The Particles on the Edge (PLEDGE) project: PLEDGE is a challenging research project funded by the Dutch government and the Materials Innovation Institute (M2i) to understand the consequences of 'green' steel making (i) using a hydrogen-based production process and (ii) with an increased usage of recycled (scrap) material. The mechanical properties of any steel rely strongly on second-phase particles in the metallic microstructure, yet, the amount and distribution of second-phase particles can vary considerably in green steels. Therefore, the goal of the PLEDGE project is to deeply understand and manage the microscopic deformation mechanisms in the presence of second-phase particles, to enable future 'green' steel making. To address this goal, a multi-scale integrated experimental-numerical micromechanical approach is adopted.
Vacancy for an experimental PhD student with a focus on in-situ micro-mechanical testing
- In the experimental PhD project within PLEDGE, you will apply state-of-the-art high-resolution microstructure-correlated strain mapping, based on tensile testing inside an SEM combined with EBSD/SEM/EDS/STEM analysis of the microstructure, to experimentally reveal and quantitatively characterize the relevant fundamental micro-deformation mechanisms.
- You will closely integrate your advanced experiments with state-of-the-art micro-mechanical modelling of the true 3D microstructures, performed in the numerical PhD project within PLEDGE.
- You will also work together with the Engineering Doctorate (EngD) student on the project, targeting macroscale exploitation and industrial application in collaboration with Tata Steel.
Section Mechanics of Materials and the Multi-scale Mechanics LaboratoryYou will work in the section of Mechanics of Materials (MoM) (
www.tue.nl/mechmat) at the department of Mechanical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). The MoM section is globally recognized for its high-level research on experimental analysis, theoretical understanding and predictive modelling of complex mechanical behavior in engineering materials at different length scales (e.g, plasticity, damage, fracture,…), which emerges from the physics and mechanics of the underlying multi-phase microstructure. An integrated numerical-experimental approach is generally adopted for this goal.
You will carry out the state-of-the-art high-resolution
in-situ SEM micro-mechanical experiments at the Multi-scale Mechanics (MsL) Laboratory (
www.tue.nl/multiscale-lab), led by dr. Johan Hoefnagels (
www.tue.nl/hoefnagels-group), which is a state-of-the art lab focusing on 'integrated mechanical testing' with a wide range of micro-mechanical tests and high-end microscopes.