Research Openings

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MATERIALS INNOVATION FOR MARINE & OFFSHORE APPLICATIONS (MIMO)

This collaborative research programme, involving three institutions (NTU, NUS and IMRE), focuses on developing novel composite materials for marine risers, which are rigid or flexible pipes that interlink the semisubmersible drilling platform and seabed. With greater depths, the high strength steel pipes (rigid risers) that are currently in use have reached their practical design limit and it is essential to develop new high-strength light-weight composite risers that can be used at greater depths of more than 5000 ft. (1500 m). It is apparent that further development in the flexible risers and rigid risers require the exploitation of new technologies utilizing new novel polymer resins and composite materials. The flexible risers are subject to the harsh environments on the seafloor. It is critical to ensure that these risers will not collapse due to the fluctuating pressures and their properties do not deteriorate much when they are subjected to varying temperature (– 5 ˚C to 200 ˚C) and environmental damage due to CO2 H2S, NOx and SOx attack. Moreover, in very cold seabed environments, materials with good thermal insulation (liner Material) are needed to protect the risers at low temperatures encountered and also to prevent solidification of the hydrocarbon condensates.

Description of Projects:
There are seven projects (NTUP1 to NTUP7) undertaken by NTU Investigators to address the various aspects of developing novel composite materials for the marine risers.

Educational Requirements and Experience

Applicants with relevant educational background and research experience will be considered favorably. The educational qualifications for the post of Project Officer, Research Associate, and Research Fellow are Bachelor’s Degree; Master’s Degree; and PhD Degree respectively.

Research Fellow
High performance BMI and BMI/epoxy IPN Thermoset Composites
(Project NTUP1)

The main objective of the project is to develop new BMI, BMI/epoxy IPNs resin formulations targeted for fabricating high performance rigid risers

• Study the effects of chemical compositions, polymerization conditions on the viscosity of the liquid resins, which are critical for resin formulation
• Understand the curing mechanisms and kinetics for optimal resin performance
• Develop high strength, toughness and water-resistant nanocomposites based on BMI and their IPNs by introducing nanomaterials
• Special chemical treatments on the BMI resin to increase resistance to crack propagation, to minimize residual stresses, and to shorten curing cycles.

The Research Fellow will work on synthesis, purification, and characterization of various types of BMIs and BNI/epoxy interpenetrating network (IPN). The candidate should have in-depth knowledge on chemical synthesis, surface chemistry and polymer chemistry, as well as rich experiences on polymer characterization using advanced instruments. As the work is very knowledge and skill demanding, a researcher at postdoctoral level is required.

Research Fellows
Toughened Nanocomposite Resins for Rigid Composite Riser with Thin Titanium Liner.
(Project NTUP2)

The objective of the project is to develop advanced multilayer composites composed of a carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composite structural wall, a titanium liner and a thin rubbery interface layer between them for rigid riser applications. The structural wall requires strong materials that are able to stand up to the high pressure experienced by the risers and the harsh subsea environment. Carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composites will be developed for this purpose as their mechanical properties can match that of the steel currently used for rigid risers, whereas they are also light-weight materials, ideal for deep sea exploration. Especially, the incorporation of surface-modified nanofillers that have strong interactions with epoxies will be investigated in order to effectively reinforce fibre-reinforced composites at very low nanofiller loadings. The toughening effects of the nanofillers will also be studied. Titanium will be explored as the liner material because of its non permeability to hydrocarbons even under high pressure and excellent corrosion resistance with respect to H2S and CO2. It is also 45% lighter but as strong as steel. Various methods will be explored to enhance the corrosion resistance of the titanium liner at elevated temperatures. The rubbery interface is designed to absorb impact force, making the whole composite structure tougher. High-performance rubber nanocomposites will be developed for this purpose. The interactions between the layers as well as how the interactions affect the thermo-mechanical properties of the multilayer composite samples will be investigated.

