PhD in Electromechanical, Systems and Metal Engineering

 

Ghent University is a top 100 university worldwide and one of the major universities in Belgium, with more than 44,000 students and 15,000 staff members. At the department of Electromechanical, Systems and Metal Engineering (ESME), the modeling and optimization of electromechanical drive trains is an important research topic.
The Electrical Energy Laboratory (EELAB) at UGent is involved in a 4-year project “Digital twin for validation DT4V)”. When a company develops a new drivetrain, it must be validated: building prototypes and test them to be sure about well-functioning and lifetime. This costs a lot of time and money to the company. The main goal of the project is to avoid this long and costly procedure, by doing “virtual validation”. This means that we ‘ll predict performance and lifetime of a drivetrain that is not built yet (= not existing in reality). We will start from existing validated drivetrains and lots of measurements “from the field”. Then, virtual validation will be done in 3 scenarios: 1) change in load profile or ambient conditions: e.g. the drivetrain is used in tropic regions; 2) component replacement: e.g. another type of motor is used than in the validation tests, and 3) new family member: e.g. a scaled variant is developed that is 30% more powerful.
As a PhD student, you will create digital twin of existing drives, add unmodelled behavior based on measurement data (this could be improving the model with a neural network), and finally create a “digital sibling” for a variant drive: a reliable model for a drive that is not built yet. The work includes also an experimental part: prototypes of modified motors will be made and tested.
The initial contract duration will be one year, in which you are hired as a PhD researcher. The contract can be extended to a full 4-year PhD research period under the condition of a positive evaluation after the initial period. Ghent University offers an attractive salary with additional benefits, a positive and inspiring working environment and training possibilities. You will work at the Electrical Energy Laboratory in the Tech Lane Ghent Science Park in Zwijnaarde.

Job profile

• You hold a master of science in engineering, preferably in electromechanical or electrical engineering.
• You are motivated, creative and have a passion for academic research. You have an affinity with both experimental research and simulation software.
• You have a strong technical knowledge, expertise and experience in the domain of electric drives
• You have good communication skills in English.
• You like challenging scientific research in a multidisciplinary and international context.

How to apply

Send your CV and motivation letter to Peter.Sergeant@UGent.be before the 31th of May 2022. If you pass the pre-selection, you will receive further instructions on the selection process and will be invited for a job interview, possibly via Skype/Teams.