Scholarships Info

A PhD position is available in the “Mechanics of Materials and Structures” research group at the University of Ghent. The position a full-time job for 4-years duration, situated situated in the south of Ghent, Belgium.

The purpose of this PhD project is the numerical simulation of fatigue crack growth in typical aerospace components made by Additive manufacturing techniques (AM techniques).

Description

Additive manufacturing techniques (AM techniques) are getting more and more mature to build up complex metal structures from the melt. The molten metal is deposited layerwise to build up the complete component. The best technologies for the moment are selective laser melting, electron beam melting and laser cladding. Especially in aerospace structures, these additive manufacturing techniques offer a lot of potential, because till now, complex 3D-shaped aerospace components are milled from a monolithic block of material that is cast or wrought (like titanium, aluminium and stainless steel). This means that a lot of material has to be cut away, while AM techniques can selectively deposit metal only where it is needed.

The major drawback of these techniques for the moment is the lower fatigue resistance, due to the layered microstructure, with large risk of porosities and impurities in the metal structure.

The consortium for this project counts many partners from different universities and (aerospace) companies. The researcher will work in a multidisciplinary team and will have to interact with the other PhD students in the project. For the simulations, a combination will be used of the in-house XFEM software of one of the partners of the consortium and the commercial FE code Abaqus. Experimental input for validation is available from other researchers in the consortium.

The deposited material shows anisotropy in its elastic and yield behaviour, and cracks can grow from porosities and inclusions in the metal material. Simulations should predict the fatigue crack growth in 3D metal components under mixed mode loading. It is supposed that XFEM methods (eXtended Finite Element Method or Partition of Unity method) will be the most suitable modelling technique for this application.

Qualifications
* familiar with mechanics of materials, experimental testing methods and computational techniques. Knowledge of composite materials, finite element software (e.g. ABAQUS, SAMCEF, ANSYS,…), programming languages (Fortran, C++) or Unix/Linux environment is an advantage;
* English writing and speaking is absolutely required.
* Master Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Materials Science, or similar;
* have a strong background in numerical modelling, fracture mechanics and finite elements (if possible XFEM methods);

Applications

In order to apply, interested candidates should write a detailed Curriculum Vitae in Dutch or English, containing:
* additional skills (finite element software, programming languages, communication skills, …);
* mastered languages (Dutch, English, French);
* references (previous projects in the domain, published papers,…).
* personal details (name, address, date of birth, nationality,…);
* education, subject of master thesis and degrees;
* work experience (previous jobs);

Please sent your application either by post or email to:

Prof. Wim VAN PAEPEGEM
Ghent University
Mechanics of Materials and Structures
Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 903
9052 Zwijnaarde
Belgium
Tel: +32-(0)9-331.04.32
Fax: +32-(0)9-331.04.65
Email: Wim.VanPaepegem@UGent.be

Further information

Detailed information about this position is available at http://www.composites.ugent.be/PhD_job_vacancies_PhD_job_positions_composites.html.

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