My final year project is about determining the material properties change pattern of a Hytrel rail pad at different temperatures while being under general loading conditions in the railway network. I made a model on Solidworks to model the rail pad under loading conditions and I then will be predicting the material properties for the Hytrel pad as temperature and loading conditions change. The displacement of the railpad will be measured with varying forces and material properties. This data will then be compared to experimental data done by placing the rail pad at different temperatures (achieved by using a dry-oven) in a 630kN hydraulic press and measuring the displacxement due to force. The optimal strain configuration and placement will also be determined for sensor embedment into the rail network to eventually contribute to the development of smart rail pads.

For my studies at the University of Pretoria, I was required to do 480 hours of vacation work at a company to expose me to the working environment. I spent time with the maintenance team that needed to keep the production machines maintained for high production rate. I also spent time with the technical team to travel a cross the country to different sites to address problems faced on site. I was also included in plant upgrading processes to help predict cost of upgrades and effectiveness of such upgrades.

I worked as a bicycle mechanic part time (Monday to Friday 8h00 till 14hh00) during my gap year in 2020 and learnt many mechanical skills and technical skills on how systems work to function as a whole. Once my studies for mechanical engineering started I worked during recess and any open time that I had.