Doctoral student in Thermomechanical fatigue of textile composites

Chalmers University of Technology; Göteborgs kommun; On-site; SEK 363,000 - 435,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee benefits

PhD stipend

Job summary

Chalmers University of Technology invites applications for a Doctoral student position in computational mechanics and materials engineering in Gothenburg. You will characterise thermo-mechanical fatigue of textile-reinforced composites, develop a numerical framework for fatigue life prediction, and publish results at international conferences.

The role includes advanced courses and teaching at 20% of working hours.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in a relevant field with strong grades.
• Strong English communication.
• Experience in continuum mechanics, FEM and fibre-reinforced polymers.
• Strong programming and numerical methods skills.
• 4-year Bachelor’s degree accepted for non-Swedish applicants.

Responsibilities

• Characterise thermo-mechanical tension-tension fatigue behaviour of a textile reinforced composite.
• Develop and implement a numerical framework to assess fatigue life of aeroengine components.
• Publish results in scientific journals and present at international conferences.
• Take advanced courses within the Graduate school of Solid and Structural Mechanics.
• Teach at Chalmers' undergraduate level up to 20% of working hours.

Skills

Continuum mechanics

Finite element methods

Fibre-reinforced polymers

Programming & numerical methods

Aerospace materials knowledge

Education

Master's degree (120 credits) in Applied Mechanics or related

4-year Bachelor’s degree accepted for non-Swedish applicants

Tools

ANSYS

LS-DYNA

Python / MATLAB

Job description

How do advanced composite materials perform after millions of load cycles in the demanding environment of an aeroengine? As a doctoral student in this international research collaboration, you will help answer that question through a combination of experimental testing, advanced simulations, and close interaction with leading researchers and industry experts. Your work will contribute to the development of future aerospace structures that are lighter, more efficient, and more reliable.

About Us

The PhD position is placed at the Division of Computational Mechanics and Materials Engineering. We foster an inclusive, friendly, and helpful work environment to which we welcome you to contribute. Our activities integrate computational mechanics and advanced materials technology, combining multidisciplinary expertise to predict, understand, and elevate the performance of engineering materials and structures.

Within the project, you will be supported by an international team of experts in the area of mechanics of composites, combining academic excellence with industrial expertise and experience.

About The Research Project

The project aims to enable the deployment of advanced composite structures in aeroengines by developing reliable methods for predicting fatigue life of textile carbon fibre composites under thermomechanical tension-tension loading. Through combined experimental characterisation and development of an industrially applicable simulation framework, the project will support safe and efficient design of complex aerospace components.

More Specifically, The Project Goals Are To

• Characterise the fatigue properties and stiffness degradation of a relevant prototype textile reinforced composite material system under pure cyclic tension-tension loading.
• Develop an industrially applicable and computationally efficient ply-level macroscale fatigue model that describes how damage evolves under varying load amplitudes and thermal conditions.
• Combine the novel ply-level fatigue model with an existing state-of-the-art inter-laminar fatigue damage model into a complete fatigue life assessment framework.
• Accelerate the computational efficiency of the framework by utilising novel cycle extrapolation techniques to represent the effect of fatigue loading over many cycles at a time.
• Evaluate realistic but critical thermomechanical fatigue cycles through a combined experimental-simulation approach.
• Enable industrial adoption of the proposed fatigue assessment framework into future design procedures at GKN Aerospace.

Who We Are Looking For

The following requirements are mandatory:

• To qualify as a Doctoral student, you must have a Master's degree (masterexamen) of 120 credits or a Master’s degree (magisterexamen) of 60 credits* in Applied Mechanics, Structural Engineering, Computational Engineering, Engineering Mathematics, Engineering Physics or similar.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English
• Documented experience (education/courses or thesis project with high grades) in continuum mechanics, advanced finite element method and the mechanics of fibre-reinforced polymers
• Interest and high skills in programming and numerical methods
• for students with an education earned outside of Sweden, a 4-year Bachelor’s degree is accepted.

The Following Experience Will Strengthen Your Application

• Documented knowledge in experimental testing.
• Documented knowledge in aerospace applications and/or aeroengines.
• Documented knowledge and experience in ANSYS or LS Dyna, including implementation of user subroutines (such as user materials or user elements)

What You Will Do

• Characterise the thermoemechanical tension-tension fatigue behaviour of a prototype composite materials sytem with textile reinforcements.
• Develop and implement a complete numerical framework to assess the tension-tension fatigue life of aeroengine components.
• Develop your scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research through written scientific publications and oral presentations at international conferences.
• Take courses at an advanced level within the Graduate school of Solid and Structural Mechanics.
• Teach on Chalmers' undergraduate level corresponding to 20 percent of working hours.

Contract terms

• The Doctoral student positions are fully funded from start.
• The position is a fixed-term appointment of four years, with the possibility to teach up to 20%, which extends the position up to five years.
• A starting salary of 35,725 SEK per month (valid from May 1, 2026).
• Doctoral studies require physical presence throughout the entire study period. A valid residence permit must be presented by the study start date; otherwise the admission may be withdrawn.

What We Offer

• As a Doctoral student at Chalmers, you are an employee and enjoy all employee benefits. Read more about working at Chalmers and ourbenefitsfor employees.
• A dynamic and inspiring working environment in the coastal city of Gothenburg.
• Read more about Sweden’s generous parental leave, subsidized day care, free schools, healthcare etc at Move To Gothenburg.

Chalmers is dedicated to improving gender balance and actively works with equality projects, such as the GENIE Initiative for gender equality and excellence. We celebrate diversity and consider equality and inclusion as fundamental aspects of all our activities.

If Swedish is not your native language, Chalmers offers Swedish courses to help you settle in.

Find more general information about doctoral studies at Chalmers here.

For Questions, Please Contact

Martin Fagerström

Professor

email: [e-mail], phone: [phone]