Analytical and Computational Research Tools Advanced Materials and Structures

Analytical and Computational Research Tools for Advanced Materials and Structures

4 days ago Be among the first 25 applicants

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Reference Code: 0047-NPP-MAR
26-LRC-Aeronautics

Final date to receive applications: 3/1/2026 6:00:59 PM Eastern Time Zone

How To Apply:

• All applications must be submitted in Zintellect
• Please visit the NASA Postdoctoral Program website for application instructions and requirements:
  
  How to Apply
  
  | NASA Postdoctoral Program
• A complete application to the NASA Postdoctoral Program includes:
  • Research proposal
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Official doctoral transcript documents

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at an aeronautics institute, NASA Headquarters, or an affiliated research institute. These one- to three‑year fellowships are competitive and designed to advance NASA’s missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology.

The primary focus of this opportunity is to perform analytical and computational research in the Durability, Damage Tolerance, and Reliability Branch (DDTRB) at NASA Langley Research Center toward improving the state‑of‑the‑art of progressive damage analysis methods for advanced aerospace materials. The DDTRB conducts a broad‑based research and technology program that quantifies behavior, durability, and damage tolerance of structural materials; develops efficient, physics‑based analytical and computational methods;

develops new innovative test methods; develops radiation analysis and design tools for assessing the radiation environment; and validates performance of advanced materials and structures for aerospace applications in support of NASA, other agencies, and the industry. The Damage Mechanics of Composite Materials group focuses on advancing understanding of structural life‑limiting damage mechanisms exhibited by these material systems. These mechanisms occur at various length scales and can drive component failure via several types that interact in a potentially complex manner.

Deployment of composite materials on aircraft is partly inhibited by an insufficient understanding of damage progression and its effect on component lifetime and reliability. The broad vision of the group’s work is to remediate this issue by creating experimental and computational methods that yield a reduced cost for certification of composite structures and provide advanced understanding of durability and damage tolerance, ensuring safe operation of existing and emerging high‑performance aircraft structural designs and enabling future long‑duration space missions.

Analytical efforts in the Damage Mechanics of Composite Materials group are focused on computational fracture mechanics and the development and application of progressive damage analysis methods. Current focus is on numerical tools for simulating multiple interacting damage processes, such as matrix cracking, delamination, and fiber failure, for a variety of advanced aerospace materials—including fiber‑reinforced thermosets, fiber‑reinforced thermoplastics, ceramic matrix composites, carbon‑carbon composites, silicon carbide (SiC) fiber‑reinforced SiC matrix composites, and others.

Researchers in the group have experience with close‑form fracture mechanics approaches, cohesive zone modeling, discrete damage mechanics, continuum damage mechanics, and related approaches. Tools for both quasi‑static and fatigue loading are of interest. Incorporation of these tools into commercial finite element codes is being sought to enable the creation of analyses that may replace testing practices currently used during certification.

Opportunities exist to participate in all aspects of the research, development, and application of analytical and computational modeling efforts within the Damage Mechanics of Composite Materials group. Successful applicants should have a PhD in an appropriate field and have programming experience related to finite element analysis user subroutines and related scripting languages.

The…