PhD in Health Monitoring of Aircraft Structures and Systems

Organisation/Company KU LEUVEN Department LMSD/FIIW Research Field Engineering » Aerospace engineering Engineering » Materials engineering Engineering » Mechanical engineering Engineering » Simulation engineering Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Country Belgium Final date to receive applications 31 Mar 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 9 Mar 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number BAP
- Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Project description:
Structural failure in the aerospace sector can be life threatening for users/passengers and financially catastrophic for operators and the manufacturer. This is the main reason for which a large part of an aircraft’s lifecycle operation cost is spent for inspecting its structural integrity on the ground. On-line detection, autonomous and characterization of failures within aircraft structures can lead to a radical reduction of this cost while increasing safety.

As a project aiming at industrial implementation, there is a distinguished industrial advisory group in place, whose members, such as Brussels Airlines support the work and can be a potential partners for further valorisation. The successful candidate will be expected to make significant contributions to the development of robust monitoring and damage assessment tools for complex industrial structures. Applicants having an appropriate background in natural or engineering sciences should be able to demonstrate consistent knowledge in areas such as structural monitoring and/or engineering mechanics and/or numerical modelling and/or data post-processing.

Informal enquiries prior to making an application should be addressed along with a detailed CV to Prof. Dimitrios Chronopoulos, mail: dimitr .

Eligibility criteria The successful candidate will be expected to make significant contributions to the development of robust monitoring and damage assessment tools for complex industrial structures. Applicants having an appropriate background in natural or engineering sciences should be able to demonstrate consistent knowledge in areas such as structural monitoring and/or engineering mechanics and/or numerical modelling and/or data post-processing.

The research activities will be performed within the research groups active at the KU Leuven Ghent Campus.