Description of the thesis topic

The candidate's work will be part of the ANR SLAM project, which aims to develop new architectures for easily disassembled electrodynamic loudspeakers in order to facilitate the repair or recycling of each component while maintaining high audio quality.
In the first phase of the thesis, the candidate will design and optimise the key components of a disassembled loudspeaker (suspensions, magnetic motor, diaphragm) using analytical, numerical and experimental approaches. A second phase will focus on the manufacture of complete prototypes, using rapid prototyping tools, and their experimental characterisation. The measurements will focus in particular on identifying the non-linearities induced by each component. They will also enable the reliability and industrial feasibility of the proposed solutions to be assessed.

Work Context

The thesis will be hosted at the Acoustics Laboratory of the University of Le Mans (LAUM), a joint research unit between the University of Le Mans and the CNRS (UMR 6613, section 9 of the INSIS — Institute of Engineering and Systems Sciences). The LAUM has around 160 members, including 60 permanent researchers and lecturers. It is a leading laboratory in acoustics, equipped with a unique set of equipment for general acoustics. The laboratory is associated with the CNRS, the French National Centre for Scientific Research.
The thesis will be carried out in close collaboration with the research and development department of Focal JMlab, a leading French audio equipment company based in Saint Etienne.
The PhD student will join the 'Transducers' team at LAUM (Le Mans University), whose research activities focus mainly on the study of transducers (sensors, actuators, energy converters), the development of measurement benches (digital holography, metrology) and the associated signal processing.
The candidate will work under the supervision of Dr Pierrick Lotton, in close collaboration with team members and engineers from Focal JMLab, as part of a project supported by the ANR.

The position is located in a sector under the protection of scientific and technical potential (PPST), and therefore requires, in accordance with the regulations, that your arrival is authorized by the competent authority of the MESR.

Constraints and risks

The position is in a sector covered by the protection of scientific and technical potential (PPST) program, and therefore, in accordance with regulations, requires that your arrival be authorized by the competent authority at the MESR.
Short trips to Saint Etienne are to be expected for collaboration with the company Focal JMLab. Travel within France and/or abroad for conferences or summer schools is also to be expected. These trips will be covered by the project.