PhD position: Multi-scale Modelling and Experimental Assessment of Volumetrically Prestressed Concrete

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PhD position: Multi-scale Modelling and Experimental Assessment of Volumetrically Prestressed Concrete

PhD position: Multi-scale Modelling and Experimental Assessment of Volumetrically Prestressed Concrete

PhD position: Multi-scale Modelling and Experimental Assessment of Volumetrically Prestressed Concrete

Materials science and technology are our passion. With our cutting-edge research, Empa's around 1,100 employees make essential contributions to the well-being of society for a future worth living. Empa is a research institution of the ETH Domain. Smart and Sustainable Resilient Performance-based Cementitious Composites for Adaptive Strengthening and Repair System (SURPASS) is an EU Horizon Research and Innovation project () which aims to develop adaptive strengthening and repair strategies for ageing infrastructure in aggressive environments. The project endeavours to develop intervention procedures that can help reduce maintenance costs and increase circularity over the life cycle of a structure. The SURPASS solutions combine eco-efficient UHPFRC containing CO2-negative SCMs, bio-based self-healing, hybrid fiber architecture, Fe-SMA-based self-prestressing, and integrated structural health monitoring into one coherent system for thin, durable structural interventions. It can be deployed through conventional casting for standard applications and through 3D printing for complex or non-planar geometries. In parallel, circular end-of-life strategies will recover fibres, upcycle fines into new low-carbon constituents, and enable structural reuse. The project comprises 11 partners across the globe, including partners from Europe, Canada and Japan Your tasks The tasks of the PhD at ETHZ and Empa within the framework of SURPASS are as follows:

• Volumetric prestressing of cast and 3D-printable SURPASS overlays using Fe-SMA fibres.
• Meso-scale finite element modelling of volumetric prestressing mechanisms with Fe-SMA fibres, including activation, recovery stress, prestress transfer, and reactivation.
• Structural-scale simulation of SURPASS overlays in strengthened members, including parametric finite element analyses for surrogate-model development and digital-twin support.
• Large-scale experimental assessment of volumetrically prestressed SURPASS overlays for non-planar structures, including representative applications such as tunnel linings, arch intrados, and curved bridge soffits.