We are pleased to invite UK, EU and international applications for a fully-funded PhD studentship: Digital modelling and simulation of industrial particle and powder flow processes from Teesside University’s Centre for Sustainable Engineering.
Project description
Particle and powder flows are widely encountered during industrial processes such as in food, pharmaceutical, mining, chemical and civil engineering, and commonly observed in natural phenomena (avalanches, volcanoes, mud slides and rock falls). In chemical engineering particle technology and granular materials may represent 40% of the value added to the industry. Rice is the staple food for nearly half of the population around the globe but achieving a more efficient post-harvest handling and processing is still extremely challenging in many developing countries and regions where traditional rice mills typically produce returns of 50% total rice from paddy. According to the UN’s sustainability development goals, “by 2030 ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production and halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level and reduce food losses along production and supply chains including post-harvest losses”.
Whilst the social, economic, and environmental impact to the societies by having highly performed rice mills would be undoubtedly huge and far-reaching, studies are at very early stage. The proposed project is focussed on digital modelling and simulation of granular flows involved in industrial processes. Using rice as an exemplar, this research proposes a novel and transformative digital modelling and simulation process to capture the characterisation of particle damage/breakage and particle-particle/particle-boundary interactions in granular flow processes, whilst incurring attritional wear as the particles contact fast moving abrading surfaces. A novel digital continuum model of granular flow will be developed and simulated, which will provide a faster solution whilst gaining quantitative insight of bulk flow behaviours with adoption of appropriate constitutive laws (eg visco-plastic approach quantifying friction, viscosity, and strain-rate tensor of granular matter).
The supervisor is Director of Studies: Dr Xinjun Cui from the School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies.
Entry requirements
You should hold or expect to obtain a good honours degree (2:1 or above) in a relevant discipline. A master’s level qualification in a relevant discipline is desirable, but not essential, as well as a demonstrable understanding of the research area.
International applicants should have a standard of English at IELTS 6.5 minimum and will be subject to the standard entry criteria relating to ATAS clearance and, when relevant, UK visa requirements and procedures.
How to apply
Application is online.
Key dates
- Closing date for applications is 5.00pm, 1 February 2023.
- Shortlisting and online interviews are expected to be held mid-March 2023.
- Successful applicants will be expected to start May or October 2023.
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