Postdoc Testing and Simulation of Debonding in Thermoplastic Composites

Job description

Thermoplastic composites are an important class of engineering materials used in applications ranging from protective covers and frames to structural load-bearing components in automotive and aerospace. Their excellent strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios, in combination with processability into complex geometries, makes them a key engineering material in applications where weight is an important design factor. Scaling up the manufacturing of thermoplastic composites in a viable and sustainable way, however, poses a major challenge. While the manufacturing of individual parts is at a proper level of maturity, the integration and assembly of these parts is far less developed. “Enlighten” is large multidisciplinary research program funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) on enabling integrated lightweight structures with thermoplastic composites involving several academic and industrial partners.

This postdoctoral research project within the Enlighten program aims to validate the capability of a newly developed and implemented modelling framework to describe the fracture and fatigue of a T-section taken from an overmolded thermoplastic composite part. The framework combines a cohesive zone model for the overmolded interface with an anisotropic viscoplasticity model for the laminate, specifically developed to enable prediction of the long-term performance of composites under high-cycle fatigue conditions. The researcher will be responsible for an experimental campaign on T-shaped, overmolded structures loaded under both quasi-static and cyclic boundary conditions, in part by supervising thesis students on. Moreover, simulations will be performed to validate the frameworks capability of describing failure of overmolded interfaces under both short- and long-term loading after calibrating the model on a subset of the experiments.

The project will fill a gap in literature regarding the characterization of overmolded thermoplastic composites and will investigate the validity of a leading computational model for describing the long-term performance of such integrated composite structures. The research will be supervised by Dr.ir. Tom Engels at Eindhoven University of Technology, where experiments will be performed, and Dr.ir. Frans van der Meer at Delft University of Technology, where the model development has taken place.

Job requirements
We seek an enthusiastic researcher for doing numerical/experimental research in a collaborative context. A successful candidate should have:

• A PhD degree in a relevant field (Civil Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, with emphasis on mechanics of solids and structures)
• Proven ability to work with advanced tools for the simulation of engineering materials
• Independence, eagerness to learn, openness to collaborate with other researchers
• Motivation to supervise students on related projects
• Excellent command of English, both verbal and in writing
• Experience with fatigue/fracture experiments and/or with fiber reinforced composite materials is a strong advantage.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)
Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences
The Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences (CEG) is committed to outstanding international research and education in the field of civil engineering, applied earth sciences, traffic and transport, water technology, and delta technology. Our research feeds into our educational programmes and covers societal challenges such as climate change, energy transition, resource availability, urbanisation and clean water. Our research projects are conducted in close cooperation with a wide range of research institutions. CEG is convinced of the importance of open science and supports its scientists in integrating open science in their research practice. The Faculty of CEG comprises 28 research groups in the following seven departments: Materials Mechanics Management & Design, Engineering Structures, Geoscience and Engineering, Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Transport & Planning, Hydraulic Engineering and Water Management.
Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences.

Programma-assistent Subsidierondes (32-38 uur) Regieorgaan SIA/NWO

Wat ga je doen?
Als programma-assistent (m/v/x) ben je onmisbaar voor SIA en speel je een cruciale rol in het soepel laten verlopen van onze subsidierondes. Je gaat werkzaamheden uitvoeren voor subsidierondes binnen een programma waarin je expertise opbouwt en aanspreekpunt wordt voor zowel collega's, commissieleden en onze aanvragers. Je wordt onderdeel van het missiegedreven en gezellige programmateam. Ook ga je onderdeel uitmaken van het team programma-assistenten, dat je met open armen zal ontvangen en gaat inwerken op je nieuwe functie.

PhD Position: Rural Engagements with Hyperscale Data Centers in Brazil

Vacancy title: PhD position on rural residents’ engagements with hyperscale data centers and promised infrastructural integration – Subproject: Brazil

The Sociology of Development and Change (SDC) Group welcomes applicants for a fully salaried PhD position in the NWO-Vidi funded project ‘Sprawling Servers.’ The project investigates rural residents’ encounters with the promises for development that surround hyperscale data centers. The project is particularly interested in how these promises, and people’s reactions to them, are embedded in broader experiences with rural revitalization and infrastructural development initiatives. The project also explores visions for liveable rural futures with, and beyond, hyperscalers. The project is based on comparative ethnographic research and brings together insights from: Brazil, Fiji, and the Netherlands.

The research is carried out by a project team consisting of three researchers: 2 PhDs and the Principal Investigator (PI), Dr Stephanie Ketterer (Associate Professor, SDC). The team will work together to further elaborate and refine the research approach, analyse the data, participate in conferences, and (co-)author publications.

