Education / Qualifications

I studied at UGA (Université Grenoble Alpes), first completing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, then a master’s degree in simulation and digital instrumentation. I completed the final year of my master’s programme as a work-study student in a Grenoble-based engineering analysis office. I joined Pharea in 2021.

Interests

I am passionate about cars and motorbikes, particularly adventure bikes. I did BMX racing when I was younger and stopped to focus fully on my studies. Today, I am able to take up the sport again, to my great delight. And if I have become a simulation engineer today, it is thanks to my passion for mechanics!

How would you describe your role within the company?

Working at Pharea enables me to join major companies on assignment and discover different business sectors. I bring my energy and expertise, and I come away having grown, with experience that is recognised in the mechanical engineering field.

What does a typical day at work look like, and what projects are you currently working on?

If I were to describe a typical day on a project with a simulation model built in Ansys and involving calculation iterations, I would say that I am responsible for:

• Checking that the simulations launched the day before have been completed
• Analysing stress and displacement results
• Extracting loads to analytically verify the integrity of bolted joints, pins, shafts and welds
• Discussing my results with the designer to optimise the components. This allows me to make the necessary changes to the model and run the simulations at the end of the day, so that I can be efficient again the next morning

From an outside perspective, it may seem as though the software does everything, but it does not. It is the simulation engineer who tells the software what to do.

Currently, I am on assignment at Graphitech Nuclear (located near Part-Dieu in Lyon), an EDF subsidiary, working on the dismantling of a graphite reactor.

Unlike other projects where we carry out a “classic” static analysis to validate the machine’s integrity under normal operation, the nuclear sector requires an additional study: a seismic analysis.

Each assignment and each simulation model are different, although there are some common points. For example, my previous assignment was in the offshore sector, which involves a fatigue check due to waves. But whatever the sector, there are generally bolts to check, pins, shafts and welds. What changes most of all is the type of loading, the type of machine or the component being studied.

Tell us an anecdote related to the company or your career path

I have been able to work in Grenoble and Lyon. And with each new assignment, I always meet people who have worked with former colleagues or former trainers. It is quite amusing how small the world of mechanical simulation is.

Juliane RIZZO – Simulation Engineer at Pharea