The Building Materials and Constructions group of the Civil Engineering Department aims to generate advanced knowledge through fundamental and application-oriented research on durable and sustainable building materials, structural components and construction, contributing to new, existing and heritage structures with low environmental impact, structural resilience and improved service life.
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Project
Corrosion is widely recognized as the most detrimental degradation mechanism impacting the durability and structural safety of existing infrastructure. The urgency for maintenance and repair increases annually, necessitating data-driven asset management for efficient budget allocation. Prestressed concrete structures, both pre-tensioned and post-tensioned, present significant challenges due to limited information on the degradation and assessment of high-strength steel tendons in relation to corrosion. The application of non-destructive testing and damage monitoring is particularly challenging due to the size of concrete structures, the time scale of degradation phenomena, and the accessibility of embedded tendons.
This project aims to develop a comprehensive methodology focusing on AE-based monitoring in prestressing tendons within concrete, employing testing in the laboratory (e.g. accelerated corrosion) and on-site case studies.
The PhD study is part of a strategic partnership program between KU Leuven and TÜV Austria that focuses on degradation assessment in civil infrastructure. Therefore, the PhD candidate is expected to have interest in fundamental research and lab experiments, as well as applied research to enhance the practical applicability of the developed methods in real-life case studies.
Profile
- You are soon to obtain, or have recently obtained a master degree with distinction in one of the following fields: civil engineering, structural engineering or engineering-architecture.
- You have a strong interest in research related to “degradation/corrosion of reinforced concrete”, and basic understanding of the design of reinforced concrete and the rebar corrosion process. Knowledge of monitoring techniques and/or non-destructive testing is a plus.
- You have strong analytical skills and a sense of synthesis.
- You have excellent communication skills in English, both oral and written. Active knowledge of Dutch and/or German is a strong point.
- You are motivated to support structural engineering students in view of exercise sessions, lab work and/or master theses, under the supervision of your PhD supervisor.
- You are independent, honest, critical, and a strong team-player
- You are able to meet the admission requirements of the KU Leuven Arenberg Doctoral School (https://admin.kuleuven.be/rd/doctoraatsreglement/en/phdregulation-set) indicated in Article 6. Note that “an equivalent higher education degree” is a minimum 5-year degree (including 2 year master) in an Engineering Science discipline closely related to structural/civil engineering.
Offer
We offer the opportunity to pursue a PhD in Civil Engineering, in a stimulating research environment at one of the leading Engineering Faculties worldwide, as well as a full PhD scholarship for 4 years (in case of positive evaluation after 9 months). You will be encouraged to present your work at international conferences and will benefit from our strong international research network. Besides the main research activities, you will also act as a teaching assistant for courses in the Engineering Science program at KU Leuven. Your Doctoral training is provided in the framework of the KU Leuven Arenberg Doctoral School (https://set.kuleuven.be/phd), known for its strong focus on researchers aiming to valorize their doctoral expertise and competences in a non-academic context. Your workplace is at the Department of Civil Engineering in Heverlee (Leuven). The research project is supported by a co-supervisor from TÜV-Austria / Belgium.
Interested?
Your application should include: (1) a motivation letter (max. 2 pages, personal and not written by AI) that details the reasons why you are interested in a PhD position and how this particular position fits within your interests, (2) a complete curriculum vitae that demonstrates how your profile meets the above requirements, (3) a complete transcript of records to date, (4) a proof of proficiency in English (TOEFL or IETLS certificate) or Dutch (only required in case you did not obtain your Master Diploma in either a Dutch or English engineering program).
For more information about this vacancy, you can contact the PhD promoters (Prof. E. Verstrynge and Prof. R. Vrijdaghs) by email:
[email protected]. Do not send your CV to this email address, such will not be appreciated. Use the online submission tool provided.
The selected candidate is expected to start in September-October 2025.
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