FLSmidth, along with other industrial and academic partners, is seeking highly motivated graduate students to enrol in our newly funded Industrial Doctorate. The project consists of an international, 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, Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI) and the UK Research and Innovation fund (UKRI). The programme consists of fifteen international PhD projects that perform research focused on the decarbonisation of cement and the concrete industry via digital tools that help to increase the amount of Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCM) in composite cement.

DETOCS Project Partners

• FLSmidth A/S, Denmark
• RWTH Aachen, Germany
• TU Delft, Netherlands
• ETH Zürich, Switzerland
• University of Padova, Italy
• Institute of Housing and Urban Development Studies of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
• Statwolf, Ireland
• C2CA Technology B.V., Netherlands
• Mannok Holdings, Ireland    
• University of Aberdeen, Scotland
• Imperial College London, England
• Cementos Argos S.A, Colombia
• Centre national de la recherche scientifique, France
• EPFL, Switzerland
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
• Environmental Coalition on Standards, Belgium
• ParticleTech, Denmark

DETOCS Project Summary

DETOCS proposes a new approach to rapidly increase the use of SCMs in existing cement production facilities. The project focuses on exploiting the latest innovations in digital tools to predict and control the quality of cement and concrete blends with high amounts of SCMs compared to today’s standards. Our network aims to lay the scientific foundations to create knowledge and new models to study the production of high-quality SCMs and their impact on low-carbon cement and concrete mixes.

DETOCS’ partners combine top-notch scientific expertise, interdisciplinary know-how, engineering solutions, and real-world process data into an industry-driven network. The project’s structured approach combines complementary research for each individual project in the academic and industrial sectors. The top-level research is accompanied by a balanced mix of the newest scientific courses and transferable skills training, delivered by each partner locally and in dedicated training schools, seminars, and workshops at the network level. DETOCS is impact-driven and strives for a portfolio of high-class joint publications, patents, and innovations along the value chain.

DETOCS PhD projects (DC: doctoral candidate)

• DC1:   Accurate prediction of clinker quality and process-related information using a high temperature thermodynamic approach.
• DC2:   Thermal activation of SCMs: Process Models and Quality Prediction.
• DC3:   Chemical activation of SCMs via carbonation and admixtures: Quality Prediction.
• DC4:   Mechanical activation of SCMs: Process Models and Quality prediction.
• DC5:   Quality prediction of low-carbon cement blends.
• DC6:   Environmental and technical performance-based design of concrete produced with low carbon cement.
• DC7:   Impact of material variability on concrete performance.
• DC8:   Quantifying concrete properties from cement paste scale tests.
• DC9:   Soft-sensing & data analytics for in-line measurements in low-carbon cement production.
• DC10: Traceability of concrete materials along the value chain.
• DC11: A machine learning framework to predict low-carbon cement and concrete quality.
• DC12: Drivers and barriers to the end-user adoption of low-carbon cement.
• DC13: Rapid SCM characterisation method based on computer vision.
• DC14: Development of a decentralised production model for production of cementitious binders from Secondary Raw Materials.
• DC15: Environmental and economic performance of low carbon cement.

MPORTANT: Please refer to the document in the "Internal Application form needed" section for details of the fifteen available positions, work locations, and how to apply. Be sure to read the Eligibility Criteria before sending an application!

DETOCS is a multi-disciplinary research project; as such, the required skills depend upon which of the doctoral degree topics you are applying for. Please refer to the document in the "Internal Application form needed" section for details.

Specific Requirements

Please refer to the document in the "Internal Application form needed" section for details.

Languages: ENGLISH

Level: Excellent

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 (note: a complementary condition on proof of English proficiency applies for DC12 - Please refer to the document in the "Internal Application form needed" section for details).

DETOCS is a multi-disciplinary research project; as such, the required skills depend upon which of the doctoral degree topics you are applying for.