项目介绍

2026年5月21日

At the Faculty of Engineering and Science, Department of Materials and Production, a PhD stipend is available within the doctoral programme “Mechanical Engineering “. The stipend is open for appointment from 01.10.2026 or soon hereafter. The duration of the position is three years.

Your work tasks

ABHSSYS (Acoustic Black Holes for Silent SYStems, Grant agreement ID: 101227712) is a European Doctoral Network funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), dedicated to advancing innovative solutions for vibration and noise control in lightweight structures (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101227712). The project focuses on the development of Acoustic Black Hole (ABH) technologies, an emerging concept that enables efficient damping of vibrations and sound while reducing mass and material use. Bringing together leading academic laboratories and industrial partners across Europe, ABHSSYS will train a new generation of researchers at the interface of wave physics, acoustics and engineering. Through interdisciplinary research, international mobility and close collaboration with industry, the program aims to accelerate the transfer of ABH technologies towards real-world applications in sectors such as aerospace and energy.

During the recent ten to fifteen years, space has become accessible for a myriad of newcomers. Partially because satellites have become smaller, cheaper, and faster to develop and produce. But certainly, also because the launch cost has dropped by almost a decade. Nevertheless, a rocket launch is still a harsh experience where the satellites onboard need to sustain a combination of severe launch loads (transient shocks, broadband vibrations, acoustic excitations) while on-orbit micro-vibrations generated by internal subsystems can critically affect the satellite performance. These issues are exacerbated by the limited use of viscoelastic materials, while other conventional isolation techniques remain challenging to implement and often provide only limited performance when applied to such intrinsically low-damped, stiff, and lightweight structures. 

The ABH effect, based on a decreasing thickness profile, enables effective trapping and dissipation of vibrations at medium and high frequencies (Mironov, 1988; Krylov, 2004), but remains limited at low frequencies. Vibro-Impact ABH (VI-ABH) devices have recently overcome this limitation by introducing contact nonlinearities inducing energy transfer toward high frequencies and leading to broadband attenuation particularly effective for shocks (Li, 2024). 

This PhD thesis aims to take these principles a step forward by replacing the localized impactors with encapsulated granular materials capable of generating distributed impacts and efficient dissipation through contact and friction (Sternberger, 2019). This approach enables combining wave trapping, nonlinear energy transfer, and distributed dissipation within a robust and integrable device. The main scientific challenge involves understanding the coupling between an ABH structure and a granular medium, for being able to apply the concept of granular VI-ABH attenuator to the space context considering mass, compacity, robustness, and environmental constraints.

The methodology may include (i) the development of hybrid structural–granular numerical models by combining Finite Element and Discrete Element Models, (ii) the study of the grain properties on attenuation performances (size, polydispersity, material), (iii) the optimization with respect to space context, and (iv) experimental approach to assess the integrability and the performances on representative space demonstrator.

Besides the anticipated advancements of the ABH and VI-ABH techniques outlined above, the implementation may be structured by differentiating between two different categories of vibration problems and two different mitigation strategies. 

The two categories of problems are, as indicated above:

• Launch loads, which are harsh and violent and consist of a mix of steady-state, transient, broad-band, narrow-band, acoustic, and structural phenomena, which are all potential “killers” or “harmers” for a satellite.
• Micro-vibrations, which are characterized by small amplitudes and caused by residual unbalance in reaction wheels and other moving parts which may affect the on-orbit performance, such as the pointing stability, of the satellite.

The two mitigation strategies could be:

• An integrated ABH- or VI-ABH-solution, where the ABH principles are incorporated in the primary structure and other load paths of the satellite.
• An add-on ABH- or VI-ABH-solution, which takes the shape of a containerized device that can be mounted at one or more locations in the satellite to absorb energy from the vibrations. 

Besides studying each of these four sub-areas individually, it would be of interest to assess the potential of applying each of the two mitigation strategies on each of the two types of load problems both by means of theoretical analysis as well as experimental verification.

References:

M.A. Mironov, Propagation of a flexural wave in a plate whose thickness decreases smoothly to zero in a finite interval, Sov. Phys.–Acoust. 34 (1988) 318–319.

V.V. Krylov, F.J.B.S. Tilman, Acoustic ‘black holes’ for flexural waves as effective vibration dampers, J. Sound Vib. 274 (3) (2004) 605–619.

H. Li, P. O’Dounogue, A. Pelat, C. Touzé, F. Gautier, Broadband shock vibration absorber based on vibro-impacts and acoustic black hole effect, International Journal of non-linear mechanics, vol. 159, 2024

 A. Sternberger, J.-M. Genevaux, A. Pelat, Experimental analysis of the vibration dissipation induced by granular materials included into a 1 degree of freedom oscillator, Ganular Matter, vol 21, pp 57-69, (2019)

Your competencies 

• If you recognize yourself in the story below, then you have the profile that fits the project and the research group:
• I have a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, physics or mathematics and performed above average in comparison to my peers and I am not in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of recruitment (mandatory requirement)
• I haven’t had residence or main activities (studies or working position, even remote) in Denmark for more than 12 months in the last 3 years at the date of recruitment (mandatory requirement).
• During my courses or prior professional activities, I have gathered some basic experience with the physical principles of structural dynamics and (vibro-)acoustics and the related numerical modeling techniques, such as the Finite Element Method (FEM), as well as numerical optimization, manufacturing methods, and/or I have a profound interest in these topics. Experience with knowledge of metamaterials and passive control of sound and vibration is considered as a bonus. 
• I am proficient in written and spoken English.
• I feel comfortable to work as a team member and I am eager to share my results to inspire and being inspired by my colleagues. 
• As a Doctoral Candidate I will perform research in a structured and scientifically sound manner. I will read technical papers, understand the nuances between different theories and implement and improve methodologies myself.
• In the framework of the DN-ABHSSYS project, I will participate to the network training schools and I will present my work progresses in front of the supervisory board every 6 month.
• During my PhD, I will be hosted by the industrial partner, ORUP MORSBOL I/S, Denmark, involved in the thesis for a 6 months secondment

Qualification requirements

PhD stipends are allocated to individuals who hold a Master’s degree. PhD stipends are normally for a period of 3 years. It is a prerequisite for allocation of the stipend that the candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Doctoral School of Engineering and Science in accordance with the regulations of Ministerial Order No. 1124 of September 19, 2025 on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions. According to the Ministerial Order, the progress of the PhD student shall be assessed at regular points in time. As part of the PhD study, you are among other things required to complete PhD courses corresponding to 30 ECTS, gain experience with teaching or other forms of knowledge dissemination and complete an external research stay outside of Aalborg University, preferably 3-6 months at a foreign research institution.

Who we are    

Department of Materials and Production (MP) has a wide-ranging research and educational environment at Aalborg University. The Department’s mission is to meet the future’s demands for new materials and production systems by directing the whole value chain from basic material understanding, materials’ applications in mechanical constructions, industrial production and management. The department has several strong, international and innovative research groups which comprise everything from basic science to strategic and applicable research. The activities encompass research as well as education within materials, mechanics, physics, production technique, and industrial management and innovation.
Benefitting the industry and additional collaborators several innovative and unconventional collaborations have been and are developed through interdisciplinary co-operations.
Thereby, as an employee at the Department you will become a part of an international research environment, where focus is on innovation, knowledge sharing/building and interdisciplinary collaborations. 

How to apply

Your application must include the following:

• Application, stating reasons for applying and qualifications in relation to the position
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Diplomas (bachelor’s and master’s degree diploma, including grades) 
• Other relevant documents

The application must be submitted via Aalborg University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aalborg University’s website. 

Aalborg University wants to reflect the surrounding society and has diversity as a core value. Therefore, everyone, regardless of personal background and orientation, is encouraged to apply for the position.

Do you have any questions?

If you have any questions about the position, you are more than welcome to contact us. You will find contact persons at the bottom of the jobpost.

Further information  

Read more about our recruitment process here.

The assessment of candidates for the position will be carried out by qualified experts.
Shortlisting will be applied. This means that after the application deadline, the head of the department, with the assistance of the hiring committee, will select the applicants to be assessed. All applicants will be informed whether they have been shortlisted for assessment or not.

The hiring process at Aalborg University may include a risk assessment as a tool to identify potential risks associated with new hires, ensuring the safety, compliance, and integrity of the workplace.

Read more about The Doctoral School of Engineering and Science

Salary and terms of employment

The employment is in accordance with the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities (the Appointment Order) and the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (in Danish).

Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with the collective agreement between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the state (AC collective agreement) (in Danish) 

There is a mutual probationary period of 3 months for the position.

Aalborg University – Knowledge for the world
Aalborg University is an international workplace with more than 3,700 employees. We offer real-world-oriented education and create world-class research results through collaboration between researchers, students, and public and private companies. This is how we achieve insights, new solutions to societal problems, and knowledge that changes the world. Our main campus is in Aalborg, but we also have campuses in Esbjerg and Copenhagen.