Industrial PhD position on “Environmental and technical performance-based design of concrete produced with low carbon cement”

Netherlands
Posted 1 year ago

Offer Description

C2CA Technology B.V. is seeking a highly motivated graduate student to enrol in an Industrial Doctorate hosted in collaboration with the Department of Building Materials at RWTH, Germany. The project is part of the industrial doctoral training network entitled “Data Enabling Transformation and Optimisation towards Concrete Sustainability” (DETOCS), funded by the Marie Skolodowska-Curie Action of the European Commission.

Scientific Project

The project focuses on developing a novel, quicker-yet-still-reliable, and more general approach to assessing mechanical and durability performance of concrete mix designs using thermodynamic modelling and simplified first principle models for deterioration mechanisms. The latter will be based on theoretical physical mechanisms of concrete deterioration. The project comprises of DC6 in two stages: numerical modelling and experimental validation on concrete mixes. The key innovation in DC6 lays in development and validation of a streamlined form of physical modelling that is applicable to many concrete types and indicates performance reliably.

The specific objectives include: 1) development of a streamlined physical models to predict key early (strength development) and late age performance (resistance to concrete deterioration) of concrete, for concrete produced with very low carbon cement (e.g., using Recycled Cement Fines as SCMs); 2) integration of the numerical model with environmental life cycle assessment and data obtained from industrial plants; 3) application of the method to predict optimal concrete mixes based on locally available materials, and 4) validation of the model predictions using data from laboratory experiments and industrial plants.

The project consists of one employment period at C2CA Technology B.V., Netherlands. The first period of 18 months at C2CA in Netherlands, followed by a secondment of 18 months at RWTH in Germany. During the first period, three technical visits will take place, i.e., to Mannok (Ireland), Cementos Argos (Colombia), and EPFL (Switzerland).

Requirements

Research Field
Chemistry » Inorganic chemistry
Education Level
Master Degree or equivalent
Research Field
Technology
Education Level
Master Degree or equivalent
Research Field
Engineering
Education Level
Master Degree or equivalent
Research Field
Physics
Education Level
Master Degree or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications

We are seeking a highly motived candidate who is passionate about understanding cement production and chemistry, techniques to evaluate cement quality, utilisation of SCMs in cement, grinding technologies, and numerical modelling. The project will involve material characterisation (chemistry, physics, thermal analysis, microscopy), cement hydration, Supplementary Cementitious Materials, numerical modelling (chemical reactions and kinetic modelling), collection of process data to simulate the effect of grinding on SCMs reactivity in composite cement, machine-learning approaches for soft-sensing from time-series of process data, the use of data mining, multivariate statistics, pattern recognition, detailed modelling, and hybrid models (both data-based and model-based).

Previous experience on some of the above will be highly appreciated. Engineers with a Master’s in Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering, as well as individuals with a quantitative science background in physics or chemistry with a main interest in the future of cement production are encouraged to apply.

Languages
ENGLISH
Level
Excellent

Additional Information

Benefits

– 3-year full-time employment contract (salary according to MSCA regulations for doctoral candidates and their family status at the time of the recruitment).

– Gaining experience abroad. First period at RWTH, DE for 18 months, second at C2CA, NL for 18 months.

– Enrolment in a PhD programme at RWTH and participation in national/international scientific meetings.

– Enlarged professional network and improved scientific career perspective in academia and industry.

– Shared research and innovative multidisciplinary and multisectoral training by senior scientists, experts, and experienced trainers from academia and industry.

– A structured training programme consisting of research-related courses, soft skill courses, targeted workshops, social events, and networking.

Eligibility criteria

We welcome applications from PhD candidates from any country fulfilling the following criteria:

– Eligible candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their first host institution for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before their recruitment by the host institution (i.e. the starting date indicated in the employment contract/equivalent direct contract).

– Eligible candidates shall, at the date of recruitment by the host institution (i.e., the starting date indicated in the employment contract/equivalent direct contract), be in the first 4 years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and not have been awarded a doctoral degree.

– Eligible candidates must have a Master’s degree relevant to the chosen position (including chemical engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering or physics) or its equivalent that would entitle them to a doctorate.

– Candidates must have a high proficiency in written and spoken English, which will be assessed with the motivation letter and interview.

Selection process

Send all the requested documentation to detocs@flsmidth.com, with the email subject “DC6″, add the following evaluators in cc, Thomas Petithuguenin (tpetithuguenin@c2ca.tech) and Prof. Thomas Matschei, PhD (matschei@ibac.rwth-aachen.de)

The opening date of the position is 15th September 2023. The deadline for receiving the documents via email as a single PDF file is 31st October 2023, 17:00:00 CET.

A selection committee will rank eligible applications based on their CVs and merits. The three best candidates for each position will be invited for an interview in October/November 2023, where the final candidates will be selected. Applicants with a positive evaluation but not selected will be added to a reserve list to cover eventual future positions and might be contacted at a later stage.

Job Features

Job CategoryDoctorat

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