test-to-model correlation

Reverse engineering a sandwich composite

Combined microscopy, two-span three-point bending, inverse sandwich theory and COMSOL solid/shell models to identify effective material properties.

Engineering outcome

Estimated a 66.39 GPa face modulus and 146 MPa core shear modulus; the long-span shell model matched the measured force within -0.08%.

  • COMSOL
  • Three-point bending
  • MATLAB
  • Composite mechanics

Team project · My contribution: three-point-bending analysis, inverse property estimation and COMSOL result comparison.

Read technical report
Finite-element mesh and von Mises stress contour for a hanger bracket04

Team project - Computational mechanics

Reliability-oriented structural analysis

Automated a parameterised ANSYS model through pyMAPDL, generated a 15-point central composite design and fitted a quadratic surrogate for reliability assessment.

Engineering outcome

Monte Carlo evaluation found no samples above the 50 MPa yield criterion within the investigated geometry and loading range.

  • ANSYS APDL
  • pyMAPDL
  • DoE
  • Monte Carlo

Team project · My contribution: pyMAPDL model automation, design-of-experiments analysis and reliability interpretation.

Read technical report
Bar charts comparing storage revenue, annualised cost and levelised cost of storage05

Team of 3 - Energy systems

European power-system storage analysis

Evaluated 13 PyPSA scenarios across battery, hydrogen and combined storage under a common nuclear cap and progressively tighter carbon limits.

Engineering outcome

Hydrogen cut annual system cost by EUR 14.44 billion, reduced curtailment from 109.15 to 0.03 TWh/year and eliminated load shedding in the reference setting.

  • PyPSA
  • Python
  • Scenario analysis
  • Storage economics

Team of 3 · My contribution: scenario execution, results processing and comparative interpretation.

Read technical report

Other MSc coursework

Power-to-X waste heat for district heating

A climate-first strategy delivered 89,561 MWh of heat and avoided 17,733 t CO2; a EUR 39.3/MWh break-even rule instead produced a EUR 0.55 million operating profit.

Read technical report

Manufacturing operations planning for an e-bike factory

The model planned 1,554 units across 11 workstations and 19 staff, with near-99% average line efficiency and an estimated total unit cost of about DKK 9,461.

Read technical report

Condition-based reuse of Ti-6Al-4V powder in E-PBF

The review concluded that reuse decisions should track powder condition - especially oxygen content and handling history - rather than rely on a universal number of cycles.

Read technical report
Research / 03

MSc thesis in progress

Tribological evaluation of food-grade grease for industrial robot reduction gears

Supervised by Professor Ramin Aghababaei, Aarhus University. Carried out in collaboration with JIM-TEC ApS.

The thesis builds on an industry-linked 23-test screening campaign. The next research step is to move from friction stability alone toward repeatability, quantitative wear and application-relevant validation.

Research questions
  • When does a stable friction trace conceal unacceptable surface damage?
  • How should short laboratory tests be translated into a defensible gear-lubricant decision?
  • Which wear measurements and repeat tests are necessary before substitution?
Read the preliminary R&D study
Research interests
  • Tribology and application-led lubricant validation
  • CFD, wake modelling and model-form uncertainty
  • Experimental mechanics and test-to-model correlation
  • Reliability, uncertainty and data-driven engineering
  • Renewable, energy and marine systems
Peer-reviewed publicationJournal of ETA Maritime Science - 2025

Waste heat recovery-based seawater desalination for sustainable maritime operations

Co-authored study on heat transfer, techno-economic feasibility and environmental impact. My contribution covered data collection and processing, analysis and interpretation, software and validation.

