The University of Dundee is looking to appoint a Post-Doctoral Research Associate to work on the EPSRC-funded research project “Braced Excavations: what about the corners?“, jointly held with Durham University.  The aim of this project is to develop new and more accurate ways to predict ground movements and prop loads for large, braced excavations as regularly used around the world for the construction of new underground transportation infrastructure.  

The post holder will work on the University of Dundee Geotechnical Centrifuge to create and test models of 2- and 3-dimensional braced excavations to provide validation data for numerical approaches developed at Durham University.  The position will be for 3 years.  

To apply for this position, please go to https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/CZS581/postdoctoral-research-assistant

The application deadline is midnight on Friday 09 June. Informal enquiries can be made to Professor Jonathan Knappett (j.a.knappett@dundee.ac.uk).  

Further particulars are available in this pdf file.

A call is open to award one researcher/PhD student grant within the I&D Project INTENT – Intelligent health monitoring of road infrastructures using bender elements embedded in pavements, reference 2022.06879.PTDC, funded by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT). The recipient is expected to conduct research in the field of Computational Geomechanics at the Lusófona University of Lisbon.

Job:  Research grant for MSc graduates, with an option to undertake a PhD

Research field: Computational Geomechanics

Stating date: July, 2023

Salary: €16,135.68 per annum (€14,395.68 net annual salary)

Duration: 33 months

Application deadline: June, 5, 2023

Applications must be made through an application letter together with the following documents: Curriculum Vitae with indication of OrcID reference, if available, certificates of graduation degrees (BSc and MSc), Motivation Letter and any other documents considered relevant by the candidate. The documents should be sent to Professor Ionut Dragos Moldovan,  dragos.moldovan@ulusofona.pt (or dragos.moldovan@gmail.com). 

More information on this pdf file.

The Department of Geological Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin seeks to hire a talented and innovative postdoctoral Scholar who will be supervised by Nicola Tisato and D. Nicolas Espinoza. The scholar will collaborate with scientists in the Rock Deformation Laboratory, the Department of Geological Sciences, and the Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department at UT Austin.

Responsibilities

1. To conduct independent research focused on the carbonation of ultramafic rocks through an activity revolving around laboratory experiments.
2. Design, prepare and perform rock mechanics and rock physics experiments. The experiments will require the postdoctoral fellow to collaborate with project partners to secure rock hand samples from which to prepare rock core plugs (cylinders) by using a drill press and a lathe in a fully equipped laboratory.
3. Characterize such core plugs using common laboratory tools such as a scale, a caliper, and a gas pycnometer.
4. Using internal UT Austin or external laboratories to prepare thin sections and perform analyses to characterize the rocks, for example, using scanning electron microscopy analyses.
5. Perform other analyses on the studied rocks that will require manipulating the samples (e.g., grinding to powder).
6. Perform experiments on the core plugs by means of high-pressure and temperature-pressure vessels also in combination with X-ray imaging techniques to assess the dissolution and precipitation of new mineral phases when CO2 and water are injected into the core plug. Thus, the Postdoctoral fellow is required to work with apparatuses that can hold high-pressure (max 200 MPa) fluids and produce elevated temperatures (max 400 degC).
7. Performing these experiments will require the Postdoctoral fellow to set up the experiments, which could include collaborating with machine shops (internal to UT Austin) to engineer new mechanical parts and devise other electric or electronic parts in collaboration with the PIs.
8. Acquire and analyze experimental data and use rock physics laws and tools to model the results.
9. Perform literature reviews, give presentations at conferences, write manuscripts for peer-review journals, and write research grant proposals if needed.
10. The postdoctoral fellow will have direct access to several facilities at UT Austin, including the Rock Deformation Laboratory and the Rock Mechanics Laboratory.

 Preferred Qualifications

Research experience in carbon dioxide sequestration. Research experience in fluids-rocks chemo-physical interaction. Experience in analytical methodologies (e.g., XRD, XRF, CT-scanning). Experience with CT-scan imaging and imaging processing software (e.g., imageJ, etc). Experience with sensors and microcontroller programming (e.g., Arduino, etc).

Apply here: https://utaustin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UTstaff/details/DGS—Postdoctoral-Fellow–CO2—ultramafic-rocks-physical-and-chemical-interactions-_R_00026598

More information and questions: Nicola Tisato (nicola.tisato@jsg.utexas.edu), D Nicolas Espinoza (espinoza@austin.utexas.edu) and on this attached pdf file.

