Postdoctoral fellow - Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering

OPPORTUNITY DETAILS

Total reward

0 $

State University

Ghent University

Area

Western Europe

Host Country

Belgium

Deadline

28 Feb 2021

Study level

Doctoral Degree

Opportunity type

Post-doctoral

Specialities

Engineering , Physics

Opportunity funding

Not funding

Eligible Countries

This opportunity is destined for all countries

Eligible Region

All Regions

Last application date Feb 28, 2021 15:30

Department TW11 - Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering

Contract Limited duration

Degree PhD in mechanical engineering, mechanics, computational mechanics, civil engineering or equivalent

Occupancy rate 100%

Vacancy type Research staff

Job description

The use of 3D printed metal structures is taking a very fast ramp-up in industry. General Electric has demonstrated the possibility of printing titanium fuel injectors for their LEAP engine, EADS has printed a nacelle hinge bracket for the Airbus A320, Boeing is printing plastic inlet ducts for high-altitude aircrafts, hip implants and other prosthetics are exploiting the design freedom of additive manufacturing (AM),... Additive manufacturing of titanium and inconel superalloys yields great potential for the aerospace industry (and others) as it allows the generation of geometrically complex structures with high specific strength, low density and high corrosion and creep resistance at high temperatures.

However the fatigue life prediction of such components cannot be done with traditional fatigue models for traditionally manufactured metals, because the fatigue life is influenced by various factors that are specific for 3D printing: process parameters, induced voids and defects, microstructure, surface roughness, etc. In this Postdoctoral position, it is the purpose to further develop multi-scale models for fatigue of AM metals, taking into account the microstructure of the material. Those models will be implemented in an already developed software environment.

The final objective is to develop an industrial software solution that can be applied to complex AM components and predict their fatigue life. The position is a fully numerical position, requiring advanced knowledge in numerical simulations (finite element method, Representative Volume Element-based multi-scale modelling), fatigue mechanics, computational crystal plasticity and also on extreme value statistics. The project will be carried out in close collaboration with a large number of industrial companies in the field of additive manufacturing (Siemens, Materialise, Sabca, ESMA,…).