PhD (4 years) on experimental characterization of snap fit joints

Organisation/Company Ghent University Research Field Engineering » Materials engineering Engineering » Mechanical engineering Engineering » Other Physics » Other Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Application Deadline 17 Jan 2027 - 22:59 (UTC) Country Belgium Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Other EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

[Net salary (after taxes) starting from 2600 EUR/month]

UGent-MMS is coordinating a 4-year research project on snap fit joints. Snap fit joints, also called snap-lock joints or clickable joints, are one of the most widely used connection types in all sorts of construction elements, automotive parts, medical devices and many more. Those joints are more and more important in the context of disassembly, recycling and repair.

This research project does not deal with the most simple snap fit joints, based on cantilever flexible beams. Rather it focuses on the complex snap fit joints that are used in window profiles, laminate flooring, injection moulded parts for automotive, etc. When those joints are engaged, they follow a complex loading path, with effects of friction, strain rate, geometric nonlinearity and manufacturing tolerances. After that, the snap fit joints have to keep the parts together for many years, despite temperature fluctuations, creep and environmental ageing.

The project is funded by Flanders Make, and is a collaboration between UGent, KULeuven and Flanders Make. The project is supported by 10 companies from the construction, automotive and consumer goods sector.

This PhD will focus on development of experimental characterization techniques for the engagement and long-term performance of snap fit joints. Instrumentation techniques such as Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and high-speed imaging will be used, and tests will be extended from quasi-static loading to long-term creep loading, combined with temperature influences. He/she will collaborate with the other PhD students and postdoc, involved in the project.

Only candidates with a Master degree should apply. The candidate should have a strong interest in experimental mechanics of materials, and should be enthusiastic to work in a collaborative project between industry and academia.

Contact person ?

The responsible person at Ghent University is Prof. Wim VAN PAEPEGEM. He has 25 years of experience in mechanics of composites and finite element simulations. More information on the achievements of the research group can be found on http://www.composites.ugent.be/ .

• you are interested in research and have obtained a Master and/or PhD degree,
• you are interested to interact and collaborate closely with the industrial partners during the research period,
• you have an education in Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computational Mechanics, Biomedical Engineering, or similar,
• you are familiar with mechanics of materials and experimental or computational techniques (depending on the specific vacancy requirement mentioned above),
• mastering the Dutch language is not a prerequisite, but a good knowledge of English writing and speaking is absolutely required.

What do we offer ?

• you will be working in a dynamic environment. Our group has expanded quite fast the last few years and currently, 8 postdoc's and 15 PhD students are working in our group. Besides, 18 PhD students have successfully obtained their PhD degree in the last five years,
• we have extensive experimental and numerical facilities. You will have access to several Linux workstations and a high performance computing cluster to run finite element simulations on 2000+ cores,
• we have good contacts with the regional composite and additive manufacturing industry and regional universities, so you will come into contact with industrial applications of composites and related research in other universities,
• you will get the chance to attend international conferences (e.g. ECCM, ICCM,...) and to present papers on these conferences. For those who are interested, an international exchange with another university is possible. As publications are increasingly important (also for your career afterwards), you are encouraged to publish your results not only on international conferences, but also in peer-reviewed international journals,
• you will have a personal laptop and a private workspace. All PhD students and staff have their office in the same wing of the building. The laboratories are separate in another wing of the same building,
• if you are just graduated (junior PhD student), your net income is about 2600 EUR per month. That is the amount of money that is deposited on your bank account every month (after t