JOB DESCRIPTION
Postdoctoral vacancy (13 months) on FE simulation of crushable foams for bicycle helmets
Lazer Sport ( http://www.lazersport.com/), based in Antwerp (Belgium) designs, manufactures and markets bicycle, motorcycle and leisure helmets and is committed to deliver high-end protection products for professional and recreational purposes. Bicycle helmet design is a complex combination of safety, lightweight, aerodynamics, ventilation and aesthetics. A typical multilayered bicycle helmet consists of an outer shell, a liner of expanded polystyrene that is the main traditional energy absorber, a reinforcement of the liner and an internal padding out of flexible foam.
The design objective for any bicycle helmet is to achieve a low weight (150-200 g) while minimizing the helmet thickness and maintaining comfort and safety. This optimization is typically done by numerical simulations, because experimental trial-and-error is too expensive. However, the behaviour of the crushable foam, which is the crucial component for the energy absorption, is not well understood and difficult to model. To further complicate the modelling, the foam comes in various densities (ranging from 80 g/l till 160 g/l) and is very sensitive to temperature and loading rate.
The research group Mechanics of Materials and Structures has already done a first testing campaign on an in-house drop weight tester, and has also performed the first finite element simulations. The results are very encouraging, but the influence of foam density and temperature dependence should be investigated in more detail.
The purpose of this postdoctoral position is to refine the numerical simulations, so that the crushing behaviour of the foam can be accurately modelled. In a next step, the material model for the foam can be plugged into the crash simulation of the complete bicycle helmet, and its impact performance can be assessed in a numerical way. For both testing and simulation, there is already a lot of data available from the first research phase.
What do we offer ?
- you will be working in a dynamic environment. Our group has expanded quite fast the last few years and currently, 10 postdoc's and 19 PhD students are working in our group. Besides, 18 PhD students have successfully obtained their PhD degree in the last five years,
- we have extensive experimental and numerical facilities. You will have access to several Linux workstations and a high performance computing cluster to run finite element simulations on 2000+ cores,
- we have good contacts with the regional composite industry and regional universities, so you will come into contact with industrial applications of composites and related research in other universities,
- you will get the chance to attend international conferences (e.g. ECCM, ICCM,...) and to present papers on these conferences. For those who are interested, an international exchange with another university is possible. As publications are increasingly important (also for your career afterwards), you are encouraged to publish your results not only on international conferences, but also in peer-reviewed international journals,
- you will have a personal laptop and a private workspace. All PhD students and staff have their office in the same wing of the building. The laboratories are separate in another wing of the same building,
- if you are just graduated, your net income is about 1850 EUR per month. That is the amount of money that is deposited on your bank account every month. If you have a dependent wife and/or children, the salary is raised. Also seniority can be taken into account if you can show former relevant experience,
- the cost for the PhD study itself is very limited. Our education system is very different from for example the system in the United Kingdom. When you start your PhD study, you pay a once-only tuition fee of 290 EUR, and the rest of your study is free of charge,
- the university offers compensations for public transport (train) and bicycle. The work location can be reached easily by public transport (train and tram/bus),
- a hospitalization insurance policy can be concluded,
- there are a lot of sport accommodations and other benefits (reductions on computer purchase, internet connection, fitness,...) for university personnel,
- there are specific organizations for the international student community in Gent. There are ISAG (International Students Association Ghent) and ESN (European Students Network). They are quite active in organizing all sorts of events (Student Unions and Societies for international students).
- Recently, a "China platform" and "India platform" have been founded for the benefit of Chinese and Indian students at Ghent University (see China platform and India Platform).
To submit your application, please click on the "APPLY" button. Applications must be in Dutch or English, and contain the following:
- your personal details (name, address, date of birth, nationality,...)
- your education, subject of master thesis and degrees
- your work experience (previous jobs)
- additional skills (finite element software, programming languages, communication skills, ...)
- mastered languages (Dutch, English, French)
- references (previous projects in the domain, published papers,...)
Additional information?
You can freely download our research brochure. This PDF-document contains a lot of pictures and impressions of our research activities. You can find it on the webpage www.composites.ugent.be/ftp/brochure_UGent_MMS.pdf
DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Only candidates with a PhD degree should apply. The candidate should have a relevant background in computational mechanics of materials, preferably combined with experience in experimental testing and mechanical characterization of materials.
Who do we look for ?
- you are interested in research and have obtained a PhD degree,
- you are interested to interact and collaborate closely with the industrial partners during the research period,
- you have an education in Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computational Mechanics, or similar,
- you are familiar with mechanics of materials and computational techniques,
- former experience with advanced computational mechanics is an advantage,
- mastering the Dutch language is not a prerequisite, but a good knowledge of English writing and speaking is absolutely required.