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Research Associate, Advanced Testing of Composite Structures

Employer
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
Location
Bristol, United Kingdom
Salary
£33,797 - £38,017
Closing date
24 Aug 2020

Job number ACAD104633
Division/School School of Civil, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Contract type Fixed Term Contract
Working pattern Full time
Salary £33,797 - £38,017
Closing date for applications 31-Aug-2020

CerTest – full title ‘Certification for Design - Reshaping the Testing Pyramid’ – is £6.9M research investment of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in the form of a so-called Programme Grant. CerTest is conducted in a close partnership between academic partners University of Bristol (lead), University of Bath, University of Exeter and the University of Southampton, with strong industrial and stakeholder support by Airbus, Rolls Royce, BAE Systems, GKN Aerospace, CFMS, the National Composites Centre (NNC), the Alan Turing Institute, and with close interaction with the European Aviation Safety Agency. CerTest addresses barriers to validation and certification of composite aerostructures posed by the so-called ‘building block approach’ (or ‘testing pyramid’), which is the backbone of current validation and certification processes. CerTest represents a decisive step towards ‘virtual testing’ on the structural scale, which aims to reduce development cost and time to market, as well as to enable more structurally efficient and lightweight composite aerostructures that are essential for meeting future fuel and cost efficiency challenges.

The core research challenges in CerTest are strongly multidisciplinary, which are addressed by an interdisplinary research consortium comprising the academic partner universities. The research is conducted with close collaboration between the universities and with the industrial partners through a team of academics and postdoctoral fellows, supported by a group of PhD and EngD studentships.

For more information about CerTest see:  https://www.composites-certest.com/

To deliver the overarching objectives of CerTest it is necessary to develop methodologies that enable high-fidelity and robust testing of composite aero-structures on the component and sub-structure levels. A key part of the novel research will be to design tests for complex composite structural components with the data integrated into high fidelity models. The research will use a facility called Structures 2025 under development at University of Southampton and involve the development of hybrid testing using imaging data.

This role will require a combination of technical and scientific skills, and the ideal candidate should hold a PhD in Engineering (Mechanical, Aeronautical  or Civil) or Physics (or closely related discipline), and have experience and a proven track record covering a range of topics including mechanics of composite materials and structures, advanced experimental mechanics and imaging, and computational mechanics and statistical methods.

This post is being offered on a full-time basis, with funding up to 31/03/2021, starting on 1st November 2020.

We welcome applications from all members of our community and are particularly encouraging those from diverse groups, such as members of the LGBT+ and BAME communities, to join us.

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