You will be based at Wageningen University and conduct twelve months of in-depth ethnographic fieldwork in Leopoldina, Brazil. The focus of your research will be on how residents engage hyperscale data centers but also other development infrastructures in their daily lives, and how they relate to concerns about, among others, development, employment, the environment and the state. Your research will include a multi-temporal perspective, in that you will consider the history of infrastructural development in the region, its current iteration (focused on data infrastructures), and likely competing visions for the future.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• setting up and carrying out ethnographic fieldwork in a complex environment;
• setting up and completing a PhD dissertation within four years;
• authoring and co-authoring publications with other team members;
• participating in conferences, workshops, seminars and other scholarly activities;
• being part of the research team and help organise the overall work and strategy of the team;
• being an active member of the Sociology and Development and Change Group and the Section Space, Place and Society (participating in group activities, meetings, and seminars).

You will work here
You will be part of the ‘Sprawling Servers’ research team, led by the PI Stephanie Ketterer. The team is team is embedded in the chair group of Sociology of Development and Change led by Prof. Robert Fletcher, and the Section Space, Place and Society. Your supervisors will be Dr Stephanie Ketterer (co-promotor) and Dr. Martijn Koster (promotor).

PhD Position: Rural Engagements with Hyperscale Data Centers in Fiji

Vacancy title: PhD position on rural residents’ engagements with hyperscale data centers and promised infrastructural integration – Subproject: Fiji

The Sociology of Development and Change (SDC) Group welcomes applicants for a fully salaried PhD position in the NWO-Vidi funded project ‘Sprawling Servers.’ The project investigates rural residents’ encounters with the promises for development that surround hyperscale data centers and related data infrastructures such as undersea cables. The project is particularly interested in how these promises, and people’s reactions to them, are embedded in broader experiences with rural revitalization and infrastructural development initiatives. The project also explores visions for liveable rural futures with, and beyond, hyperscalers. The project is based on comparative ethnographic research and brings together insights from: Fiji, Brazil, and the Netherlands.

The research is carried out by a project team consisting of three researchers: 2 PhDs and the Principal Investigator (PI), Dr Stephanie Ketterer (Associate Professor, SDC). The team will work together to further elaborate and refine the research approach, analyse the data, participate in conferences, and (co-)author publications.

You will be based at Wageningen University and conduct twelve months of in-depth ethnographic fieldwork in Fiji. The focus of your research will be on how residents engage with reports and rumours about data centers and other data infrastructures such as undersea cables in their daily lives, and how they relate to concerns about, among others, development, employment, the environment and the state. Your research will include a multi-temporal perspective, in that you will consider the history of infrastructural development in the region, its current iteration (focused on data infrastructures), and likely competing visions for the future.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• setting up and carrying out ethnographic fieldwork in a complex environment;
• setting up and completing a PhD dissertation within four years;
• authoring and co-authoring publications with other team members;
• participating in conferences, workshops, seminars and other scholarly activities;
• being part of the research team and help organise the overall work and strategy of the team;
• being an active member of the Sociology and Development and Change Group and the Section Space, Place and Society (participating in group activities, meetings, and seminars); and as a secondary affiliation also at the School of People, Environment, and Planning, Massey University, New Zealand

You will work here
You will be part of the ‘Sprawling Servers’ research team, led by the PI Stephanie Ketterer. The team is team is embedded in the chair group of Sociology of Development and Change led by Prof. Robert Fletcher, and the Section Space, Place and Society. Your supervisors will be Dr Stephanie Ketterer (co-promotor), Dr. Martijn Koster (promotor) and, from the School of People, Environment, and Planning, Massey University, Prof. Glenn Banks.

PhD position in behavioural ecology – Cognitive fish welfare

We offer a 4 year PhD Position to work in the multidisciplinary project “Cognitive fish welfare” within the Behavioural Ecology chair group at the Animal Science Department, in collaboration with the Department of Animal Health and Welfare, Wageningen Livestock Research, of Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands.

The PhD project will investigate which aspects of environmental enrichment aqua cultured fish species (both marine and freshwater) prefer when given a choice, and whether adjusting holding conditions to these preferences improves fish welfare. The candidate will develop and apply choice assays and use cognitive techniques and behavioural and physiological indicators of welfare to compare fish reared in preferred enriched environments with those kept under standard aquaculture conditions. The project combines rigorous academic research with strong applied relevance, aiming to advance positive animal welfare in fish. The work will be primarily laboratory-based but may include research visits to aquaculture facilities across Europe. While the project will require dedication and initiative, it will also offer excellent opportunities for independent research and professional development toward a successful academic career.

THE ORGANIZATION:
The successful candidate will join the stimulating and international research environment of Wageningen University. Wageningen University is an internationally leading research and education institution.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair Behavioual Ecology, , which is led by Prof. Marc Naguib. You will be supervised by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alexander Kotrschal and Dr. Luca Pettinau