PhD position: Hybrid particle-continuum modelling of backward erosion piping in heterogenous soil layers
Are you interested in flood safety, soil mechanics, groundwater flow, and advanced numerical modelling? We are looking for a PhD candidate to study how dikes can fail due to backward erosion piping (BEP), from the scale of individual pipes to the scale of the full dike.
This project is part of the NWO-funded programme Digital Dikes: A Multiscale Framework for Risk Assessment of Backward Erosion Piping. Digital Dikes is an ambitious and high-profile research programme, funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), involving partners from the University of Twente (lead institution), Utrecht University, Eindhoven University of Technology, University of Bologna, Deltares, and TU Delft. Further contributors, such as the ICOLD European Working Group on Internal Erosion as well as Centrale Lyon provide specific expertise and know-how. The consortium is supported by a broad group of end users and governmental stakeholders, including Water Authorities, Rijkswaterstaat, STOWA, the Dutch Flood Protection Programme, and international organisations.
In dike safety assessment, it is important to understand how failure processes at different scales contribute to flood risk. In the case of BEP, this includes erosion at the pipe tip, continued erosion along the growing pipe, and the transport of sediment under changing hydraulic conditions. These processes are driven by local and regional groundwater flow, which is strongly affected by variations in the shallow subsurface. Existing models often rely on (semi-)empirical rules, such as the Sellmeijer criterion, to predict pipe growth and the critical hydraulic head. However, because the underlying BEP mechanisms are still not fully understood, the main parameters controlling pipe development remain uncertain. As a result, predictions of when failure will occur can vary significantly.
Within Work Package 3, Upscaling BEP models across scales, you will address the following scientific challenge: incorporating BEP mechanisms into continuum-based models in which the interaction between pipe growth at the micro-scale and groundwater flow at the local and regional scale is explicitly represented. You will use an existing concurrent multi-scale modelling framework that combines the finite element method (FEM) and the discrete element method (DEM).
You will work closely with two other PhD candidates who will study how 3D subsurface variability influences BEP behaviour, using both simplified and advanced BEP models within a unified probabilistic framework. This approach makes it possible to combine models with different levels of detail and computational cost, and to use them efficiently for quantifying the risk of dike failure caused by backward erosion piping.
Information and application
Please submit your application before June 15, 2026 via the ‘Apply now’ button, including:
· A cover letter (maximum 1 pages A4), emphasizing your specific interests, qualifications, motivation, and research ideas for the PhD project.
· A detailed Curriculum Vitae, including an overview of all courses attended and grades obtained.
· A description (maximum half-page A4) of your MSc research.
Screening is part of the procedure.
The interviews are planned in the 1st and 2nd week of July 2026.
For more information about this vacancy you can contact Dr. Hongyang Cheng, +31 53 489 9986 (e-mail: h.cheng@utwente.nl or Prof.dr. Vanessa Magnanimo (v.magnanimo@utwente.nl)
About the organisation
At the Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET), we work on engineering for impact: developing smart, sustainable, human-centred and technological solutions for societal challenges. We connect fundamental education, research and practice across five core domains: Asset & Maintenance engineering, Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, Personalised Health Technology, Resilience Engineering, and Sustainable Production, Energy and Resources.
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