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Last updated: 11 October, 2014
One new postdoc vacancy on multi-scale modelling of the
vibration/NVH response of composites for Spring 2015
Where ?
The postdoc vacancy is available in the "Mechanics
of Materials and Structures"
research group at Ghent University. The offices and laboratories of this group are situated in the south of
Ghent (Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 903, 9052 Zwijnaarde).
Duration ?
The postdoc vacancy is a full-time job position for 30 months.
The position is split between our university in Ghent and the Catholic University of Leuven. The candidate will
be required to spend the second half of his contract in Leuven (80 km from Ghent).
Job description ?
Nowadays, there is an increasing interest to use composite materials in automotive applications,
in particular the use of fibre-reinforced plastics (carbon or glass fibres in a polymer matrix)
is widely considered. The use of lighter materials, and hence a reduced fuel consumption,
can be one of the possible solutions for reduced CO2 emissions.
As the automotive industry is mainly familiar with metals and plastics, a lot of research
is being spent on the mechanical response of composites under fatigue and impact loading,
and on developing new design methodologies for these "new" materials. Also, the design cycle
is much shorter than in aerospace industry, so faster design and calculation methodologies
are needed.
Apart from these investigations, the use of composite materials in automotive applications
has also other consequences. The so-called NVH (= Noise / Vibration / Harshness ) requirements
have to be imposed to composite components as well, to guarantee a good acoustic comfort for
the driver and passengers. However, the NVH behaviour of composites is not well understood,
and due to the visco-elastic behaviour of its polymer matrix, the vibration and damping response
of composite panels can be very different from the behaviour of metallic panels.
In this project, it is the purpose to investigate and validate multi-scale modelling
strategies to predict the vibration and damping behaviour of composite panels.
The approved research project is a collaboration between Ghent University, KULeuven,
Siemens, Toyota and Nitto. The project is called "Design and analysis of the NVH behavior
of lightweight panel and material systems using advanced CAE tools".
Modelling strategies have to be developed to predict the complex stiffness moduli
(storage modulus and loss modulus) of composites in their different orthotropic
directions, based on two ingredients:
The open position is a full-time postdoctoral position for 30 months, split over Ghent University (15 months) and KULeuven (15 months). We are looking for one physical person, who will do the first half of the research in Ghent and the second half of the research in Leuven (both cities are 80 km from each other, both in Flanders, Belgium).
The research work will consist of:
The "Mechanics of Materials and Structures" research
group at Ghent University (Prof. Wim VAN PAEPEGEM) has 30-years experience with mechanics of
composites, and recently developed also test set-ups and finite element simulations for modal
vibration and damping of composite panels.
Only candidates with a PhD degree should apply.
The candidate should combine a background in
computational mechanics of composites (preferably multi-scale modelling) with knowledge in the
field of vibrations/acoustics or visco-elastic and frequency-dependent behaviour of polymers.
Supervisors ?
The supervisor at Ghent University is Prof. Wim VAN PAEPEGEM.
He has 15 years of experience in mechanics of composites and finite element simulations.
More information on the achievements of the research group can be found
on http://www.composites.ugent.be/.
Who do we look for ?
What do we offer ?
How to apply ?
Additional information ?
By proper homogenization methods, the frequency-dependent stiffness and damping of
the homogenized composite is predicted and can be used in early design simulations.
In a second phase, the method will be validated on more complex components in a sound box,
where acoustic measurements and finite element simulations will be compared. Furthermore,
the unit-cell modelling of bare FRP models will be extended to unit-cell models also
including the add-on layer.
The "Noise and Vibration Engineering" research group of the KU Leuven Department of Mechanical
Engineering (Prof. Wim Desmet) has a long-term experience in experimental and numerical techniques
for structural dynamic and vibro-acoustic analysis of materials and systems, with focus on
automotive, aerospace and industrial machinery applications
(https://www.mech.kuleuven.be/en/pma/research/mod).
These activities have led a.o.
to the foundation of spin-off company LMS International, now Siemens PLM Software,
with whom a close collaboration will be set-up in the present project,
leading to new simulation methodologies for the NVH behaviour of composite panels.
The supervisor at the Catholic University of Leuven (KULeuven) will be Prof. Wim DE SMET.
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).
Prof. Wim VAN PAEPEGEM
Ghent University
Mechanics of Materials and Structures
Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 903
9052 Zwijnaarde
Belgium
Tel.: +32-(0)9-331.04.32
Fax: +32-(0)9-264.58.33
E-mail: Wim.VanPaepegem@UGent.be