Numerical modelling of reactive transport in porous materials

Project Ref: EGIS2023-JM

Understanding reactive transport in porous materials is of utmost importance for a wide range of engineering applications, including subsurface energy storage, low-carbon building materials and fuel cells. The energy efficiency of these applications is controlled by a variety of mechanisms including hydrodynamic dispersion, interface transfer, surface wettability and chemical reactions. These mechanisms occur at the pore-scale, i.e., in the void space between the solid grains, and strongly depends on the complex and heterogeneous structure of the porous material. Numerical modelling of reactive transport in porous materials typically relies on effective porous media properties that needs to capture accurately the heterogeneity of the structure. Pore-scale Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are often performed to assess and quantify the effect of chemical reactions to effective porous media properties. However, extending CFD models to coupled multiphysic processes (i.e., including the impact of interface dynamics, heat transfer, electrochemistry…) is challenging, because of the wide range of time and length-scale on which these processes operate.

This PhD will seek to extend CFD modelling capabilities for pore-scale reactive transport to simulate coupled multiphysics processes. The PhD will develop novel CFD methods and integrate them within IGE’s OpenFOAM-based simulator, GeoChemFoam (www.github.com/GeoChemFoam). The successful candidate will be placed in a high collaborative environment within the GeoChemFoam group and expected to interact with the other PhD students and post-doctoral researchers.

Eligibility

To be eligible, applicants should have a First-class undergraduate honours degree and/or Masters at Merit/Distinction level (>60%) and/or evidence of significant relevant professional experience equivalent to Masters level. Applicants with a degree in mechanical engineering, environmental engineering, civil engineering, chemical engineering, computer sciences and mathematics are particularly encouraged. Applicants should further have a strong motivation to succeed in academic research, excellent presentation, and academic writing skills as well as very good to excellent English language skills (verbally and written). Scholarships will be awarded by competitive merit, taking into account the academic ability of the applicant.

How to Apply

To apply you must complete our online application form.

Please select PhD Applied Geosciences as the programme and include the full project title, reference number (EGIS2023-JM) and supervisor name (Dr Julien Maes) on your application form. You will also need to provide a CV, a supporting statement (1-5 A4 pages) outlining your suitability and how you would approach the project, a copy of your degree certificate and relevant transcripts and an academic reference.

You must also provide proof of your ability in the English language (if English is not your mother tongue or if you have not already studied for a degree that was taught in English within the last 2 years). We require an IELTS certificate showing an overall score of at least 6.5 with no component scoring less than 6.0 or a TOEFL certificate with a minimum score of 90 points.

Please contact Dr Julien Maes ([Email Address Removed]) for informal information.

Please contact [Email Address Removed] for technical support with your application.

Timeline

The closing date for applications is the 28th of April and applicants must be available to start in September 2023.