Interested applicants possessing relevant expertise and qualifications in one or more of the following areas are welcome to apply for the positions of Research Fellows under this project:

• Surface modification of nanofillers, preparation of thermosetting polymer nanocomposites and characterization of polymer-nanofiller interface
• Fabrication, morphological characterization and mechanical testing of fibre-reinforced polymer composites
• Rheological characterization of thermosetting polymer nanocomposites
• Corrosion studies of titanium and titanium alloys 
• Fabrication and characterization of multilayer composites for structural applications

Research Fellows and Project Officer
Integration of reinforced composite matrix system with liners for Rigid Composite Risers
via Filament Winding processing technique (Project NTUP3)

Two Research Fellows and one Project Officer will be recruited for this project. The applicants should possess any of the following skills and experience:

• Expertise on manufacturing processes modeling of fiber reinforced composites, better with experience of an FE modeling software such as LUSAS, ANSYS, COMSOL. The successful candidate will work on the modeling for pre-design of pipe parameters and process-microstructure-property relationship of the pipe produced using filament winding process.
• Composite manufacturing experience with filament winding. The successful candidate will work on the integrating filament winding machine and manufacturing of rigid composite pipes via process parameters optimization.
• The Project Officer is required to have skills of composite interface, polymer chemistry, or fracture mechanics of polymers and composites and will work on the interface characterization of metal-composite interface and fiber-matrix property. Analytical solution is also required to simulate and predict the interface properties in the composite pipe system. The Project Officer shall also assist on the filament winding optimization together with the post-doc researcher.

Research Fellow and Project Officers
Durability, long-term behavior and performance of composite riser materials and
interfaces (Project NTUP4)

The objective of this research is to study the long-term behavior of composite risers, made of new riser materials, subjected to harsh environmental factors including cyclic pressure loading, and shocks and impacts from external objects.  Various methodologies for assessment of long-term behavior will be evaluated so that appropriate approaches will be developed for our materials’ systems. The long-term behaviors in terms of fatigue strength and aging are extremely important for materials design and applications.

One Researcher Fellow (3 years): He/she should have the expertise in mechanical characterization, materials modelling and durability study, preferably on composite materials.  The PDR will work on the techniques and methodologies for assessment of long-term behavior and the appropriate approaches will be developed for our materials systems.   He/She will be tasked to undertake conceptual design, design calculations, and construction of the test rigs and facilities for characterization, creep and fatigue testing on composite risers. He should also be familiar with experimental instrumentation and data acquisition techniques.

Two Project Officers (2x3 years): The POs are required to have knowledge of fracture and fatigue mechanics of polymers and composites. Both empirical and analytical solutions are also required to simulate and predict the long term behaviour of the composite riser system.  The POs will work side by side with the PDF on tasks related to the project. The POs may register themselves as PhD students, one focusing on experimental techniques and another on the analytical approaches for supplementing and validating the experimental work

Research Fellow 
Integration, Prototyping and Proof-of-Concept Testing of Composite Risers
(Project NTUP5)

This project focuses on the integration, prototyping, and proof-of-concept testing of both rigid and flexible composite risers.  It integrates and exploits the key research outcomes from the other projects undertaken in the Composite Riser research program. Scaled-down prototype models will be developed and tested to demonstrate ‘proof-of-concept’ for both rigid and flexible risers that they can withstand (i) the designed operating pressure and (ii) the long-term exposure (under accelerated test conditions) to selected environments (seawater, chemicals and hygrothermal cycles) without significant impairment of its mechanical properties to a certain degree.

The objectives of proof-of-concept testing are to verify the capability of the specimen to sustain the design external pressure, to establish the actual collapse pressure, and to generate data for verification of analytical collapse pressure predictions.

Specifically, the following tests will be conducted on prototype rigid and flexible pipes:
(a) Burst tests
(b) External pressure collapse tests
(c) Durability, long-term behavior, and performance tests
One Researcher Fellow (2 years and 3 months): He/she should have the expertise in conducting structural testing, preferably on composite pressure vessel and pipes. The PDF will be tasked to undertake conceptual design, design calculations, and construction of the test rigs and facilities for internal and external pressure tests on composite risers. He should be familiar with experimental instrumentation and data acquisition techniques. He is expected to conduct analytical simulation to validate the experimental work.

Research Fellow
Flexible Polymer Risers (Project NTUP6/P7)

This interdisciplinary project encompasses design, materials development and fabrication of thermoplastics based flexible risers for marine and offshore applications. The project includes three main aspects: (1) development of new polymers and nanocomposites with enhanced heat, chemical and abrasion resistance; (2) novel design of multilayer thermoplastic composite tubular structures for maximum pressure resistance while satisfying other critical requirements; and (3) fabrication and testing of coupon samples as well as flexible riser prototypes. Potential applicants should preferably have a degree or degrees in polymer science and engineering. Those with chemical or mechanical engineering degrees are also encouraged to apply. Candidates with research experience in thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers and their composites will be considered favorably.  Knowledge in atomistic or finite element modeling would be an added advantage.

