PhD position: Experimental assessment of hot deformation and transformation behaviour of greener steel

The CO2 emissions of steel industry account for 5% of the total CO2 emissions of the European Union. The major part of these emissions comes from the reduction of iron ore in the blast furnace process. One line of reducing these emissions is to increase the scrap metal fraction in steel production, i.e., directly reduce the amount of primary iron per charge. While relatively simple to implement, this approach inevitably increases the impurity levels and tramp element content of the steel, which can have significant impact on processability and on the properties of finished products.

The aim of this project is to first replicate the hot deformation processes used in industry by means of thermomechanical simulations in a Greeble 563 device to assess the specific differences between conventional and greener steels. In a subsequent step the response of the different steels during typical heat treatments will be evaluated with novel in-situ experimental methods, such as isothermal resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (IRUS). The intended outcome is a new general characterization method for the isothermal and non-isothermal transformation kinetics, i.e., phase fraction, activation energies etc., which surpasses established methods in terms of resolutions and, especially, in terms of immunity to environmental influences. Conventional experimental techniques such as dilatometry, optical and electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction and x-ray diffraction with Rietveld refinement are available at the lab and can be used whenever needed. An important additional aspect of this project is the creation of samples with defined microstructures to validate the results of parallel PhD projects on modelling.

The successful candidate will report his research during bi-weekly meetings of our research group and quarterly meetings with the industrial partners. The candidate is encouraged to interact significantly with the industrial partners and is expected to present results at international scientific conferences and publish them in Q1 academic literature. Furthermore, the successful candidate is expected to work with MSc students doing their final assignment on sub-projects pertaining to the current research project.

The PhD research will be performed in the Production Technology group.

You have obtained an MSc. Degree in Materials Science, Applied Physics, Mechanical Engineering with a specialisation in Materials or a related discipline with excellent results and special interest in using and developing advanced experimental material characterization techniques. Due to the demanding timeline and complexity of the project prior knowledge in Materials Science is required. Ideally, you have a proven background in thermophysical and x-ray diffraction measurement methods.

We encourage candidates with strong communication skills who like to present their work at conferences and (project) meetings. A high level of English proficiency is required, both spoken and written. Non-native speakers must provide IELTS test results (minimum score 6.5), TOEFL-iBT (minimum score 90).

Please submit your application before March, 1st, 2026 using the “Apply now” button, and include:

• curriculum vitae
• letter of motivation
• grades of the BSc and MSc courses
• IELTS or TOEFL score
• contact information of 2 references

The intended starting date is between May and July 2026.

For more information you can contact: Martin Luckabauer, e-mail: m.luckabauer@utwente.nl. https://people.utwente.nl/m.luckabauer

First (online) interviews will be held in the week of March, 23rd, 2026.