PhD Student in Applied Mechanics

The Department of Applied Mechanics conducts research in the areas of vehicle design and mechanical engineering.The research is often carried out together with national and international academic and industrial partners, and it concerns both fundamental and applied problems.The research at the Division of Dynamics at the Department of Applied Mechanics is directed towards various dynamic, vibration and wave propagation problems, also with coupling to other physical phenomena such as wear or piezoelectricity.Both fundamental and applied research is performed, and although the main thrust is towards modelling and numerical treatment, experimental activities also play an important role.A large part of the applied research is performed within the competence centre CHARMEC (CHAlmers Railway MEChanics), see http://www.chalmers.se/charmec.The division has a large teaching involvement giving basic courses in mechanics and strength of materials and advanced courses in mechanics, FEM, structural dynamics, and optimization of dynamical systems.Job description: The Division of Dynamics at the Department of Applied Mechanics is seeking a new PhD student to start in the autumn of 2010.The research will be conducted within the project described below.PhD Project: Progressive degradation of rails and wheels To increase cost efficiency and capacity of railways, the worldwide trend is to increase train speeds and/or axle loads.This generally leads to higher rates of deterioration and shorter operational lives of rails and wheels.In addition, the increased loading may increase the risk of failures, which may have devastating consequences.By suitable design and maintenance, however, these undesired consequences can be significantly limited.The aim of the PhD-project is to develop predictive models to be employed in an optimization of inspection and maintenance actions.Current degradation models will be identified and enhanced if needed.The progressive deterioration of wheels and rails will be translated into changed operational conditions and the effects of these altered operational conditions will be evaluated.Operational load spectra and resulting damage spectra will then be extracted.Mathematical simulation and in-field studies will be combined.The PhD-project will be connected to a number of previous and on-going projects in CHARMEC, see http://www.chalmers.se/charmec.The research results will be published in international scientific journals and conference proceedings.A parallel CHARMEC project on optimum inspection and maintenance of rails and wheels will be run at Chalmers in the Department of Mathematical Sciences.The focus of this latter project is on the mathematical optimization.Required qualifications: A suitable background is a Master of Science (Swedish: civilingenjör) in mechanical engineering, engineering physics or civil engineering with emphasis on solid mechnics and numerical simulations.Knowledge of the Swedish language is desirable but not a requirement.Application procedure: The application should be sent electronically using the application form that can be reached through our website: http://www.chalmers.se/am/EN/news-summary/vacancies/positions/phd-student-in-applied1022 Please use the button at the top/foot of the page to reach the application form.On the same website you will find further information about requirements pertaining to the application procedure.