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Postdoctoral Researcher Specializing in mechanics, modeling, and thermomechanical characterization of metallic materials - CDD 18 months

  • On-site
    • Albi, Occitanie, France

Job description

POST ENVIRONMENT

School of the ministry in charge of industry, IMT Mines Albi is a school of the Institut Mines-Télécom, 1st group of engineering and management schools of France. At the forefront of industrial and academic issues on the international scene, it acts as a territorial scientific and economic engine by combining its 4 missions - to train engineers by integrating the dynamics of sustainable development, scientific research, contributing to economic development and spreading the culture of science, technology and innovation - in a virtuous and innovative cycle.

Its positioning in terms of training and research places IMT Mines Albi as a reference school on three of the four themes of the IMT, namely responsible future industry, energy, circular economy and society and engineering, health and well-being.

IMT Mines Albi has adopted in 2023 and for a five-year period, a strategic plan divided into 7 major actions, thus responding to the strategic orientations of the IMT group to which it belongs.

This position is available at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines d'Albi-Carmaux (IMT Mines Albi) and is attached to the Institut Clément Ader Albi (ICA-Albi) center. It is an integral part of the Institut Clément Ader (ICA – UMR CNRS 5312, ica.cnrs.fr), a laboratory whose five supervisory institutions are INSA Toulouse, ISAE-SUPAERO, Paul Sabatier University, IMT Mines Albi, and the CNRS. ICA-Albi has around 75 employees and conducts research in three of the ICA's groups: the MSC (Composite Materials and Structures) group, the SUMO (Surface, Machining, Materials, Tools) group, and the MICS (Measurement, Identification, Control, Monitoring) group. The ICA-Albi center is responsible for managing the MIMAUSA (Implementation of Aeronautical Materials and Active Monitoring) research and innovation platform, a platform of IMT Mines Albi. The ICA-Albi center is a member of the “Materials Science and Engineering” department of the M.I.N.E.S. Carnot Institute. “Innovative Methods for Business and Society.”

ICA-Albi's activities are mainly focused on issues addressed by the aerospace, automotive, and energy industries. These include:

·       research into new materials and processes, mainly in the fields of metals and composites, but also in ceramics, polymers, and multi-materials,

·       forming tools and molds, based on multidisciplinary approaches (materials, mechanics, thermal, environment, instrumentation),

·       the development of new metrological techniques based on non-intrusive or minimally intrusive optical sensors for experimental photo-thermo-mechanics and process and system monitoring.

 

JOB DESCRIPTION:

The ICA-Albi research center at IMT Mines Albi is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher (M/F) specializing in mechanics, modeling, and thermomechanical characterization of materials for an 18-month fixed-term contract.

Hot forming and superplastic forming are industrial processes used to manufacture aeronautical parts such as turbine blades and primary structural fairings of engines pylon for aircraft engines. In the 2010s, ICA acquired pilot equipment enabling high-temperature studies of metal sheet inflation (“bulk forming”), with the sheet heated by a controlled infrared lamp system (Nazaret et al. 2015 [4], Le Fournier et al. 2016 [2]). Heating with IR lamps reduces the time required to reach the desired temperature and therefore the cycle time, which has a direct impact on energy consumption. In early 2020, the initial version of the equipment underwent a retrofit, in particular to enable displacement and temperature monitoring through mechanical field measurements (digital image correlation (DIC) at high temperatures [Luong et al. 2021 [3]) and thermal measurements. We wish to implement these coupled measures in the range of 550 to 750 °C in order to characterize the hot formability of sheet metal. Previous work has characterized and modeled the behavior of titanium alloys in the range of 550–750 °C (D'Archivio et al. 2024). The samples will also undergo microstructural analysis to observe the link between deformation mechanisms and hot deformation.

This work is being carried out as part of a project on the Industry of the Future led by IMT and ENSAM (https://www.imt.fr/projet-reclassif-industrie-du-futur-2030/). It will be the subject of exchanges with partner laboratories at IMT and ENSAM. One of the operational objectives of the project is to contribute to the construction of hot forming curves for selected alloy sheets.

The postdoctoral researcher's tasks will therefore include:

  • An update on the state of the art regarding the measurement of hot strain fields (under large strains for metal sheets) and temperatures, and the characterization of the hot formability of sheets made from selected alloys

  • Characterization of thermo-optical properties to enable temperature measurement via infrared (IR) imaging on the test sheets and, potentially, to complete the characterization of the thermo-mechanical behavior of the test sheet materials

  • Operation of the hot-forming equipment, including in-situ strain measurements (DIC) and temperature measurements via infrared (IR) imaging,

  • Development of a finite element (FE) simulation model of the process and comparison of computational and experimental results

  • Characterization of microstructures and their evolution under thermomechanical stresses

  • Dissemination of research findings through the presentation of a scientific paper at international conferences.

These tasks will therefore require the postdoctoral researcher to have skills in test implementation and instrumentation, as well as in modeling and numerical simulation using the finite element method in non-linear thermomechanical conditions for sheet metal forming processes.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

The candidate should have a PhD in mechanics and/or materials science with skills in modeling and numerical simulation, as well as knowledge of mechanical and thermal instrumentation at high temperatures. Skills related to testing/calculations will be appreciated. He/she must have interpersonal skills to enable teamwork.

A multidisciplinary profile will be preferred.

 

BEYOND THE WORK ENVIRONMENT, WHY JOIN US?

  • Pleasant working environment on a 22-hectare campus

  • 49 days of leave per year

  • On-site staff cafeteria

  • Sustainable mobility support for commuting between home and work

  • Employee benefits package (supplementary health insurance and family support assistance)

 

INFORMATIONS COMPLÉMENTAIRES :

  • Contract type and duration: 18-month fixed-term contract (FTC)

  • For internal use only:

  • Position category and reference role: Category II, Profession P – Postdoctoral Researcher

  • Reference positions eligible to apply: All categories

  • Position location: Albi

  • Application deadline: June 20, 2026

  • Expected recruitment panel date: July 7, 2026

  • Desired start date: September 1, 2026

  • The positions offered are open to all applicants. Reasonable accommodations can be provided upon request for candidates with disabilities.

  • Position open to Category A civil servants and/or contractual employees.

 

Contacts :

  • Sur les aspects administratifs/RH: Marie GILLET, Responsable du pôle Recrutement et Développement des compétences (marie.gillet@mines-albi.fr 05 63 49 30 84)

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