Centres and Laboratories

Centres and laboratories of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

Centre for Energy

Centre for Energy of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica, led by Prof. Nenad Kazic PhD, was established with the mission of supporting businesses and Government entities in charge of energy and energy efficiency. The work of the Centre relies on the Energy Laboratory which is well equipped for scientific-research work but also for the business cooperation projects and contract research for measurements in energy sector, process technique, systems for HVAC etc. Within the EU Tempus project SDTRAIN, together with the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, the Centre has initiated trainings of the municipality staff in the field of energy management and renewable energy sources. Faculty staff engaged in the Centre participated in the project of developing a national software for the calculation of energy characteristic of buildings, a project of the Ministry of Economy and Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP.

Energy Laboratory

The founder of the Energy Laboratory of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica is academician prof. Petar Vukoslavcevic PhD. In 30 years of its existence, numerous research and contracted projects have been realised here. The Energy Laboratory is equipped with a number of installations of scientific and didactic character and enabled for different engineering measurements in the field of fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer and energy facilities. Thanks to the cooperation with universities from USA and Europe, the Laboratory has been equipped with contemporary aerodynamic tunnel and equipment for the construction of the most complex hot wire probe and anemometry, which find its application in different fields of fluid mechanics, primarily the measurements of speed under turbulent flow and simultaneous measurement of speed and temperature of fluids.

Complex multisensory probes are produced in the laboratory, which are used for measurements at prestigious universities and research centres in the world: University of Maryland, NASA Ames, Utah Salt Lake, SAD; University of Manchester, UK; CEA Grenoble, France; University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; University of Belgrade, Serbia etc.

Centre for Transport Machines and Metal Structures (CETIM)

Centre for Transport Machines and Metal Structures of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica realizes scientific-research, expert and educational activities from the field of engineering design, analytical and numerical calculations related to transport machines and metal structures; creation of prototypes; expert research on the causes of breaks and deformations of transport machines and metal structures; creation of innovations in this field; measurements of stress state and deformations by the method of extensiometry and ultrasound. CETIM has been recognized in the business sector of Montenegro, especially by a large number of solved expert problems which occurred during breaks or deformities of transport machines and metal structures. Examples of such projects relate to the analysis and repair of rails and transport machines in the Thermal Energy Plant Pljevlja, calculations and repairs at the generator of the hydro power plant Piva, engineering design of the transport machine for marl in the coal mine Pljevlja etc.

Mechanical Design Laboratory

Mechanical Design Laboratory of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica is used for experimental and research activities in the field of machine construction and testing of machine structures. This is one of the oldest laboratories at the Faculty, connected to the foundation of the Mechanical Design Department in 1976. Apart from the scientific-research work of the staff, the Laboratory is dedicated to cooperation with business. It offers services of design and construction of machine elements and systems; testing of machine parts and structures; technical diagnostics of machine elements and systems; education and training in design and construction, especially in the computer assisted engineering design in the following software: AutoCAD, Solidworks, Ansys, Autodesk Inventor, LabVIEW and Matlab.

The Laboratory is equipped with modern equipment for the listed activities, be it bought on the market or self-developed. The most important equipment includes: servo-hydraulic machine for static and dynamic testing; four-channelled portable device for vibration diagnostics and balancing, OneProd Falcon - model Expert WLS; device for monitoring and diagnostics of rolling bearings T30 of the producer SPM Sweden; system for laser positioning, Damalini 525 - Sweden; 3D Scanner Creaform Go! Scan50; 3D Printer CraftbotXL etc. 

The equipment developed by the laboratory staff includes: testing table for analysing the behaviour of rolling bearings during exploitation (offers the possibility to test dynamic behaviour of rolling bearings, testing of spread and generation of heat inside the bearings as well as friction related losses); VIBROT – software for vibration diagnostics of rotational machines; 12-channeled mobile PC device for measurement and data acquisition, A2 Logger; a functional model of a small hydro power plant etc.  

Laboratory for Welding and Welded Structures

Laboratory for Welding and Welded Structures of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica realizes educational, scientific and development role. Students at all levels carry out their laboratory tasks here, using the equipment for conventional welding procedures: SMAW, MIG/MAG, TIG, A-TIG. The main activities of the Laboratory are: development of new welding procedures CGEAW (Consumable Guide Enclosed Arc Welding); development of metal material welding technologies; engineering design and calculation of welded structures. The Laboratory has two contemporary welding devices, TIG and MIG/MAG, and part of the equipment for NDT testing of welds. Commercial services are related to consulting on the welding technologies and engineering design with welded structures. Special attention is given to the pipe systems in hydro and thermo-energy production. Examples of projects for the needs of business sector include: Creation and testing by hydraulic probe of the fork model at HE Perucica; Testing and repair of the cracks on the pipe fork of HE Perucica; Reparation welding on the input pipes of the power unit HE Piva; Structural improvement of the manual crane at the Water Gate Krupac for the purpose of reaching its maximum load; Welding technology design at the new pedestrian bridge Potkrajci – Njegnjevo; Control of the cracks repair at the transmission device at HE Piva etc.

3D Centre

Activity of the 3D Centre of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica assumes research, engineering design, control, testing and process and system development in the field of production mechanical engineering. The main areas of work of the 3D Centre are: Geometric product modelling and technology design (CAD); Theoretical and numeric experimental methods related to calculation of processes and systems (CAE); Development of optimal information-control flows (CAI); Control systems and automation of machines and processes (CAM); Computer graphic (CG); Graph-based modelling and simulations and 3D model printing; Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) technique and technology, through simulation techniques, expert systems and decision support systems.

