Are you passionate about solving multiphysics problems? Do you want to make an impact on future aircraft manufacturing? Do you strive for perfection?’

We are looking for a PhD researcher to reinforce our team. Together with academic and industrial partners, we seek to develop design-for-manufacturing tools for thermoplastic composite aircraft structures. You will contribute to this development by advancing the current state-of-art on thermoplastic composite welding technologies.

The challenge
Induction welding is a key assembly technology for the aerospace industry to build large and affordable thermoplastic composite structures. The process relies on an alternating magnetic field to generate heat required to weld carbon fiber reinforced components. The process currently lacks maturity and relies on expensive trial-and-error procedures to define processing windows. We believe that predictive simulations will significantly increase our understanding or the process and help reduce the process development time. The main challenge for you lies in obtaining accurate predictions of the temperature distribution, while the material properties change with temperature and evolving microstructure. Are you ready to take up this challenge?

Objective
The objective of this project is to develop physics-based, predictive process simulation tools and material characterisation methods for induction welding of thermoplastic composites. Progress requires fundamental understanding of the relations between constituent properties and their distribution on the one hand, and the electromagnetic properties and heating behaviour on the other. As a first step, we will need to experimentally acquire the anisotropic electromagnetic ply properties, i.e. the conductivity and the permittivity, as a function of frequency and temperature. New experimental setups and methodologies will have to be developed for this purpose. Electromagnetic simulation models on the microscale, considering a single or a collection of a few fibers, may be needed to support the experimental efforts. Subsequently, constitutive models and advanced computational homogenization methods are needed to allow efficient numerical simulation of the induction welding process.

• You hold a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Applied Physics or equivalent.
• You have experimental and/or theoretical skills in polymers or fiber reinforced polymer composites in the field of e.g. material characterization, analysis, manufacturing or mechanical performance.
• You have affinity with electromagnetism and you have followed courses in this field.
• You know the underlying principles of the finite element method and have used commercial packages such as ABAQUS or COMSOL to tackle electromagnetic or thermal field problems.
• Additionally, you know how to use scripting languages like Python or Matlab to for example analyze experimental data.
• Your writing skills are good - you have written technical reports and/or scientific papers.
• You have excellent analytical skills, a critical mindset and you enjoy a challenge.
• You are a great teammate with good social skills.
• You are fluent in English, both spoken and written (we require a TOEFL > 90 or IELTS > 6.5 score).

Information and application

You are welcome to contact Dr. ir. Wouter Grouve for any questions you might have (email w.j.b.grouve@utwente.nl or phone +31 (0)53 – 489 8018).

Please upload your application, including your motivation letter and detailed cv via the ‘Apply now’ button.

The application deadline is September 1th 2019. Since only three documents can be uploaded per application, please combine documents if needed.

We offer you a very challenging position in an inspiring multidisciplinary environment. The university offers a dynamic ecosystem with enthusiastic colleagues in which internationalization is an important part of the strategic agenda.

• We strive for diversity and fairness in hiring – we offer a full time four-year position.
• We provide you excellent mentorship and a stimulating, modern research environment with world-class research facilities.
• You will be part of a dedicated team with which you will collaborate extensively with industry.
• You will benefit from a professional and personal development program and a green and lively campus, with lots of sports facilities and other activities.
• The PhD salary is € 2.325 in the first year and increases to € 2.972 in the fourth year. Additionally, you get a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, a year-end bonus of 8.3%, and you will have minimum 29 leave days in case of full-time employment.

You first responsibility is to carry out the research, but you are also encouraged to acquire teaching experience. We support you to broaden your knowledge by joining international exchange programs, by participating in national and international conferences and workshops, and by visiting industrial companies, research institutes, and universities worldwide.

The University of Twente. We stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which leads change, innovation and progress in society. The University of Twente is the only campus university of the Netherlands; divided over five faculties we provide more than fifty educational programmes. We have a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out groundbreaking research. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Because of our diversity values we do particularly support women to apply. The Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET) is one of the five faculties of the University of Twente. ET combines Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Industrial Design Engineering. Our faculty has approximately 1800 bachelor and master students, 400 employees and 150 PhD candidates. The departments of the faculty cooperatively conduct the educational programmes and participate in interdisciplinary research projects, programmes and the research institutes: Mesa+ Institute, TechMed Centra and Digital Society Institute.