PhD student in Structural battery composites for future civil aircraft

Information about the project
In the interdisciplinary research project SORCERER (Structural power composites for future civil aircraft) Chalmers will develop structural power composites for future all-electric aircraft together with Airbus, Imperial College London, KTH, IMDEA and DLR. The project is funded by the European Commission via Clean Sky. Chalmers´ role in SORCERER is to lead the research activities on structural battery composites. This work comprises mainly activities to: i) modify solid polymer electrolyte materials for aircraft application and up-scale the manufacture process for structural battery half-cells and cells; ii) develop novel structural positive electrode designs; iii) for the first time ever build stacked structural battery laminates to achieve a voltage of 24V for the laminate device, and develop and propose test methods for efficient and reliable determination of multifunctional properties of structural battery composites. We aim to realise structural battery composite materials with a capacity of the whole laminated structure (including the contribution from the surrounding CFRP layers that encapsulate the structural battery material) exceeding 100 mAh/g and a shear stiffness in access of 2 GPa.

Work tasks within the project comprise a combination of multi-physics modeling/simulation and experimental work. The balance between these tasks depends on the qualifications of the successful PhD. candidate.

You will work in an interdisciplinary team of scientists and will have to interact with scientists from other disciplines almost on a daily basis.

Major responsibilities
The doctoral program is supposed to lead to the doctoral degree, equivalent to four years of full-time studies, which includes research, studies in courses, and participation in seminars and conferences. 

As a PhD student the major responsibilities are to pursue the doctoral studies. The student is also expected to develop his/her own scientific concepts and communicate the results of the research verbally and in writing (in English). Other duties are:

- Achieve at least 75 course credits
- Department duties of maximum 20 % each year
- Spend the necessary time at the collaborating partners in Sweden and abroad

Position summary
Full-time temporary employment. The position extends over a maximum of 4,5 years, 10-20% of which consists of teaching and other duties at the department.

Qualifications
To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits or equivalent in a relevant field (Mechanical engineering, Materials Science, Physics, Chemical engineering, etc.). Courses on the mechanics of fibre reinforced polymer composites and their design and manufacture are meriting.

You like to work independently and you plan and think strategically. You are creative and like to put new ideas into practice. You like to work in interdisciplinary projects and you have the ability to discuss and communicate your work with people of different backgrounds. We also believe that you are a motivated person, with a strong curiosity and a genuine wish to learn more and develop your skills and knowledge further in the fields of research, research communication and project management.

The undergraduate courses are normally taught in Swedish, although the graduate level teaching is in English. Furthermore, research papers and theses are written in English. Thus, strong language skills are required. Applicants who do not have Swedish as their native language should learn Swedish to a level where you can teach students during your PhD employment. If Swedish is not your native language, you should be able to teach in Swedish after two years. Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

Meriting skills:
- Experience in fibre reinforced polymer composite materials, their manufacture and design.
- Good experimental skills
- Good knowledge in numerical engineering tools (FE-codes and Multi-physics simulation software)

Chalmers continuously strives to be an attractive employer. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20160523 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically via Chalmers webpage.

Application deadline: 15 January 2017

For questions, please contact:
Professor Leif Asp, 
Department of Applied Mechanics, 
leif.asp@chalmers.se, 
+46-31-772 1543