Postdoc in Energy Geotechnics

If you are establishing your career as a scientist and you are looking for the best possible foundation for fulfilling your dreams and ambitions, it is right here in front of you. At DTU Sustain you will break new ground at the absolute forefront of science providing solutions to major societal challenges related to climate change, sustainability, and infrastructure. 

We offer a postdoc position for a motivated candidate to join the Energy Foundations project and conduct pioneering research on testing and modelling of coupled thermal-hydro-mechanical performance of energy foundations. You will work with enthusiastic academia and students in the Section of Geotechnics and Geology. 

This energy foundation project will develop a Solar-Geothermal Energy Pile (SGPile) system, to address the current limitations of the current ground source heat pumps (GSHP) in building heating/cooling systems. Detailed experiments and numerical analyses will be conducted to investigate the thermal and structural performance of energy foundations, and to provide guidance on the new design method. Digital twins will be developed to integrate the test data with the simulation, and to optimize the thermal performance of the system without compromising the structural safety. 

Responsibilities and qualifications
Your overall focus will be to strengthen the department’s competences within energy geotechnics for the green energy transition. You will work with nearby colleagues, and with both academic and industrial partners in Denmark as well as abroad.

Your primary tasks will be to:

• design and conduct model and field tests of thermal-mechanical performance of energy foundations under heating/cooling cycles.
• conduct numerical simulation of the energy foundation system.
• publish the research results in reputable journals and conferences.
• teach and supervise BSc and MSc student projects, and be co-supervisor for PhD students.
• initiate new collaborations with relevant partners outside the university.

The ideal candidate may have experience with:

• lab tests of geomaterials, such as stress-strain, pore pressure, and temperature.
• field instrumentation of soils and structures (e.g. strain, deformation, and temperature).
• tests and analyses of ground source heat pump systems.
• finite element analysis of soils and structures.
• programming in Fortran, Matlab, and Python.

As a formal qualification, you must hold a PhD degree in civil or mechanical engineering (or equivalent). 

Salary and terms of employment 
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union.

The period of employment is 15 months. 

You can read more about career paths at DTU here.

Further information 
Further information may be obtained from Associate Professor. Yuepeng Dong, yuedo@dtu.dk

You can read more about DTU Sustain at www.sustain.dtu.dk 

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark.

Application procedure 
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 30 November 2024 (23:59 Danish time). 

To view the full announcement and to apply click the 'Apply' button above.

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