A position for a PhD in Geomechanics is open at Politecnico di Torino (Italy). The doctoral project will focus on geomechanical aspects of CO₂ storage in aquifer and depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs. The hydro-mechanical response of reservoir rocks will be investigated accounting for chemo-mechanical effects and coupling with geochemical reactions. The research programme will be carried out jointly with Stellantis and the PhD student is expected to spend at least six months in the industry, bridging the gap between academic research and industrial applications, and six months in another University/Research Institution outside Italy.

Interested candidates can write to: guido.musso@polito.it

The call expires on June 20^th and is available here: https://www.polito.it/en/education/phd-programmes-and-postgraduate-school/admissions-to-phd-programmes/admissions/call-for-applications

More information on this pdf file.

Our chair, Methods for Model-based Development in Computational Engineering, at RWTH Aachen University, Germany is aiming at supporting potential international candidates working on modelling geohazards within the framework of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA-PF) programme. Research conducted in our chair focuses on innovative methods for model-based development and decision support. This includes predictive process simulations, workflow development for reproducible and reusable modelling, as well as sustainable digital infrastructure. Further details can be found in the pdf file. If you are interested, please send your CV (max. 2 pages) to Anil Yildiz (yildiz@mbd.rwth-aachen.de).

The economic feasibility and safety of a geological disposal facility for radioactive waste strongly rely on the performance of the host formation. In the Netherlands, appropriate geological layers are poorly indurated clay formations. Proper characterisation and understanding of the host formation’s time-dependent chemo-hydro-mechanical behaviour is fundamental. Indeed, the disposal facility is expected to be constructed in a process lasting around a decade and operated for several decades prior to closure. However, to date, the behaviour of poorly indurated clays beneath the Dutch surface is inferred from material at much shallower depths from Belgium.

The aim of the PhD project is to experimentally characterise the mechanical behaviour of deep poorly indurated clays, with a view of contributing to the safety case for a geological disposal facility in the Netherlands.

Cores representative of a Dutch geological disposal facility have recently been obtained from a unique multi-objective research drilling. As part of the PhD project, the cores will be thoroughly characterised, and their hydro-mechanical behaviour will be experimentally investigated. The PhD candidate will benefit from world-class laboratory and imaging facilities already available in the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences of TU Delft and partner institutions (via existing strong collaborations such as EPOS-NL), and the support of experienced technical staff.

This PhD position is part of the NWO-funded Safe Environment for Clay Underground Repository (SECUUR) project. The successful candidate will integrate into a team of enthusiastic researchers working on the geological disposal of radioactive waste, including another PhD student carrying out research on SECUUR.

Further information on eligibility criteria and application procedure can be found here.

For more information about this vacancy and informal discussion, please contact Dr. Anne-Catherine Dieudonné, e-mail: a.a.m.dieudonne@tudelft.nl or Dr. Wout Broere, e-mail: w.broere@tudelft.nl.

The closing date for applications is 1^st June 2023.

This PhD thesis will be carried out within the French National Project “Earthen Constructions” gathering more than fifty partners including academics, architects, masons, civil engineering design and control offices. The candidate will therefore benefit from a strong dynamic in the field of low-carbon construction materials and from the synergy of leading universities in the field, currently handling multiple research projects in this field.

Link to the details of the proposal is provided below: PhD on rammed earth – numerical aspects

A PhD position on “Experimental study of the impact of thermo-mechanical stresses on the gas permeability of rock salt” is now open at University of Lorraine-CNRS (Nancy). More information on this pdf file.

Application deadline: June 11th, 2023

At KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (Sweden), the Division of Soil and Rock Mechanics is searching for two postdocs to be employed in the group. The postdocs will be working in a joint research project connected to the implementation of the 2nd generation of Eurocode 7 to design of rock tunnels and hydropower dams. These two types of structures are not within the scope of the present Eurocode. A substantial work is therefore needed to ensure that the 2nd Eurocode generation and its practical application provide acceptable safety to such structures for Swedish geotechnical conditions. Concerning tunnels in rock, the research project aims to develop a scientific basis for the writing of a potential completely new part of Eurocode 7 on design of rock tunnels. Concerning hydropower dams, the research project aims to facilitate a cost-effective implementation of the 2nd generation of Eurocode 7 to dam foundations on rock. Applicability to hard crystalline rock shall be considered, as such geological conditions are very common in Scandinavia.

The vacancy ad and further details about the project and the employment can be found here: https://www.kth.se/en/api/2.61673/what:job/jobID:622699/where:4/

Last application date is 31 May 2023.

Cornell University is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to start in Fall 2023 or Spring 2024, with expertise in at least two of the following areas: computational mechanics, poromechanics, homogenization and deep learning. The flyer attached explains the details of the open position.