Company Description

AFRY provides engineering, design, digital and advisory services. We are devoted experts in industry, energy and infrastructure sectors, creating impact for generations to come. AFRY has Nordic roots with a global reach. Join us in accelerating the transition towards a sustainable society.

AFRY with the Buildings business area is, with over 1,400 employees, one of the largest players in Sweden in the real estate sector. Here you get the opportunity to be involved in influencing and creating buildings and accommodation where people can stay and enjoy themselves. For us, safety, sustainability and a prosperous society are important factors where we successfully participate and contribute with creative and innovative solutions - both now and for the future. Making Future, as we say.

Job Description

Background

• Column pad foundations are essential components in supporting vertical loads for various structures, from residential buildings to industrial facilities. Their design directly impacts the stability and durability of the entire structure. Though they may appear simple— essentially a square or rectangular concrete block beneath a column— their proper design is crucial to ensuring load distribution and structural integrity.
• Optimizing column pad foundation design is key to reducing material usage, construction costs, and ensuring long-term performance. This involves careful consideration of soil-structure interaction, loadbearing capacity, and the geometry of the pad to prevent settlement and ensure the stability of the structure.
• A critical aspect of column pad foundation design is ensuring that the foundation can effectively distribute loads to avoid excessive settlement or bearing capacity failures. Advanced calculation methods can be used to optimize the size and reinforcement of the pad, balancing safety and cost-effectiveness.
• The repetitive nature of column pad foundation designs allows for potential automation and standardization in the design process. By integrating advanced design techniques into automated tools, engineers can enhance efficiency, reduce waste, and contribute to more sustainable construction practices.

Aim

• To study/investigate the interaction between the soil and the foundation.
• To create standardized pad foundation designs for columns to be used by AFRY in the design process of daily projects (e.g., residential, office, or industrial buildings).

Method

• Analyse and assess how the soil properties and foundation design influence each other and affect the overall performance of the structure.
• Assess requirements regarding concrete pad foundations, including punching and shear design, detailing of reinforcements, local effects, etc.
• Establish the calculation hypotheses for a standard column pad foundation.
• Formulate a calculation strategy for the design of pad footings according to the hypotheses and create an automated calculation workflow which may include:
• Use of pre-existing sofware/calculation sheets.
• Creation of calculation programs (using Excel, Mathcad or other software).
• Creation of calculation scripts (using Phython or other software) that would automatically link the different steps of the workflow.
• Conduct calculations for a wide range of soil types.
• Develop standard designs of pad footings for columns for different load capacities and soil types, optimizing reinforcement and ensuring constructability.
• Prepare calculation reports for all the cases.
• If time permits, implement the standard design of pad footings for columns into Tekla Structures/Revit using API (or other methods) to create the geometry and reinforcements and generate drawings

Expected outcome

Automization the following tasks:

• Standard pad foundations for columns.
• A calculation software/script that automates the design preocess.
• Calculation reports

What you gain

• Learning a commercial FE software.
• Familiarization with column foundations and detailing of reinforced concrete and Eurocode.
• Opportunity for recruitment.

Qualifications

• Good knowledge of concrete structures and Eurocode 2.
• Experience in programming.
• Experience with FE software (e.g., FEM-Design, SAP2000 or other commercial software).

Additional Information

Welcome to submit your application, the deadline is 2024-10-31, selection of applicants takes place continuously. Please attach a cover letter and an academic transcript.

Workplace location preferably Stockholm, Västerås or Uppsala. But other cities may also be relevant.

Contact persons for questions:

Joaquín García, [email protected]

We kindly ask not to be contacted by staffing and recruitment agencies or salespeople offering additional job advertisements.

At AFRY, we engineer change in everything we do. Change happens when brave ideas come together. When we collaborate, innovate technology, and embrace challenging points of view. That’s how we're making future. We are actively looking for qualified candidates to join our inclusive and diverse teams across the globe. Join us in accelerating the transition towards a sustainable future.