Austria: PhD Studentship in Tribological Test Engineering and Surface Analysis

Research engineer (PhD-student) for University of Leoben, Chair of Mechanical Engineering

Introduction and Motivation:
Journal bearings and other constructional elements - like engine lubricants - in internal combustion engines, increasingly reach their loading limit. Pure empirical improvements, as conducted in the past, are not sufficient to fulfil the demands posed on new generations of engines and their components. In order to optimize the system journal bearing (materials and lubricants) based on scientific results we extend our research team by a PhD-student in the fields of tribological test engineering and surface analysis.

Tasks job description

Assisting in optimizing the tribological test methods of the Chair of Mechanical Engineering
Conduction of tribological experiments to visualize the system properties of interest (Formation of tribological boundary layers due to components of the lubricant)
Performing additional damage analysis of the surface structure and the surface chemistry using light microscopy, laser confocal microscopy LEXT, SEM/EDX, Raman, AES, micro/nanoindentation,
Interpretation of the results also using the assistance of scientific software tools
Deducing tribological functional models of the processes taking place in the boundary layers
Due to the duration of the project (from 07/2008 to 12/2012) and due to the technical-scientific activities it is possible to compose a PhD-thesis at the University of Leoben.

Demands Qualification

Master’s degree of a technical or natural-scientific university: chemistry, physics, material science,
Strong interest in dealing with technical problems applying scientific methods
Knowledge in chemical-physical analysis
Interest in technics
English (spoken and written)
Ability to work in a team
Independence and ability to solve problems
Basic knowledge in scientific software tools (Matlab, )
Contact Person:
Dr. Florian Grün
Tel: +43-3842-402-1450
E-Mail: florian.gruen[ at ]unileoben.ac.at