Scholarships Source

Materials innovation institute M2i
PhD researcher
Delft, 2600 GA (Zuid-Holland) , 40 hours per week
Materials innovation institute M2i

Job description In the design of a structure the designer should take into account the possibility that a fire breaks out during the lifetime. One of the main conditions to be fulfilled is that people inside or in the neighbourhood of the structure are able to escape safely before (a part of) the structure collapses due to fire. For most metals used in structural engineering, fire design is an important aspect in the entire design. Research carried out on fire design of load bearing aluminium structures is very limited.

An important failure mechanism of aluminium structures is buckling, already at ambient temperature but even more at elevated temperatures. Fundamental research to buckling at elevated temperatures is very limited. Buckling is in particular important for aluminium structures, because of the high ratio between strength and stiffness and because extrusion of aluminium sections often results in thin-walled sections with arbitrary shapes.

In this research the focus is on lateral- torsional buckling of aluminium structures exposed to fire. More specifically, the research should result in comprehension and description of the influence of changes in material behaviour on lateral- torsional buckling of members exposed to fire.
Existing material models will be applied in numerical, finite element models to study the above behaviour of aluminium structures. The numerical models will be validated by experiments on members in bending exposed to fire conditions. Subsequently, the validated models will be used to determine the influence of relevant aspects on lateral- torsional buckling of aluminium members exposed to fire. Finally, the research should result in a design model – an analytical model – to be used in practice for the design of aluminium members exposed to fire to check lateral – torsional buckling.

Requirements Required education/skills: University Graduate
The candidate should possess a MSc. Degree in Building, Civil or Mechanical Engineering or in Materials Science. Experience with temperature dependent material and structural behaviour, computational work and finite element methods is a prerequisite and interest in experimental work is an advantage. Further requirements:

* Interest in applied scientific research,
* Well-developed communicative skills,
* Good proficiency in English ( writing and speaking),
* Enthusiasm and team spirit.

Job type: Research / Advising

Workfield(s) :
- Research trainees, non-tenured lecturers, researchers( Scientific discipline: Engineering)

Organization Materials innovation institute M2i

Conditions of employment Estimated maximum salary per month: eur 2000 - 2500
Employment basis: Temporary for specified period
Duration of the contract: 3 years
Maximum hours per week: 40

Additional conditions of employment:
When fulfilling a PhD position at the M2i, the candidate will be given the status of PhD Researcher. He/she will have employee status and will be eligible for all the employee benefits offered by the M2i. The contract is for 4 years. Gross salary for the first year is EUR 2,195 gross per month. This amount increases to EUR 2,533 gross per month in the fourth year. The PhD thesis should be completed at the end of the 4th year term with the M2i. The researcher and the supervisor will draw up a plan for any additional training and supervision that is specifically needed.

Additional Information Or additional information can be obtained through one of the following links:

* About the organization (http://www.m2i. nl)
* About the department
* About the function (http://www.m2i. nl)

Application You can apply for this job before 08-01-2009 (dd-mm-yyyy) by sending your application to:
M2i Materials innovation institute
Postbus 5008
2600 GA Delft
Netherlands
E-mail: hrm@m2i.nl

When applying for this job always mention the vacancy number AT M81.1.08306.