Research Assistant (f/m/d) - PhD position in multiscale fatigue damage modelling of asphalt mixtures

Research Assistant (f/m/d) - PhD position in multiscale fatigue damage modelling of asphalt mixtures

Application deadline: 28/11/2026

Institution

Chair and Institute of Highway Engineering

Our Profile

At the Chair and Institute of Highway Engineering (ISAC), RWTH Aachen University, we investigate pavement materials and structures through laboratory testing, computational mechanics and data analysis. Our research aims to understand material behaviour and support the design of durable road infrastructure.

The DFG-funded project FatigueID studies how fatigue damage develops in asphalt mixtures and how its variability can be used in reliability-oriented mixture design. It combines mechanical fatigue testing, digital image correlation (DIC), X-ray computed tomography (CT), mesoscale finite element modelling and probabilistic damage-state analysis.

We offer a doctoral research position with access to pavement testing facilities, computational resources and established collaborations for CT characterisation. You will receive supervision in experimental mechanics, multiscale modelling and probabilistic analysis, and have opportunities to develop your own research ideas within Fatigue.

Your Profile

Applicants must hold a university degree (master's or equivalent) in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science, computational engineering, applied mathematics or a related field.

A basic understanding of mechanics or material behaviour and some familiarity with programming, for example in Python or MATLAB, would be helpful. You should be interested in combining laboratory work with numerical modelling and data analysis.

An interest in one or more of the following areas is particularly welcome: asphalt or heterogeneous materials, fatigue and fracture mechanics, finite element analysis (e.g. Abaqus), DIC or CT image analysis, probability and statistics, uncertainty quantification, machine learning or optimisation. Previous experience is an advantage, but is not expected in all these areas. We particularly value motivation to learn and develop new skills.

You should bring curiosity, a responsible and proactive approach to work, and openness to feedback. You should be willing to work independently and contribute to an interdisciplinary team. Very good English skills are required. German language skills are desirable, and willingness to develop them is welcome.

Your Duties and Responsibilities

You will carry out doctoral research on fatigue damage identification and modelling in asphalt mixtures. You will help design and conduct cyclic indirect tensile fatigue tests, evaluate stiffness degradation and cracking, and combine DIC and CT measurements to track damage development.

You will develop and assess mesoscale finite element models representing material heterogeneity and fracture, using constitutive models and cohesive zone approaches. Experimental measurements will be used to calibrate and validate the simulations.

Building on these results, you will investigate probabilistic damage-state transitions and fatigue-life variability. You will contribute to surrogate modelling and constrained optimisation to examine how mixture composition affects fatigue performance and reliability.

You will work closely with experimental and computational researchers, document reproducible workflows, publish your findings and present them at scientific conferences. The position offers the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree at RWTH Aachen University.

What

We Offer

The successful candidate will be employed under a regular employment contract. The position is to be filled at the earliest possible date and offered for a fixed term of 3 years initially. The fixed-term employment is possible as it constitutes one of the fixed-term options of the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (German Act on Fixed-term Scientific Contracts). This is a part-time position (75 % of the standard weekly hours for full-time employees). The successful candidate has the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree in this position. The salary is based on the German public service salary scale (TV-L). The position corresponds to a pay grade of EG 13 TV-L.

About us

RWTH is proud to be certified as a family-friendly university. As part of our Campus Health initiative, RWTH offers a wide range of health, counseling, and prevention services, including university sports. Employees under collective bargaining agreements and civil servants also benefit from a comprehensive continuing education program and the option to purchase a job ticket for convenient commuting. All University employees also have access to the Corporate Benefits online platform, which offers discounts on a wide range of products and services from participating companies. RWTH is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome and encourage applications from all qualified candidates and make employment decisions without regard to national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability or age. RWTH is especially committed to supporting the advancement of women in academia. When women are underrepresented in a university unit, preferential consideration will be given to female applicants among candidates of equal merit and professional standing, unless compelling reasons favor another individual. In keeping with RWTH’s commitment to equality of opportunity, we ask that you do not include a photo with your application. Please refer to https://www.rwth-aachen.de/applicant-privacy-policy for information about how we collect and process applicant data in accordance with Articles 13 and 14 of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Number V000011658

Application deadline 28/11/2026

Mailing Address

RWTH Aachen University Lehrstuhl und Institut für Straßenwesen Prof. Dr. Alvaro Garcia Mies-van-der-Rohe-Straße 1 52074 Aachen

Email

Applicants are invited to submit their applications via email. For data protection reasons, however, we recommend sending applications via mail.

Contact

Prof. Dr. Alvaro Garcia

Work Phone: 02418025220

Contact

Prof. Dr. Pengfei Liu

Work Phone: 02418025220