Empa is the research institute for materials science and technology of the ETH Domain and conducts cutting-edge research for the benefit of industry and the well-being of society.
Project description and tasks: The employed postdoc will work on two connected research projects. 1) Development of an eco-friendly ultra-high performance concrete volumetrically prestressed with SMA fibers (Eco-UHPC-VP),2) Prestressed shape memory alloy (SMA) reinforcement for 3D Concrete Printing (PSMA-3D). Concrete technology research will be carried out by one of our current postdocs, who is already involved in both projects. The structural research including Finite Element (FE) modeling, design of experiments, conducting structural experiments, writing publications- and possible supervision of junior researchers- will be the main tasks of the new postdoc.
Within the Eco-UHPC-VP project, the goal is to study the volumetric prestressing of concrete by means of iron-based SMA (Fe-SMA) fibers uniformly distributed through the concrete volume. FE simulations will be used to model and better understand 1) the local prestress around a single fiber, 2) the crack initiation and propagation, and 3) the overall mechanical behavior of the developed Eco-UHPC-VP. FE models will be adapted and verified with the experimental results obtained within the project and will then be used for further parametric studies limiting the total costs of the experiments.
Within the PSMA-3D project in a joint research study between Empa and ETH, we intend to investigate the feasibility of prestressed SMA reinforcement for 3D printed concrete elements. We plan to design and develop structurally optimized 3D printed concrete elements and their integrated reinforcement layout as well as strategies for its prestressing, analysis and optimization of the elements together with 1:1 prototyping and testing. In order to apply concrete extrusion at building scale, above mentioned reinforcement strategies are investigated.
Empa is an interdisciplinary research institution for materials science and technology in the ETH domain. At Empa structural engineering research laboratory new materials and systems are developed (e.g. Fe-SMAs) for use in civil infrastructure. Empa is pioneer and a worldwide-recognized institute for research on Fe-SMA reinforcement. More than 40 scientists have worked at Empa in this field over the last 20 years. As a result, more than 100 papers have been published and highly cited by the society. So far 60 real application have been realized by re-fer AG.
ETH Zurich is one of the world’s leading universities specialising in science and technology. The research-group Digital Building Technologies lead by Prof.Dr. Benjamin Dillenburger at Department of Architecture at ETH Zurich investigates large-scale additive manufacturing for construction and related computational design strategies. An interdisciplinary research team embedded in the National Competence Centre of Research in Digital Fabrication (NCCR DFAB) is developing a concrete extrusion process used in this research project.
Your profile and selection criteria:
- A PhD in structural engineering
- A good background and knowledge on reinforced concrete and structural design
- Deep knowledge on SMAs and proven experience on FE modeling of RC structures
- Deep knowledge on short fiber reinforced concrete
- A good publication record in high-quality journals
- Demonstrate ability to supervise bachelor, master and PhD students
- Record of any secured research funding
- Excellent written and verbal language skills in English. Furthermore, German language skills are beneficial
- A demonstrated capacity to work in a collegiate/friendly manner in an interdisciplinary team and with other technical staff
We are offering a multifaceted and challenging position for 24 months, in a modern research environment with excellent infrastructure. The position is available as soon as possible but should be filled by no later than February 1, 2021.