Postdoc in Performance Based Standards for High Capacity Transports

The Department of Applied Mechanics is one of the leading environments within Vehicle and Mechanical Engineering research. The six different research divisions conduct world-leading research, usually in close collaboration with national and international industries. Research topics encompass both fundamental and applied research questions. Our goal is to contribute to the development of safe and environmentally friendly products for a sustainable society.

The Department of Applied Mechanics offers a wide range of courses in the undergraduate programmes, in addition to two international Masters programmes in Automotive Engineering and Applied Mechanics. Courses are available within the four graduate schools: Machine and Vehicle Systems, Solid and Structural Mechanics, Thermo and Fluid Dynamic and Internal Combustion Engine Technology. In addition Applied Mechanics provides international continuation courses.

The department has approximately 170 employees.Information about the division & the project
The division of Vehicle Engineering and Autonomous Systems focuses on engineering of systems in the applications ofvehicles and robots. Our strengths are the knowledge of finding solutions to authentic problems, the combination of simulations with real-life testing and stochastic optimization methods and their applications.

The research groups at the division are:
* Vehicle Dynamics
* Vehicle AeroDynamics
* Adaptive Systems

Our aim is to provide novel and innovative solutions to problems of industrial relevance, by means of theory, modeling, simulations, and experimental work.

The project will run in collaboration with Swedish national road and transport research institute, Transportstyrelsen, Trafikverket, AB Volvo, Scania and Parator. Within Chalmers, there will be cooperation with the Mechatronics group at the Department of Signals and Systems.

The large increase in the goods transport demands, the growing congestion problem and the environmental concerns over transportation emissions and fuel consumption, make High Capacity Transport (HCT) vehicles an attractive alternative to the conventional heavy vehicle combinations on the road; an alternative which would also result in significant economic benefits. The existing legislation in Sweden, allows heavy vehicle combinations with maximum length of 25.25 m and maximum weight of 60 ton on the road network. In order to introduce HCT vehicles in Sweden, the existing regulations should be modified and a proper way of regulating HCT vehicles and their access to the road network should be developed to ensure that a certified HCT vehicle would not have negative effects on traffic safety, infrastructure and environment.

The purpose of this project is to propose a performance based regulation of HCT vehicles and their access to the road network to support the development and implementation of efficient HCT vehicles without negative effects on safety, infrastructure and environment. The core of the proposed regulatory framework will be a set of Performance Based Standards (PBS). PBS has been implemented in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Major responsibilities
The project objectives are: 1. Identification of a set of performance based standards, suitable for Sweden with attention to snowy and icy road conditions. 2. Proposal of an assessment and approval procedure. 3. Proposal of an implementation method for the performance based regulation. Furthermore, a number of HCT vehicle types with high efficiency, low impact on infrastructure and safe performance will be identified. The project will enhance the Swedish competence within the area of HCT vehicles performance and safety and will make Sweden a leading actor in the ongoing attempts towards an effective, safe and sustainable transport industry in Europe.

Your major responsibility as postdoc is to perform your own research in a research group. The position also includes teaching on undergraduate and master's levels as well as supervising master's and/or PhD students to a certain extent. Another important aspect involves collaboration within academia and with society at large. The position is meritorious for future research duties within academia as well as industry/the public sector.

Position summary
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of two years (1+1).

Qualifications
To qualify for the position of postdoc, you should have a doctoral degree in vehicle dynamics or related, such as mechanical engineering/dynamic systems. The degree should generally not be older than three years. You are expected to be somewhat accustomed to teaching, and to demonstrate good potential within research and education.

The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in English.

Application deadline: 2013-10-31

For questions, please contact:
Professor Bengt Jacobson
bengt.jacobson@chalmers.se
+46 (0)31 772 13 83




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