Numerical modelling of multiphase flow and reactive transport in porous materials

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 multiphase flow and 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, often assisted by the used of neural networks. 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 highly collaborative environment within the GeoChemFoam group and expected to interact with the other PhD students and post-doctoral researchers.

Eligibility

This project is open to all students, whether home, EU or overseas.

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 and supervisor name (Dr Julien Maes) on your application form.  Ensure that all fields marked as ‘required’ are complete.

Once have entered your personal details, click submit. You will be asked to upload your supporting documents. You must complete the section marked project proposal; provide a supporting statement (1-5 A4 pages) documenting your reasons for applying to this particular project, outlining your suitability and how you would approach the project. You must also upload your CV, a copy of your degree certificate and relevant transcripts and an academic reference in the relevant section of the application form.

You must also provide proof of your ability in the English language (if English is not your mother tongue). 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 an overall score of at least 85, including reading 20, listening 19, speaking 20 and writing 21. Alternatively, if you have received an English-taught Bachelors or Masters degree from one of the countries listed on the UK Government Guidance under ‘Who does not need to prove their knowledge of English’, and it was obtained less than two years from your intended start date, you should provide evidence of your award that clearly states it was delivered and assessed in English language.

The primary supervisor for this project Dr Julien Maes. Please contact j.maes@hw.ac.uk for further information or an informal discussion.

Please contact egis-pgr-apps@hw.ac.uk for technical support with your application.

Timeline

The closing date for applications is the 26th of April and applicants must be available to start in September 2024.