Cross-disciplinary digital twins for mechanical design: integrating technical performance with economic aspects

Cross-disciplinary digital twins for mechanical design: integrating technical performance with economic aspects

The research will be conducted within the Mecha(tro)nic System Dynamics (LMSD) division, a vibrant and internationally recognized research group within the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KU Leuven. LMSD brings together more than 100 researchers working at the forefront of system dynamics, mechatronics, reliability, digital engineering, and smart products and systems. KU Leuven is one of Europe's leading research universities and is ranked 46th worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026. The university offers an inspiring international research environment, excellent facilities, and a strong commitment to scientific excellence, innovation, and societal impact.

LMSD has a long-standing track record of combining fundamental scientific research with industrial relevance, resulting in publications in leading international journals and close collaborations with industrial partners across a wide range of sectors. Researchers benefit from a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary, and entrepreneurial environment that encourages innovation and provides excellent opportunities for personal and professional development. The successful candidate will be embedded in a dynamic community of researchers and will have access to state-of-the-art research infrastructure, a broad international network, and extensive opportunities for collaboration with both academic and industrial partners.

More information about the research group can be found on the LMSD website and the LMSD LinkedIn page (see below).

• This PhD project is part of the ‘PACCAR Chair: Future Engineering Design’ bringing together expertise from the fields of mechanical engineering, economics and materials science to find the complex balance between performance, cost, comfort and sustainability in mechanical product development.
• A central aspect of this research will be the development of a cross-disciplinary digital twin framework to support mechanical design based on the full product lifecycle. The project will investigate how digital twins can reshape and enhance the engineering design process by integrating technical and economic considerations within a coherent framework at both component and system level. Starting from historical data on design choices, production processes, operational use, maintenance interventions and associated costs, the research will explore how technical and economic perspectives can be combined in a decision-support environment. Particular attention will be paid to assessing how design alternatives influence reliability, performance, lifecycle cost, downtime and maintenance requirements. The project will therefore develop methodologies that translate comprehensive lifecycle knowledge into robust engineering decisions, enabling sound trade-offs between performance, reliability and value creation over the entire lifecycle. The framework can also provide opportunities to evaluate circularity-related considerations, including reuse, refurbishment and end-of-life strategies. In this way, the research aims to move beyond a purely "build-to-last" philosophy towards design strategies that explicitly optimize system-level lifecycle value, without requiring the continuous assessment of the degradation state of every individual component
• The research will be jointly supervised by members of the Faculties of Engineering Science, Engineering Technology and the Faculty of Economics and Business. For this, the researcher will be embedded in both engineering and economics research teams. The researcher is expected to divide their time between both teams.
• The PhD will be supervised by the PACCAR Chair promoter and co‑promoters (https://giving.kuleuven.be/how-to-support/chairs/institutes-cross-group/paccar‑chair-future-engineering-design), with the final supervising committee established in alignment with the candidate's personnel background and interests.

Profile

If you recognize yourself in the story below, then you have the profile that fits the project and the research groups.

• I have a master degree in engineering or business engineering and performed above average in comparison to my peers. I do not hold a doctoral degree at the time of recruitment.
• I am proficient in written and spoken English.
• I have a profound interest, or I have gained experience through my courses or prior professional activities, in either mechanical design and analysis or business model innovations in the manufacturing industry.
• I have a multidisciplinary mindset and enjoy exploring innovative ideas that extend beyond the traditional boundaries of core engineering and economic disciplines.
• I perform research in a structured and scientifically sound manner. I read technical papers, understand the nuances