composite

The research group Mechanics of Materials and Structures at Ghent University (UGent-MMS) has 5 vacancies for PhD and postdoc research in the field of fibre-reinforced composites. The vacancies are linked to research on composite hydrogen tanks, micromechanical testing of composites and finite element modelling of textile connections. All research will be conducted with leading companies in the field.

More information can be found on

Over the last years, UGent-MMS has developed the stand-alone BladeMesher software for generating finite element models of large wind turbine blades. The software reads in the material data and airfoil data of the wind turbine blade, and automatically constructs the geometry and finite element mesh for the blade. In a next step, the nodal and element information of the finite element mesh is written out to an input file for a commercial finite element solver (Abaqus in this case).

Dear Colleagues,

The Composites Heterogeneous Materials Analysis and Simulation (COHMAS) Laboratory at KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Saudi Arabia, is pleased to announce e-poster competition on composite materials.

The mechanical behavior of athermal random fiber networks embedding particulate inclusions is studied in this work. Composites in which the filler size is comparable with the mean segment length of the network are considered. Inclusions are randomly distributed in the network at various volume fractions, and cases in which fibers are rigidly bonded to fillers and in which no such bonding is imposed are studied separately. In the presence of inclusions, the small strain modulus increases, while the ability of the network to strain stiffen decreases relative to the unfilled network case.

Dear colleagues,

We inform you that the next indentation conference from the Groupe Indentation Multi-Echelle (GIME) will be held in Liège (Belgium) on 11-14 September 2018.  The conference gathers every two years, scientists and industrials concerned by the problems of mechanical characterization of surfaces. In 2018, this conference is organized by Belgian scientists: ULg, CRM Group, UCL et UMons. In line with the 2016 edition, we organize two half-days of training on indentation, preceding the 2-day symposium.

Applications are sought for multiple Post-Doctoral Research Associates at University of California, San Diego (USA) and Cardiff University (UK) and two PhDs (Cardiff) to join a very active cross-continental M2DO research lab. The primary research focus is to develop topology optimization for multiscale and multiphysics problems optimizing materials and structures. The research members are required to travel between US and UK regardless of their bases.  

Research experience in the following areas are required.

In the latest volume of Engineering Fracture Mechanics there is an interesting paper about the calculation of crack growth paths by use of a phase field model. The considered material is inhomogeneous and that causes the crack to follow a winding path through the material. The material structure is from a CT scanned micro-structure of a cement-based porous material. The paper is: