KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, is searching for a doctoral student to be employed at the Division of Soil and Rock Mechanics. The work tasks are related to doctoral studies leading to a Licentiate degree, if the study plan is followed. (Opportunity to continue working to a PhD degree is very likely to be offered, but cannot be completely guaranteed at this point. Licentiate is an intermediate degree.) The studies are connected to the research project “Piling in soil with high boulder content: study of pile refusal in different soil types”. Driven piles in till or esker material often encounter boulders. This can cause structural failure to the pile, causing delays and additional costs. However, assessing the probability of pile refusal is challenging and existing tools are simplistic. The purpose of the research project is to develop a methodology for assessment of the risk for pile refusal in different soil types and for different pile driving equipment. This should facilitate cost-effective pile driving, minimizing delays and material use.

The work tasks include case studies of piling work, analytical, numerical and probabilistic calculation modelling, field work, writing scientific articles, taking postgraduate courses, and teaching. The employment comes with a competitive salary in line with what is offered to newly graduated engineers working in the Swedish construction industry. The vacancy ad and further details about the project and the employment can be found here: KTH Vacancies

The Laboratory of Soil Mechanics (LMS) at the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering at EPFL Switzerland is seeking 2 Ph.D. students to enhance our geomechanical knowledge and predictive capabilities of the mechanical behavior of engineered geological barriers.

The 2 Ph.D. students will have to gain insights into the mechanical behavior of compacted expansive clays for different mechanical loads and under different environmental conditions. They will have to develop advanced experimental campaigns and appropriate theoretical and numerical modeling tools.

LMS focuses its research activities on the protection from geo-hazards and industrial damage to the environment, landforms, and structures. Our experimental and modeling resources are mobilized to understand, describe and predict the environmental impact of the technologies of future days, such as nuclear waste disposal, petroleum and gas exploitation, transportation and storage, methane hydrate technology, CO2 geological sequestration, and energy technologies related to heat storage. The LMS is directed by Prof. Lyesse Laloui (more information about the LMS and its current research can be found at http://lms.epfl.ch/en). With specific reference to the program of which the two Ph.D. students will be part, the research activities will be crucial for suitably designing and adopting engineered geological barriers internationally.

More information in this .pdf file.

Please send your application as soon as possible with the subject line «Application for Ph.D. position 2021» to recruitment.lms@epfl.ch in a single pdf file containing all the required information. It shall include your CV and a letter of motivation. Additional documents could be needed at a later stage.

We are seeking full-time, highly motivated PhD candidates to perform high-quality research in the field of rock testing and fracture mechanics. The successful candidate will join a multidisciplinary team in partnership with industry partners at the Geotechnical Engineering Centre (GEC) within The University of Queensland’s School of Civil Engineering. Domestic and on-shore international applicants are preferred for these positions that will remain open until 31 December 2021 unless it is filled sooner. At the GEC, we support the highly successful postgraduate, dual-major and undergraduate programs in Geotechnical Engineering as well as active research programs and specialised consulting activities. The Centre is funded by Platinum Industry Partner BHP, Gold Industry Partner MRM, and Silver Industry Partners AGA, AusIMM, Aurecon, BASF, KCB, Jellinbah, Mining3, ReoCo (formerly TEXO) and Wagstaff Piling, with matching funding from UQ, providing total funding of up to $0.9 million/year. See the PhD positions available in the links below and here for more information about the Centre.

• https://scholarships.uq.edu.au/scholarship/phd-scholarship-catastrophic-rock-and-concrete-brittle-failures (Two Positions)
• https://scholarships.uq.edu.au/scholarship/phd-scholarship-combined-dynamicbiaxial-compression-failure-mode-geostructures
• https://scholarships.uq.edu.au/scholarship/phd-scholarship-thermo-mechanical-damage-behavior-rock-under-polyaxial-stresses

The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde seeks to appoint a talented individual to a 4-year combined teaching and research associate position. The candidate will have the ability to teach Geotechnical/Civil Engineering modules to a high standard at undergraduate level. Furthermore, the position is being partly funded via a research project on microbially-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) for concrete repair. As such the candidate will split their time between teaching and research activities.

The aim of the research is to optimise treatment strategies for upscaling MICP treatment of concrete from the laboratory-scale to the field-scale. We have recently demonstrated the potential of MICP to repair degraded concrete in small-scale laboratory tests; MICP acts to both reduce permeability and improve overall strength. Alongside teaching responsibilities, this position will focus on developing treatment strategies that are practical for large-scale and field-scale deployment, in order to deliver a reliable low-carbon engineering solution, that can be used by practicing civil engineers. New cement replacement technologies such as MICP, are key to the world meeting its carbon emissions targets. You will be joining an enthusiastic and friendly team of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers that are researching various novel grouting technologies for a range of engineering applications including soil stabilisation, rock fracture sealing and concrete repair. You will work closely with industry partners including Babcock Intl. and BAM Nuttall.

This position is based in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, a dynamic department, with a friendly and active teaching and research culture. The Department consistently receives excellent feedback on UG and PGT teaching quality and we are ranked in the UK top 10 for Civil Engineering (Complete University Guide, 2021). Our department has a diverse range of high standard teaching programs ranging from full time degree programs, to distance learning such as our Graduate Apprenticeship degree. We also have an exciting new International Joint Education Program (IJEP) with Yunnan University in China (delivered in English language) and there may be opportunities for the successful candidate to spend 2-4 weeks of the academic year teaching in China.

The University is seeking a candidate that can deliver high quality teaching in geotechnical/civil engineering, has excellent communication skills and enjoys working within a multidisciplinary team. You will contribute to: laboratory-based research; field trials with the industry partner; and data analysis and computational modelling. Not all of these skills are required as prior experience, training is available, but an ability and enthusiasm to learn new skills is essential.

The 4-year position is available for a full-time postdoctoral teaching/research associate. The successful candidate should have a relevant undergraduate degree (e.g. Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Materials, Environmental Engineering) and have successfully completed their PhD in a relevant field (e.g. MICP or other microbial precipitation technologies, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, environmental engineering).

Informal enquiries about the post can be directed to Dr Grainne El Mountassir, (grainne.elmountassir@strath.ac.uk).

Applications can be made here: https://strathvacancies.engageats.co.uk/ViewVacancyV2.aspx?enc=mEgrBL4XQK0+ld8aNkwYmGmhCWYhKQcPArLHskIiGWBDrCLGQmw8t5feZMqPhH79L5A6cO1y7SBzjMzThV4Fimqq/Zrsm5frObREUvBB5wfuyX7pB/j994lX2UANp8zPuAP7gS/eGtwsfQVEYV5Xsg==

Deadline: 17^th September 2021

More information available on this pdf file.

Introduction of The Lab/ Research Field

Dr. Lei’s research on porous media features temperature, pressure and stress control, pore-scale insights based on micro-CT technique integrated with conventional testing, multi-physics experiments and theoretical analysis. Targeted areas include: (1) particulate material and porous media under abnormal conditions and their interaction with pore constituents; (2) energy, marine, and resource geo-engineering; (3) permafrost and outer space sediments; (4) natural gas hydrates and their hosting sediments; (5) massive energy storage; and (6) multi-phase flow and crystallization in porous media.

Website of Digital Porous Media Laboratory: dpml.westlake.edu.cn

Dr. Lei’s webpage: https://en.westlake.edu.cn/academics/School_of_Engineering/About/Our_People/Faculty/202006/t20200611_3903.shtml