Military UN missions operate in urban areas where the buildings are not constructed only of steel and concrete but mainly of local materials like adobe (a loam-based material). It is important to know what protection can be realised by these kinds of buildings. The structural and ballistic properties of adobe are very different from the “well known” concrete-based materials, but these properties are not well understood. Novel prediction and design tools are therefore needed.
The PhD project has been defined to study the physics of the ballistic impact process on adobe targets, taking the uncertainty in material properties into account by a probabilistic approach.
During the ballistic impact and penetration process of a wall or roof structure, the material is exposed to a wide range of stress conditions varying from hydrostatic shock conditions to uniaxial tension. The induced and interfering stress waves lead to stress conditions that vary in time and depend on the material properties. In the “soft” adobe material, crushing will be dominant in the impact area and the penetration process. It dominates the amplitude and duration of the induced stress waves and thus the final response and failure mode. Because the adobe material differs significantly from “regular" ballistic protection materials, the available material models are not applicable. The challenge of the project is to combine knowledge of hard, brittle materials (small deformations) with knowledge of deformable materials (large deformations) for impulsive loading conditions. The aim is to develop a new material model for adobe type matter.
Description
Applicants should have an MSc degree in Engineering or the equivalent thereof. They should have good computer programming skills. A good team spirit and the ability to function in a multidisciplinary setting with different project partners is required. In addition, an affinity for experimental work is desirable.
For this PhD position security screening by the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) will be performed. This screening requires the candidate to have Dutch nationality.
Nr of positions available : 1
Research Fields
Technology
Career Stage
Early stage researcher or 0-4 yrs (Post graduate)
Experienced researcher or 4-10 yrs (Post-Doc)
More Experienced researcher or >10 yrs (Senior)
Research Profiles
Not defined
Benefits
The TU Delft offers an attractive benefits package, including a flexible work week and the option of assembling a customised compensation and benefits package (the 'IKA'). Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.
As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment; an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor; and a Doctoral Education Programme aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills. Please visit www.phd.tudelft.nl for more information.
For more information about this position, please contact Prof. L. J. Sluys, phone: +31 (0)15-2782728, e-mail: l.j.sluys@tudelft.nl. To apply, please e-mail a detailed CV and a letter of application by 1 April 2015 to Prof. Sluys, Recruitment-CiTG@tudelft.nl.
When applying for this position, please refer to vacancy number CITG15-04.
Benefits
0 - 2717
Requirements
| Technology |
| ENGLISH |
| Good |
| Technology |
| University Graduate |
| 1 |