Ph.D. student within Discrete Optimization

Job description

Ph.D. student within Discrete Optimization

Airbus Defence and Space Manching

Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2017, it generated revenues of € 67 billion and employed a workforce of around 130,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners from 100 to more than 600 seats. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as Europe's number one space enterprise and the world's second largest space business. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.

Our people work with passion and determination to make the world a more connected, safer and smarter place. Taking pride in our work, we draw on each other's expertise and experience to achieve excellence. Our diversity and teamwork culture propel us to accomplish the extraordinary - on the ground, in the sky and in space.

Description of the job

Are you looking for a Ph. D. job position? Would you like to discover the work within Discrete Optimization? Then apply now! We look forward to you joining us at the Recruitment Centre.

Location: Manching
Start: Summer 2018
Duration: 3 years

Applicants are invited to work with the optimisation department of Airbus Defence and Space GmbH in Manching (Germany) and the Composite Research Group (Prof. Arthur Jones) of the University of Nottingham as part of of the European industrial doctorate for efficient multidisciplinary design Optimization of Multifunctional Aerospace Composite Structures - “OptiMACS”.
OptiMACS project is a European Training Network (ETN) funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Programme. Successful applicants will register for a PhD programme at the University of Nottingham.

Modern aeronautical structures are increasingly made of composite layered materials. The usage of composite structures however implies a radical increase of the structural design parameters that have to be determined and optimized for an aircraft during its design process. There is therefore a genuine industrial need for developing advanced computational schemes and optimization processes, able to reliably provide the optimal design of the composite structure under consideration.

The successful applicant is expected to build on advanced computational models to predict and to optimise the multidisciplinary (static, weight, dynamic etc.) performance of complex aerospace components. These may include the effect of dynamic loading on the response of composite materials, the developments of models across different length and time scales and the study of the effect of triaxiality in fibre-dominated failure modes.

Desired profile

Tasks & accountabilities

Your exciting topic:
Multidisciplinary Optimization for aerospace composites needs to be done by taking into account several thousands of design variables. This is nowadays performed through gradient based, continuous optimization algorithms, resulting in an optimal design comprising an infinite number of plies, which cannot be manufactured directly (i.e. the results have to be post-processed in order to derive lay-ups with a discrete number of plies from the non-discrete Optimization results). The candidate will work on this subject by investigating and developing continuous as well as discrete optimization schemes for determining the optimal design of each individual ply in the laminate (i.e. number of plies, sequence, thicknesses and mechanical characteristics)

This job requires an awareness of any potential compliance risks and a commitment to act with integrity, as the foundation for the Company's success, reputation and sustainable growth.

Required skills

You offer:

·  Completed studies (m/f) within Engineering/Avionics or similar field of study
·  Candidates will spend about half of the time at Airbus Defence and Space GmbH in Manching (Germany) and the other half at the University of Nottingham (United Kingdom) and must be willing to travel within Europe
·  Candidates must hold a first class master's degree in mechanical/aerospace engineering, applied mathematics/physics, or a relevant discipline and have a solid background in composite structures and computational modelling
·  Excellent written and verbal communication skills are also essential
·  Fluency in English (written and spoken) is required
·  At the time of the recruitment the researcher must be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not been awarded a doctoral degree
·  Mobility Rule: At the time of the recruitment researchers shall not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Germany for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the appointment (compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account)
·  Candidates will also be required to meet the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Early Stage Researcher eligibility criteria: (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2016_2017/main/h2020-wp1617-msca_en.pdf)
·  Practical experience in software design and development is required
·  Programming languages: FORTRAN95/2003, C/C++, Python
·  Experience with numerical simulations
·  Experience with mathematical optimization
·  Experience with Composite materials and structures
·  English: negotiation level

You are a good team player, have excellent communication skills, and are able to work independently.