Last application date Jul 15, 2024 00:00
Department WE13 - Department of Geology
Contract Limited duration
Degree Master’s degree (preferably) in Physics, Engineering, (Applied) Mathematics, or equivalent (by time of starting this position)
Occupancy rate 100%
Vacancy type Research staff
PhD position focused on numerical simulation of tracer particle transport in porous media.
You will perform cutting-edge scientific research in the context of the ERC Starting Grant “FLOWSCOPY: Unravelling unsteady fluid flows in porous media with 3D X-ray micro-velocimetry”. Fluid flows in porous materials are a widespread phenomenon, just think of groundwater flow in the subsurface. The behavior of the flow on the large scale, for example how a pollutant spreads in a soil after an environmental disaster, is controlled by how fluids work their way through a maze of minuscule, interconnected pores in the material. Such flows involve complex fluid physics that are currently far from being fully understood. However, there is a major challenge to study this: how do you measure fluid flow in minuscule pores inside a material? In this project, new techniques will be developed to solve this using high-resolution X-ray CT, based on principles used in hospitals to image patients, but at a hundred times higher resolution. By introducing specially designed particles into the flow and tracking their motion with new computer algorithms, we will be able to measure fluid flows that are representative of realistic processes in the subsurface, leading to better models of groundwater flows, and of how CO2 and hydrogen can be stored in porous rock layers in the subsurface.
As a PhD student performing fundamental research on this project, your task will be to develop models of how tracers are transported in the network of pores, in order to interpret the experimental data and bridge the gap to the macroscopic scale. To do this, you will develop and use multiscale models (pore network models) to reproduce novel 3D imaging experiments. This requires efficient scientific computing, appropriate model reductions, and a good understanding of the experiments. You will collaborate closely with several other researchers working on various other aspects of this ERC project).
WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
Apply online via Google Forms: https://forms.gle/akuqNEkwk87GXpuK9
ATTENTION: applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis until suitable candidates are found, so please do not delay your application. Applications will close on 15th July 2024 at the latest. We do not accept late applications.
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof. Tom Bultreys (Tom.Bultreys@UGent.be).
Visit https://pprogress.ugent.be/ and https://www.ugent.be/we/ugct/en for more information on the research group.
Apply online via Google Forms: https://forms.gle/akuqNEkwk87GXpuK9
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