Modeling and characterization of the fatigue of railway axles innovative in Lille (France) with an industrial partner

French spoken

Supervisor: E. Charkaluk CR HDR, CNRS, Ecole Centrale de Lille

Co-supervisor (s) A. El Bartali (Ecole Centrale de Lille) & V. Magnier (USTL)

Contact: A. El Bartali & V. Magnier
E-mail: ahmed.elbartali@ec-lille.fr and / or vincent.magnier@polytech-lille.fr

Laboratory:
Laboratoire de Mécanique de Lille (LML, UMR CNRS 8107,
http://www.univ-lille1.fr/lml/) is a joint unit between the University
of Lille 1, Ecole Centrale de Lille, the Ecole Nationale des Arts et Metiers and the CNRS. About 70 researchers and teacher-researchers working in the fields of Civil Engineering, Mechanics of Solid and Fluid Mechanics.

Scholarship or doctoral contract (type, amount per month, start date and duration):
Exchange USTL, duration: 36 months, net earnings ≈ € 1,700 / month, Top of the contract: from September 2011.

Candidate
(e) (profile): Candidate with expertise in numerical modeling, fatigue of materials and structures and manufacturing process. Candidate familiar with the techniques of experimental measurements.

Background and Purpose:

The
axle-mounted roller elements are composed of two wheels, an axle-shaft
and other components such as bearings, bearing boxes, brake discs or other equipment necessary for the purpose of propulsion engines. The environment and sustainable development require integrated eco-design and better management of raw materials.
A
research program focuses on the design of a common axle innovative
optimized mass, allowing a reduction in unsprung weight of the axle of
the order of 20% in order to make energy savings.
This
research program includes several actors (GHH-Valdunes, Barriol
Dallière and Industry, Lille Mechanics Laboratory and the Laboratory
PERF), each will contribute its expertise in the field. All work will be conducted in synergy with the various project stakeholders on aspects of both experimental and numerical.
The
objective of this thesis is to determine, first, a design methodology
of hollow axles using digital tools (finite element method). This
model should take into account the residual stresses from the
manufacturing processes and the different demands arising from the
timing of the wheel loads and exercised. In
a second step, an experimental campaign is conducted to characterize
the fatigue behavior of materials under complex loading (tension /
compression and torsion). Experimental measurements (field measurements, thermography ...) will highlight the influence of material property gradient. Finally, a confrontation numerical / experimental will be needed to move towards a multi-criteria optimization of the axle.

Interested candidates should submit detailed curriculum vitae wit hthe name and adress of one referee, and a cover letter to V. Magnier.