The Project The transition to digital CBM is vital for asset owners as they face challenges such as labour shortages and aging infrastructure. Traditional CBM still relies heavily on information coming from manual inspections, analysis, and planning. While generic digital tools exist, they often fail to deliver efficiency gains for complex and specialized assets like navigation locks.
Navigation locks are made up of many structural and mechanical components, each with unique degradation mechanisms. These can be detected and structural condition indicators drawn when changes in certain parameters are detected/triggered. Understanding these “triggers” is essential for building a digital CBM ecosystem that truly works. By identifying and clustering triggers, and deploying sensors optimally, we can create a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system that offers reliable, real-time insights into the condition of a lock complex.
Challenge The aim of this project is to design a
framework for the SHM system of the Hengelo Lock Complex . You will investigate how the condition of the lock is currently assessed and identify triggers that allow for automated, continuous SHM with minimal human interventions.
Your research will cover:
- Analysis of structural and mechanical behaviour of lock components.
- Review of relevant national, regional, and organizational regulations and guidelines.
- Evaluation of current practices and feasible structural health monitoring technologies.
- Cost–benefit assessment of sensor deployment and measurement interpretation strategies.
This is a
multifaceted project at the intersection of structural and mechanical engineering, asset management, and Civionics – sensor-based SHM of civil infrastructure.
Context and Supervision The project is sponsored and hosted by
Rijkswaterstaat , the executive agency of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. Rijkswaterstaat designs, constructs, manages, and maintains key infrastructure in the Netherlands.
You will be supervised by:
- Dr. Farid Vahdatikhaki (University of Twente)
- Dr. Roland Kromanis (University of Twente)
- Mr. Sukon Wu (Rijkswaterstaat)
You will work closely with Rijkswaterstaat to deliver a tailor-made design artifact with real-world impact. The project is based in
Enschede/Hengelo .
On successfully completing the program, you will receive a certified and recognised degree. You will be entitled to use the academic title of Engineering Doctorate (EngD). You will be registered as a Technological Designer in the Dutch register kept by the Royal Institution of Engineers in the Netherlands (KIVI).
Requirements
We invite you to apply when fulfilling the following conditions. You are:
- One of the best M.Sc. graduates with a background in structural and mechanical engineering, structural health monitoring, monitoring systems, and asset management.
- You have the ambition and talent to accelerate in finding solutions / crafting designs for complex technological issues with a multidisciplinary character.
- Your professional English proficiency is high. A working command of Dutch is highly preferred.
- You like to spend time in a professional organisation like Rijkswaterstaat, and the academic environment of the University of Twente
- You work systematically and like designing innovative solutions.
- You can work independently.
- You have strong communication and social skills.
- You can collaborate in teams and take initiative to develop solutions.
- You must be willing to move to (the vicinity of) Enschede. Presence at the UT and Rijkswaterstaat branch in Hengelo is expected on a daily basis.
Contract terms
- Two-year fulltime EngD position, where scientific and research domains are combined optimally with education and practical implementation of innovative design.
- Full status as an employee at the UT, including pension and health care benefits
- Tailor-made educational/development program of at least 6 months (30 EC), including visits to conferences.
- A salary of €3.173,- gross per month.
- An annual holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, and an annual year-end bonus of 8.3%.
- Minimum of 29 holidays per year in case of fulltime employment.
- A work environment on a green and lively campus with sports and leisure facilities.
- Mentorship that supports your professional and personal growth.