The University of Twente opens a PhD position on ‘Scaling friction from single grain to aggregate grain to (fault-gouge) contacts.‘ This project is in the area of tribology (study of friction, wear) with applications in earthquake (fault rock gouge) mechanics. It is a very interesting position on the boundary between tribology and geomechanics in the field of ‘geotribology’ – tribology of geomaterials. The project is funded by the DeepNL program of NWO.

The interested candidates can apply via this link: https://utwentecareers.nl/en/vacancies/558/phd-candidate-position-scaling-friction-from-single-grain-to-aggregate-grain-fault-gouge-contacts/

The deadline is 15^th May, but could be extended to 29^th May depending on the number of applications.

The Department of Civil & Structural Engineering at the University of Sheffield invites applications from outstanding and ambitious candidates for a position in Geotechnical Engineering at the Lecturer / Senior Lecturer level.

We seek a talented individual who can relate their research and teaching vision to impact within one or more of the following key challenges: infrastructure performance and resilience; adaptation of geotechnical systems for an evolving climate; low carbon development and management; integration of digital technologies with geotechnical applications. Applicants with a strong laboratory / physical modelling background are especially welcome, as are those with links to the design profession.

The Department has high quality geotechnical laboratory and physical modelling facilities including, at our Broad Lane site, advanced soil element testing laboratory, transparent soil (laser) laboratory and a 4.5m diameter beam centrifuge. The department is also home to the Integrated Civil and infrastructure Research Centre (iCAIR), part of the UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC), where large scale physical testing on soil-water-structure problems can be carried out. Together, these offer a huge potential to develop and deepen experimental research interests across a range of geo-related problems.

Further information and an application link can be found below: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/CON224/lecturer-senior-lecturer-in-geotechnical-engineering

The closing date for applications is 6th May 2022.

Informal enquiries can be made to Elisabeth Bowman, Reader in Geomechanics, at e.bowman@sheffield.ac.uk.

A PhD position in multi-scale modelling of auxetic cementitious composites is open at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology. The PhD will be part of a larger ERC funded project and collaborate closely with other members of the project team. Interested candidates can apply here:

https://www.tudelft.nl/over-tu-delft/werken-bij-tu-delft/vacatures/details?jobId=6238&jobTitle=PhD%20Position%20ERC%20ACC-3D%20multi-scale%20modelling%20of%20auxetic%20cementitious%20composites

Application deadline: May 15, 2022

We offer a postdoctoral position for investigating the hydromechanical modeling of masonry dams, subjected to flood and seismic events.

More information on this pdf file.

If you are interested, please send an application, including CV and a cover letter describing interests and qualifications related to the position and contact details of two reference people, to Guillaume Veylon, guillaume.veylon@inrae.fr, before 30th of April, 2022.

This is a full time 3-year PhD contract starting in October 2022, that will benefit from a collaboration between Université Grenoble-Alpes (www.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr) and specifically Laboratoire 3SR (Soils, Solids, Structures, Risks), Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris-Saclay (www.ens-paris-saclay.fr) and specifically the Laboratoire de Mécanique Paris-Saclay, as well as large scale facilities (Institut Laue Langevin, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility).

More information on this pdf file.

Application deadline: 20th of May 2022

Join the GEoREST team to contribute with your research to address one of the
major challenges of the XXI century: ending our dependency on hydrocarbons
and reaching zero or net negative emissions to achieve carbon neutrality.
We offer a postdoctoral position (1 year with possibility of another one depending
on results and funding availability) for investigating the mechanisms that induce
seismicity as a result of fluid injection/extraction related to geothermal energy,
geologic carbon storage and hydrogen storage. The position is related to the
ERC-StG project GEoREST (predictinG EaRthquakES induced by fluid injecTion)
(www.georest.eu), funded by the European Research Council (ERC,
https://erc.europa.eu/). The candidate will perform her/his research at the
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in a collaborative and enthusiastic
environment.

If you are interested, please send an application, including CV and a cover letter
describing interests and qualifications related to the position and contact details
of two reference people, to Victor Vilarrasa, erc.georest@gmail.com, before 30th
of April, 2022. Selection will be performed on the basis of the excellence of the
CV and motivation.