1.18t/day peak freshwater, measured at 32% engine load
58.16%peak heat-exchanger effectiveness
3 × 10engine loads × repeat runs, 30 min each

Experimental rig on the exhaust of a 1 MW Caterpillar engine at the BUET Power Plant: a floating-head shell-and-tube evaporator and a forced-convection copper-pipe condenser, tested at 23.5%, 32% and 100% load. Peak output was 1.1815 t/day at 32% load. Effectiveness peaked at 58.16% before the limited exhaust heat capped further gains. Main limitations: only partial exhaust capture (≤ 400 °C at the exchanger inlet against more than 560 °C at the chimney), salt scaling, and uneven flow across the tubes. The work grew out of my BSc thesis rig, which reported about 0.7 g/s (≈ 60 kg/day) at 450 kW. Validated the exchanger design in HTRI Xchanger Suite, reducing it from 52 to 13 tubes for small flow rates.

Covered by Maritime Technology Review, 30 September 2025.

View publication (DOI)
Citation

M. S. A. Towhid, M. R. Islam, M. Khalikujjaman and B. T. Costa, “Waste heat recovery-based seawater desalination for sustainable maritime operations: a study on heat transfer, techno-economic feasibility, and environmental impact,” Journal of ETA Maritime Science, 13(3), 260-276, 2025. DOI 10.4274/jems.2025.76259. Contribution: data collection and processing, analysis and interpretation, software and validation.

Experience / 04

From shipyards to simulation-led engineering.

Practical responsibility came first: checking whether vessels were built, commissioned and tested to specification. Graduate study has added deeper numerical, experimental and energy-system tools to that foundation.

Engineering experience

  1. 2025 - 2027

    Aarhus University - Denmark

    MSc Mechanical Engineering

    Expected January 2027. Focus on CFD, wind and renewable energy, tribology, FEA, reliability, composites and data-driven engineering.

  2. 2019 - 2022

    Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) - Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Assistant Naval Architect, Dredging Department (35 Dredger Project)

    Supported three national procurement programmes covering 65 vessels; performed construction inspection, launching, commissioning and acceptance trials across six vessel classes.

  3. 2017

    Chittagong Dry Dock Limited - Bangladesh Navy

    Industrial Trainee

    Completed shipyard training covering hull construction, docking, ship repair and related yard operations.

  4. 2013 - 2018

    Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) - Dhaka, Bangladesh

    BSc Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

    BSc thesis: waste-heat recovery and seawater desalination for moving vessels.

    Design project: preliminary design of a 1,300-tonne inland cargo vessel.

Other experience

  1. 2022 - 2025

    United Commercial Bank PLC - Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Probationary Officer to Senior Officer, Business Operations Division

    Left to begin full-time MSc study.

Earlier academic work / 05

Earlier work that established my marine engineering foundation.

These undergraduate projects provide supporting evidence of experimental and vessel-design experience. My current MSc research and recent engineering case studies remain the primary focus of this portfolio.

01

BSc thesis · 2018

Waste-heat recovery and seawater desalination for moving vessels

Investigated shell-and-tube heat-exchanger performance and tested an experimental desalination rig using recoverable marine-engine heat. The original rig reported approximately 0.7 g/s (about 60 kg/day) at 450 kW engine load; the work later developed into the 2025 peer-reviewed study above.

  • Experimental rig
  • Heat transfer
  • Marine energy
Read BSc thesis
02

Design project · 2017

Preliminary design of a 1,300-tonne inland cargo vessel

Developed a preliminary vessel design covering cargo-capacity definition, hydrostatic and stability analysis, and structural and CAD documentation for inland service.

  • AutoCAD
  • Hydrostatics
  • Stability
  • Structural design
General arrangement drawing for the 1,300-tonne inland cargo vessel
General arrangement and deck layout
Lines plan defining the inland cargo vessel hull form
Lines plan and hull-form definition
Read design report
Curriculum vitae / 06

A focused CV for test, validation and R&D roles.

CFD/wind, marine/offshore and academic versions are available on request and can be supplied for a specific opportunity.

Primary engineering CVTest, validation & R&D

Let's connect

Engineering, research or graduate opportunity?

Write directly, connect on LinkedIn, or use the form to prepare an email. I welcome relevant conversations with engineering teams, researchers and potential supervisors.

LinkedIn ORCID

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