Three Research Fellows (RFs) and one Research Associate will be recruited for this project.

• RF1 will focus on developing new liner materials and fabrication of new thermoplastic liners. The work includes facile and scalable methods for nanofiller dispersion in thermoplastic matrices. Several materials systems including nylon, PVDF, copolymers and polyolefin will be investigated. Study of the interfacial properties between the selected nano- and micro-fillers and the matrices will be carried using various advanced analytical tools. The target is to achievement high strength without compromise in ductility and processing behaviour. RF1 will also study barrier properties and/or abrasion resistance of the nanocomposite liners. RF1 will carry out comprehensive coupon tests of riser materials. This includes quasi-static and dynamic test. In addition to the essential materials characterisation, specific properties critical to riser applications will be carried out including fatigue, creep, crack propagation and ageing.
• RF2 will carry out molecular level and nano-scale simulation. He will work with different surface chemistry of fillers and match them with the thermoplastic matrices. He will carry out HR-TEM and XPS analysis to probe the chemical and physical interactions at the interfaces between fillers and thermoplastic matrices. He will carry out FEA analysis to understand and manage the possible mechanical mismatch between the liner, reinforcement, insulation and protection layers. This is expected to significantly increasing the productivity towards developing optimal flexible risers.
• RF3 will focus on materials selection and design principles of thermoplastic flexible riser. This involves materials selections for each individual layers and also investigation of the compatibility of materials between different layers. The performance and functional aspects of the materials, as well as their corresponding processability, in the different layers need to be considered and investigated systemically. He will also to predict the materials compositions and geometries using analytical tools, which should leads to substantial time saving by minimizing the trial-and-error process.
  The Research Associate will focus on thermoplastic elastomer which serves either as protection or buffer layer that ensures sufficient bending flexibility of the riser. Tuning of elastomer compliance by nanofillers and/or formulation will be investigated. He will also develop integrated syntactic foams via hollow microsphere filled thermoplastic elastomer for thermal insulation of the riser. Systematic study on thermal conductivity of the foam materials will be carried out in addition to studies on mechanical properties and processing behaviour.

Suitably qualified applicants are invited to send in their application on prescribed form obtainable from http://www.ntu.edu.sg/ohr/Career/SubmitApplications/Pages/Research.aspx . Please indicate clearly the position applied for.

The completed application form should be email directly to:
Associate Professor Ong Lin Seng
Email: mlsong@ntu.edu.sg

Only short listed candidates will be notified.

Deadline for submission: 01 Dec 2012

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POSITION I: Project Officer (Human Factors)
 
Education: Bachelor Degree and above

Duration of Appointment: annual contract will be renewed with potential for extension till 2013 
 
Desired Experience:
-      Inter-personal communication skills and teamwork is essential
-      Experience of interviewing and survey design is a plus
-      Computer skills including 3D animation and video editing is a plus
-      Proficient in English and other language (e.g. Mandarin, Bahasa, etc.)
 
Description of Projects: This study aims at finding out emotional requirements of the elderly and identifying which requirements can be fulfilled feasibly by means of providing a specially designed home service robot. Through a multi-step analysis, the design specifications of the robot for elderly will be proposed and a model is to be built based on the specifications.

POSITION II: Project Officer  (Software development)

Education: Bachelor Degree and above
Duration of Appointment: annual contract will be renewed with potential for extension till 2013 

 Desired Experience:
-      Inter-personal communication skills and teamwork is essential
-      Experience in Mobile platform is preferred
-      Quick prototyping using Flash is requested for key implementations
 
Description of Projects: This study aims at build a computer supported handover system for shift-workers. Software developer is responsible for building a prototype system which facilitates the communication through the software interface.  The prototype system will be implemented on the Android platform (tentatively), and iterative design and prototyping will be conducted in the development process.       

Interested applicants should email their full CV (including details of research experience, transcripts of degrees obtained, contact info of referees, and list of publications) directly to
Dr PARK Taezoon
Email: tzpark@ntu.edu.sg  
Phone: +65-6790-5087