More information on this flyer.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering seeks to recruit a talented researcher to a 24-month Research Associate position. The new Associate is required to demonstrate research experience in either Soil Mechanics, Soil Science or Plant Science. Within this project the Research Associate will work on a bioinspired system that uses emerging materials and concepts in geotechnical engineering to mimic the wicking mechanisms that plants use for transpiration. This position is funded by the EPSRC New Investigator Awards project: An ‘energy free’ pump: nanoporous gels to passively lift subsurface water” led by Dr Matteo Pedrotti.

The aim of the project is to develop a bioinspired pump capable of passively lifting subsurface water, from depths of tens-to hundreds of meters, using only energy that is provided naturally by the atmosphere. Through the design of a colloidal silica-based hydrogel that can be injected into soils and rocks, a soil-hydrogel network will be created that has an increased soil hydraulic conductivity and water retention capacity during periods of high negative soil water pressure, thus enabling the passive lifting of water from the deep groundwater table to near-surface soils during periods of drought. Providing a zero-energy engineering solution at the nexus between water, energy and food.

The project will tackle three specific challenges: to manipulate the hydrogel properties so that a sufficient water flux is provided over a desired range of negative pore water pressure values, whilst still maintaining injectability (a low initial viscosity and controllable gel time); to create a continuous, durable network of nanopores within the grouted soil that is resistant to repeated cycles of wetting and drying, i.e. the system must not irreversibly cavitate (form cracks or bubbles) at high negative water pressure, or the long-term hydraulic continuity will be lost; to demonstrate that plants can thrive when connected to an “Energyfree water pump”.

More information on this pdf file.

We are opening a PhD position in geology and geomechanics at Université Clermont Auvergne, Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, France.The main objective of the PhD project is to model the fracturing processes occurring in volcanique edifices, by a numerical model using Discrete Element Method.We are looking forward to receiving applications from highly-motivated candidates with a Master’s degree in geology, geomechanics, civil engineering, mechanics or physics with a specific motivation for volcanology, modeling, programming. The position is funded for 3 years starting on Sept 2022. The call expires on the 30th of April 2022.

The full PhD proposal is on this pdf file (FRENCH) and on this pdf file (ENGLISH).

Interested candidates can write to: karim.kelfoun@uca.fr https://lmv.uca.fr/kelfoun-karim/

A 12 months Post-Doc position is currently available for working on DEM modelling with realistic shape descriptors in the RECOVER unit (INRAE, Aix-Marseille University, Aix-en-Provence, France) with Dr Jérôme Duriez.

Please see https://nextcloud.inrae.fr/s/xS47gAqobaX8yqL for more details and application procedure.

The LEMTA’s soil mechanics research team seeks a PhD on the following subject: “Applications of Artificial Intelligence for deciphering strength development of binder-soil mixtures in the context of soil stabilization”

The research team developed over the past two decades a thorough knowledge concerning the stabilized soils’ behavior with outstanding laboratory equipment (https://lemta.univ-lorraine.fr/mecanique-des-sols-2/) [7-11]. A considerable database has been constructed including experimental data from different geotechnical tests (UCS, triaxial and shear box, oedometer, permeability…). An extensive testing program is currently running to investigate the impact of multiple wetting-drying cycles on the mechanical performance to explore the treatment durability issue.

The PhD objectives can be summarized by: (i) optimizing the database structure to make it appropriate for generating the training, testing and validation datasets for AI/ML models; (ii) perform statistical data analysis to give insight of the correlations and tendencies for selecting the best candidate predictors from the datasets; (iii) using AI techniques (including ANN and Deep Learning) to develop predictive models for post-curing properties including long-term behavior and (iv) develop and validate data-driven design tools for engineering practice.

Contact information:
Supervisor: Prof. Olivier CUISINIER, olivier.cuisinier@univ-lorraine.fr
Co-supervisor: Dr. Adel ABDALLAH, adel.abdallah@univ-lorraine.fr

More information on this pdf file.