Doctoral fellow

Job description

ABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITY

Ghent University is a world of its own. Employing more than 15.000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, as well as technical and social service provision on a daily basis. It is one of the largest, most exciting employers in the area and offers great career opportunities.

With its 11 faculties and more than 85 departments offering state-of-the-art study programmes grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields, Ghent University is a logical choice for its staff and students.

For the (faculty/department/research group) we are looking for a m/f/x

Doctoral fellow

YOUR JOB

Recent collapses of degrading reinforced concrete (RC) structures have raised international awareness on the vulnerability of ageing infrastructure. Many severe cases of degradation are due to aggressive pitting corrosion of the reinforcing steel, caused by chloride penetration. As most research focuses either on chloride transport in concrete or on structural effects of rebar corrosion, an important research challenge lies in bridging these scales to advance our fundamental understanding of the interaction between the RC layout, chloride ingress, and corrosion damage. In this project, we will develop and experimentally validate multi-physics lattice discrete particle models (M-LDPM) that couple the mechanical analysis with reactive transport models, to study the spatial and temporal variability of the corrosion process in relation to concrete heterogeneities. Advanced 4D visualization techniques are applied for validation of the M-LDPM simulations. X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) is used to characterize the inner structure of small RC samples as input for sample-specific M-LDPM, and 4D-XCT visualizes the kinetics of the corrosion process in space and time during natural corrosion tests. At the larger scale, RC prisms are subjected to accelerated corrosion and monitored with 4D Acoustic Emission (AE) sensing. RC samples with various layouts are tested to validate MLDPM that accounts for randomly distributed aggregates and discrete pre-existing mechanical cracks. The overarching goal of this PhD is to bridge material science and structural performance predictions, including uncertainty quantification. While the project will primarily involve theoretical and numerical investigations, it will also include a limited set of experiments to provide additional insights for refining constitutive laws.

Job profile

• You hold a Master’s degree (preferably) in MSc in Structural or Mechanical Engineering (or another MSc leading to sufficient knowledge on the topics of relevance),
• You have an independent and well-organized working style,
• You offer well-developed social skills directed towards working in an interdisciplinary team,
• You have a strong motivation to succeed in scientific research,
• You demonstrate excellent presentation and scientific writing skills and excellent English language skills (verbally and written).
• Knowledge of programming languages (C++, Python, Matlab,…) for efficient data processing and developing novel computational tools is a requirement.
• Experience with multi-physics finite element simulations, fracture mechanics and probabilistic calculations are an added value.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

• We offer a full-time position as a doctoral fellow, consisting of an initial period of 12 months, which - after a positive evaluation, will be extended to a total maximum of 48 months.
• Your contract will start on 01/09/2025 at the earliest.
• The fellowship amount is 100% of the net salary of an AAP member in equal family circumstances. The individual fellowship amount is determined by Team Personnel Administration based on family status and seniority. A grant that meets the conditions and criteria of the regulations for doctoral fellowships is considered free of personal income tax. Click here for more information about our salary scales
• All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits.

How to apply

Send your CV, copy of your diploma (if already in your possession) and a motivation letter to Roman.WanWendner@ugent.be.

We do not accept late applications.

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof. Roman Wan-Wendner (Roman.WanWendner@ugent.be)