3D Centre has respectable research and measuring equipment, among which are CNC milling machine, i.e. machining centre HMC-500/40, with four numerically controlled axes and two pallets. Apart from the research work, the machining centre is used in the education courses Machining technologies and CNC machines, where students gain practical knowledge about technology engineering and control of CNC machines. The Centre offers creation of 3D models by using 3D digitalizer, as well as the creation of models from real materials by using 3D printers. 3D Centre has also a hardness testing device by methods of Brinell, Vickers and Rockwell.

FSW (Friction Stir Welding) Laboratory

FSW (Friction Stir Welding) Laboratory of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica was established in 2007. Its main activities are welding of similar and dissimilar materials by non-conventional process of FSW. FSW was developed with the goal to overcome problems that occur during welding where melting of the material occurs. A large advantage of FSW is avoidance of the liquid phase cooling so that porosity, redistribution of the solution, cracking by solidification and cracking by melting are not present in this process. Another important advantage with respect to electric arc welding techniques is the lack of distortion, i.e. curving of plates during the FSW process. Advantages are also reflected in the environmental protection because there is no emission of harmful gasses nor the welding flash, which are a part of the conventional techniques. When welding of dissimilar materials is concerned, the process has the main application in welding of low carbon steels with aluminum alloys. Students of undergraduate studies of the Mechanical engineering programme carry out their laboratory exercises in Welding by non-conventional process FSW here. The laboratory is equipped with strain gauges and equipment for temperature measurement by contact method of using thermocouples.

Mechatronics Laboratory

The Mechatronics Laboratory of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica is used for carrying out teaching and practical exercises in several courses at the study programmes Mechatronics and Mechanical engineering, as well as for the scientific-research work, master and doctoral theses. The Laboratory is available to other faculties of the University of Montenegro and it is open for collaboration with academic and business subjects of the region and Europe. The Lab was founded in 2022, with financial support from WUS Austria while the major improvement was realized through the Tempus IV project 158644-JPCR “Development of Regional Interdisciplinary Mechatronic Studies”. The Laboratory is equipped with didactic devices of the brand Festo for pneumatics, electro-pneumatics, hydraulics, electro-hydraulics, electro-pneumatic positioning, process control, measurements in pneumatics, hydraulics and other fields, with equipment for data acquisition of the brand National instruments, programmable logic controllers Allen Bradley, oscilloscopes and function generators Agillent, potentiometers, microcontrollers, sensors, motors and other electronic equipment; licensed software LabView (academic license), FluidSIM-P, FluidSIM-H, educational software etc. The Lab also has the equipment for e-learning and video conferencing, available to all the members of the University of Montenegro.

Centre for Quality

Introduction of new standards for quality management of the series ISO 9000 was an impulse for the creation of the Centre for Quality at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica, in 1996. Management standards which have been intensively developed from the beginning of the 21^st century and the development of computerized systems require new knowledge and continuous learning and training. Scientific-research work, education and training and cooperation with interested parties are the three directions of work of the Centre. It is certified by the standard MEST ISO EN 9001:2009 for the organization of consultations, offering consultancy services, trainings based on own offer and specific demand of the clients. Since 2006, the Centre for Quality has organized the international conference ICQME (Quality, Management, Environment, Education, Engineering). Since 2007, together with the Centre for Quality of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Kragujevac, the Centre has edited scientific journal International Journal of Quality Research (www.ijqr.net), which has been indexed in the SCOPUS base since 2014. Collaborators of the Centre for Quality have played an important role during the formation of new institutions and quality infrastructure in Montenegro, such as the Institute for Standardisation of Montenegro (ISME), the Accreditation Body of Montenegro (ATCG), and partly also the Bureau of Metrology of Montenegro.

Centre for Motors and Vehicles

Centre for Motors and Vehicles is the unit of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica where scientific-research, educational and expert activities from the field of motors, vehicles and road traffic are realized. It was established in 1992 and it is recognized as reference institution for the jobs of homologation, testing and attestation of road vehicles, their devices and equipment. Laboratory for the inspection of road traffic vehicles was established in 2005 and accredited by the Acredditation Body of Montenegro, in line with the standard MEST EN ISO/IEC 17025. It carries out activities according to the authorisation by the ministry in charge of traffic.

Centre for Traffic and Machine Expertise

Centre for Traffic and Machine Expertise of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica was founded in 2008, with the aim of applying scientific and expert knowledge to the field of machine expertise activities, primarily of road vehicles, and expertise in road traffic. Activities of the Centre are primarily oriented towards the market, but also at the support to theoretical and practical teaching carried out within the study programme Road traffic. Scientific-research and expert work in the field of mechanical engineering and road traffic are dominantly related to motors and motor vehicles, forensic engineering, traffic safety, traffic and machine expertise and assessment of motor vehicle damages. From its establishment the Centre has produced several hundreds of expertise works.

Centre for Education and Training in Road Traffic CEDS

The main aim of the formation of the Centre for Education and Training in Road Traffic at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Podgorica has been education and vocational training in the field of road traffic. The most common activities of the Centre are dealing with training of the drivers of dangerous goods of all classes in road traffic for the use and application of digital tachographs, training of safety advisors in transport of dangerous goods, training of inspectors for technical assessment of vehicles and driving instructors, training of the road safety controllers etc. CEDS has the license of the Ministry of Education as a training provider for the Training programme of controllers for technical inspection of vehicles, according to the Law on the road traffic safety.