PhD Student

Job description

Context – Performance variability of nominally identical gearboxes is often observed in industry after production and/or assembly of a gearbox. The main reasons for this variability are manufacturing variations, lubricant property changes, assembly variations, and/or different operating conditions. These variations occur in all industrial gearboxes, irrespective of the selected quality grading, and can be detrimental for the durability and NVH performance of the gearbox when it is not purposefully designed to be insensitive to these disturbances. Traditional gear design manuals and/or software based on international standards such as the DIN 3990, ISO 6336 or AGMA 2001 lack the resolution required to include the influence of such factors as (within-tolerance) surface roughness, (within-tolerance) geometrical deviations, lubricant property changes, and or different surface coatings which play a very important role on the contact level and influence the global performance and NVH on system level. Many advanced CAE software packages for multibody-drivetrain simulations rely on basic dry contact mechanics or classic Elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) correlations to incorporate lubrication in EHL contacts with surface roughness. More elaborate simulation techniques e.g. CFD, are computationally too demanding for exploring vast amounts of design variations in a reasonable time.

UGent initiated, in close collaboration with Flanders-Make and KULeuven, the research project Rolux. The objective of the project is to develop a methodology and associated simulation tools for the robust design of lubricated gearboxes, based on model-based tribo-dynamic parameter sensitivity analyses of gearboxes on both component- and system-level. One of the crucial tasks is to develop an accurate yet, computationally very efficient Thermo-Elastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) solver for rough gear-contacts in C++ using full-order and reduced-order modelling techniques.

Positions & Tasks - The envisioned Ph.D. focusses on the development of reliable though computationally efficient and fast simulation tool to simulate 2D/3D Thermo-Elasto-Hydrodynamic Lubrication (TEHL) in lubricated contacts, such as lubricated contacts in meshing gears. The dual-use solver should allow standalone calculations as well as serve as a plug-in contact solver to other software. The computational efficiency should be maximal, aiming for a Parallel C/C++ implementation relying on existing scientific computing C++ libraries and potentially GPU acceleration.

Job profile

1. You hold a Master degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.
2. You have affinity with Tribology.
3. You have a strong motivation for conducting scientific research at a high level.
4. You possess good analytical, and technical skills
5. You are interested in computational mathematics and High Performance Scientific Computing.
6. You have substantial experience with programming in C/C++ and handling MPI.
7. You take responsibility for the development of your project in a well-structured, thorough way, and you’re able to solve problems independently. You display creativity in solving problems, generating ideas or finding new ways of working.
8. You have an open personality and willing to contribute to the team and participate in didactic projects.
9. You have excellent communication skills in English, both orally and written. Knowledge of Dutch is certainly an asset.
10. You're able to start within the next 6 months in this position, without any significant delays.

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 01/06/2024 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 the Department of Personnel and Organization 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 (in Dutch).

How to apply

To apply for one of these positions, please complete the corresponding application form:

https://forms.gle/kk61QNZ1Dh1EJq1Q8

before April 20th, 2024. Your application will be taken into consideration on condition that all fields in the application form are properly filled in.