There are two PhD positions available in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UPC BarcelonaTECH, in the Division of Geotechnical Engineering and Geosciences (pdf file available here).

The successful candidates will work within the framework of the multidisciplinary research project EROSLOP “Multiscale analysis of soil erosion in steep slopes” (https://eroslop.upc.edu) EROSLOP is an ambitious project gathering teams from different disciplines. It involves the study and modelling of erosion processes under climatic actions at different scales and in different materials and environments: granular materials (in till debris flow catchments), silty compacted materials (for man-made embankments) and degraded hard clays (in “bad lands” slope reliefs). Research includes laboratory works, field surveys, recognition campaigns, sites monitoring and modelling works. The pursued objective is the integration of the processes and factors identified at the different scales within a comprehensive multiscale analysis tool.

We are on the lookout for TWO exceptionally bright and eager Ph.D. students to join our Theoretical & Applied Geomechanics (TAG) research team, to work in the areas of computational geomechanics and geotechnical earthquake engineering. The candidate must hold an M.Sc. degree in geotechnical engineering and must have solid knowledge in applied mechanics and continuum and/or discrete element modeling (computation and/or program development). Consideration will be given to candidates with a proven record of relevant academic background. The candidate must be able to work in a team since she/he will interact closely with several members of a multi-disciplinary research group. The ideal candidate would be skilled in at least one of the following areas:

• FEM, FDM, MPM for solid mechanics (computation and/or program development);
• DEM for granular systems (computation and/or program development);
• Knowledge in mechanics and constitutive modeling of geomaterial;
• Proficiency in a programming language (C++, Fortran, Python). 

The safety, sustainability and efficiency of many geotechnical structures (e.g. geological disposal of hazardous waste, dikes, landfills) strongly rely on the performance of clays, which are used as natural or engineered barrier to limit fluid flow and pollutant transport.  Accordingly, fractures that develop in clays as a result of mechanical and/or environmental loading often represent a threat to the structures. Understanding the development and fate of these fractures is therefore crucial to assess the performance of geotechnical structures.

The aim of the PhD project is to experimentally investigate the development and fate of cracks in clays subjected to mechanical and environmental loads. Emphasis is on understanding the self-sealing and self-healing mechanisms.

As part of the research project, the PhD candidate will develop a novel experimental set-up to track the state of fractures during the self-sealing and self-healing process. The PhD candidate will therefore 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 experience technical staff.

A 18 months post-doc position opens for 2021-2022 at the RECOVER research unit (INRAE, Aix-Marseille Univ, Aix-en-Provence, France).

The project will focus on particle’s shape mechanical influence in granular materials, through discrete modelling with realistic shape descriptors.

Please find all details at https://stratus.irstea.fr/f/5ef9fde069f24c35ba66/?dl=1

We welcome applications for two PhD positions within IAPETUS2 Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP), funded and accredited by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). The projects focus on experimental and numerical investigations within the Energy Geostructures field and are co-led by supervisors from both Heriot-Watt University (HW) and Newcastle University (NU).

The Computing Center for Geotechnical Engineering (COMEGE) of Zhejiang University has openings for postdoctoral fellows in computational geomechanics. Successful candidates should demonstrate a good publication record on geomechanics, engineering mechanics, and/or numerical methods (e.g. FEM, DEM, MPM, SPH, peridynamics), and are expected to conduct independent research on these areas. A good knowledge of high-performance computing and code developing will be a plus.

The Hainan Institute of Zhejiang University invites applications for two postdoctoral positions in Geotechnical Engineering. The Institute seeks applicants in all areas of Geotechnical Engineering with representative examples including but not limited to: offshore geotechnics, numerical and physically modelling of geo-materials. All candidates with advanced experience in experimental (particularly centrifuge modelling), field, computational, or a combination of these geotechnical capabilities will be considered.

About the Institute: Zhejiang University, one of the top universities in Asia, is one of the earliest institutions of higher education in China. It ranks 53^th according to QS World University Rankings 2020.

AVAILABLE POSITION: There are currently two postdoctoral positions at the Hainan institute of Zhejiang University funded by the institute in the year of 2021. The positions offer the possibility of working on the ocean geotechnical engineering.

Digital Soil Mapping and smartphones technology for assessing soil physical and mechanical properties

Soil properties (such as organic carbon) can be estimated using modern data mining and modelling approaches. The proposed approach correlates soil colour and image structure metrics extracted from smartphone and tablet camera images, as well as environmental factors. This principle was used as a foundation to develop a mobile phone app which measures Scottish soil organic carbon content. This project aims to improve on this concept with a model that enhances the performance and functionality, and integrates it with the system hosting the app. Furthermore, the project proposes analysing the pH, bulk density, particle size distribution and permeability of the soil utilising images. Upon the development of the model, a new SolEst app will be developed which provides an environmentally-friendly and costless platform for land managers working in the construction and agriculture sectors to analyse these and other soil properties using their mobile phone. This interdisciplinary project merges geotechnical engineering, digital technology and artificial intelligence to introduce a cutting-edge method for soil analysis using smartphone which is widely available.

The project is the combination of modelling, laboratory and experimental work which enables the PhD candidate to acquire skills of programming, working in-situ and in laboratory during the course of the program.

Application closing date: 14/12/2020

More information in this attachement.

A joint PhD position on the resilience of infrastructure earthworks subjected to extreme rainfall at Newcastle University and Durham University

Applications are welcome for a joint PhD position between Newcastle University and Durham University. The main objective of this doctoral project is to devise, via analytical and numerical modelling, practical solutions to enhance the resilience of infrastructure earthworks (such as dams, embankments) subjected to extreme rainfall events. The PhD candidate will work on the development of a constitutive model to predict the hydromechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils subjected to different types of stress paths (i.e. isotropic loading and unloading, wetting and drying, shearing). The model will then be implemented into a numerical Finite Element code to assess the stability of infrastructure earthworks and evaluate the effectiveness of several stabilisation measures (e.g. drainages, water runoff interceptors, etc.) with an unsaturated soil mechanics perspective. 

We are looking for a PhD candidate in geomechanics

Would you like to influence the success of our high profile project BIOGEOS and gain a sense of contribution in building the next generation of sustainable geotechnics? If so, this is what you will do by joining our highly motivated team at the the laboratory for Soil Mechanics (LMS) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL).

BIOGEOS (BIO-mediated GEO-material Strengthening) is supported by an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council, awarded to Prof. Lyesse Laloui in 2018. We target the establishment of innovative, sustainable processes within mainstream geo-technical practices. Among the techniques developed at LMS is that of biocemented geo-materials. The significant impact of bio-cementation ranges from the protection of infrastructure
against liquefaction & poor quality of foundation soils to mitigating risks related to landslides and soil erosion which are intensified by extreme weather. BIOGEOS aims to crystallize new knowledge into constant innovation and implement state-of-the-art advances in the fields of micro-structural inspection, numerical modelling and material characterization.