Research project title
Characterization and optimization of materials manufactured by cold spraying for use in electric motors for aeronautics (postdoct)
Education level
Post-doctoral fellowship
Director/co-director
Director: Frédéric Sirois
Co-director(s): David Ménard
End of display
December 31, 2024
Areas of expertise
Materials science and technology
Aerospace, aeronautical and automotive engineering
Unit(s) and department(s)
Department of Electrical Engineering
Laboratory of Superconductivity and Magnetism (LSM)
Conditions
Background: PhD in materials engineering, metallurgical engineering, mechanical engineering, engineering physics, or in a related field.
Skills and interests: Interest in transport electrification and associated technologies (here materials for electric motors), as well as in advanced manufacturing techniques (here cold spraying). Previous experience in additive manufacturing processes would be a strong asset. Ability to communicate with industrial partners.
Personal qualities: Autonomy, critical thinking, creativity and scientific curiosity. Your referees' recommendations (which should accompany your declaration of interest) should provide comments on each of these aspects.
Working language: The candidate should master at least the English language (written and oral). Fluency in French would be an asset, but it is not mandatory.
Detailed description
This project is carried out in partnership between Polytechnique Montréal, the National Science Council of Canada (NRC) in Boucherville, the aeronautics manufacturer Safran, the firm Altair Engineering and the Quebec SME Polycontrols.
The objective of the project is to push the limits of the cold spray additive manufacturing process to manufacture electric motor parts with high power density and high operating temperature (~300 degrees Celcius) for the field of aeronautics, which involves using new materials in the cold spray process. More specifically, ferromagnetic composites based on samarium-cobalt + aluminum (SmCo/Al) and/or copper alloys capable of operating without loss of performance or accelerated degradation at high temperature are envisioned.
The idea is to pave the way for new economically competitive solutions to reduce GHG emissions in air transport by switching to electric or hybrid propulsion, which requires high power-to-weight electric motors. In this project, the partners will work collaboratively to make significant advances in permanent magnet and/or asynchronous motor concepts with copper rotors based on innovative and unconventional geometries, not achievable by current manufacturing processes.
The postdoctoral researcher will be based mainly at the NRC research center in Boucherville. In collaboration with NRC researchers, he will have the responsibility of planning experiments in cold spraying of electric motor parts in the NRC laboratories and at the PolyCSAM center of Polycontrols (located in the same buildings as the NRC), an industrial prototyping platform for world class. He will also coordinate the entire characterization program for materials deposited by cold spraying (microscopy, mechanical tests, adhesion tests, etc.) and he will be the driving force behind the scientific publications resulting from the project, in support of the many master's and PhDs involved in the project (the publication potential is very high). This is an exceptional opportunity to enrich your research experience while learning to manage a research team, in a context that is both academic and close to industrial needs.
Please contact Professor Frédéric Sirois (https://www.polymtl.ca/expertises/en/sirois-frederic) for more information about the above project. PLEASE PROVIDE a CV, your MARK TRANSCRIPTS, and a LETTER OF MOTIVATION which also briefly explains your background, otherwise your application will not be considered.
Financing possibility
The proposed gross salary is $50k Canadian per year. This salary could be increased in years 2 and 3 of the contract on satisfactory performance of the candidate. If the candidate obtains his own scholarship (CRSNG, FRQNT or other), the salary could then be significantly increased (to be discussed on a case-by-case basis). The expected duration of the contract is 3 years.
Frédéric Sirois
Full Professor
