Master's thesis at RISE: Material modelling of engineering plastics - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Background
Plastic is used today in many components, not least in the automotive industry, both for the exterior, but also in the interior. In product development, simulation is used as a very important tool. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is used to calculate, for example, stiffness, strength and fatigue. A limitation of how close to reality you can get with the simulations is the level of detail of the material models and the availability of good material data for models that require a little more than a linear elastic model.

Objective
The objective of the thesis work is to promote the use of more advanced material models for plastics in product development work by lowering the thresholds via ready-made material model cards to popular FEM solvers for these material models.

Content
In practical terms, this thesis work contains a literature survey to identify which material models for plastic are available and correlate these with which load cases they are suitable for. Several different plastic qualities and relevant simulation cases are identified by Scania during the work. Examples of simulation cases that may be relevant are non-linear stiffness and strength calculations, fatigue, visco-elasticity and process simulation (flow properties). For each simulation case there are factors to consider such as dependence on strain rate and temperature. Finally, for the selected materials and simulation cases, material data and material cards for the selected FEM solver are produced.

Time period: January 2024 – June 2024

Where: RISE in Mölndal, Gothenburg

Who are you?
You are studying a masters in engineering in either Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace/Vehicle Engineering or Engineering Physics or similar with knowledge and an interest in materials and material modelling.

Welcome with your application!
If you're curious to know more, feel free to get in touch with the Unit Manager of the Polymer Materials and Recycling unit, Fredrik Stig, at 010-228 49 56. The application deadline is December 3, 2023.