Doctoral student on structural health monitoring of concrete hydro dams

Doctoral Student On Structural Health Monitoring Of Concrete Hydro Dams

Third-cycle subject: Civil and Architectural Engineering

The division for Concrete Structures at KTH Civil and Architectural Engineering is in search for a doctoral student to be assigned a project on reinforced concrete structures within hydropower. Dams in Sweden and many other countries are aging and have an average age of over 50 years. As they age, damage becomes more common. Typical visible damage includes cracks, leaching and scratching of the concrete surface and can be detected by visual inspections. However, there are also many other types of damage that may be more difficult to detect, such as reinforcement corrosion. In order to maintain older dams in full operation with a high level of safety, the response of the dams should be continuously monitored.

The project is part of a national research program within the hydropower area called SVC – Swedish Centre for Sustainable Hydropower. The research is carried out together with senior researchers at KTH and in interdisciplinary research collaboration with international researchers and industry partners. The aim is to create a good understanding of the structural response of concrete dams during normal operation, what should be measured and where sensors should be placed. The project will also identify which types of sensors are appropriate to use and identify reasonable alarm limits.

Supervision: The doctoral student is proposed to be supervised by Docent Andreas Sjölander, Professor Anders Ansell and PhD Erik Nordström. Decisions are made on admission.

To be admitted to postgraduate education (Chapter 7, 39 § Swedish Higher Education Ordinance), the applicant must have basic eligibility in accordance with either of the following:

• passed a second cycle degree (for example a master's degree), or
• completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 second-cycle higher education credits, or
• acquired, in some other way within or outside the country, substantially equivalent knowledge

In addition to the above, there is also a mandatory requirement for English equivalent to English B/6.

In order to succeed as a doctoral student at KTH you need to be goal oriented and persevering in your work. During the selection process, candidates will be assessed upon their ability to:

• independently pursue his or her work
• collaborate with others,
• have a professional approach and
• analyze and work with complex issues.

The ideal candidate has an exam that covers the areas of concrete structures, structural engineering and structural mechanics, also with experiences from structural dynamic analysis and testing, and from using advanced finite element modelling for structural analysis.

After the qualification requirements, great emphasis will be placed on personal skills.

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Tagged as: Engineering, Physics