Uiterste inschrijvingsdatum Sep 20, 2024 00:00
Vakgroep/directie/dienst WE13 - Vakgroep Geologie
Type contract Contract van bepaalde duur
Diploma PhD in Science or Engineering Science, on a topic related to fluid flow in porous media
Bezettingsgraad 100%
Vacature type Overig academisch personeel
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. Your task will be to develop new algorithms to reconstruct dynamic computed tomography images (4D micro-CT) of fluid flow in porous materials, based on iterative tomographic inversion. The goal is to break through the current limitations of micro-CT with respect to measuring dynamics, notably the strict trade-off between its resolutions in time and space. You will be responsible to set up the software environment (including HPC aspects) and to develop and validate the algorithms. You will collaborate closely with a PhD student on the computational side of the project, and 3 other researchers running experiments and simulations (in addition to the supervisor).
Your task in this project is develop new experiments to study the physics of fluid flows in porous materials. Specifically, you will investigate two-phase flow (e.g. simultaneous flow of water and air) and/or viscoelastic flow (flows of liquids that change their viscosity depending on the flow). You will work on improving all aspects of the experimental work flow, using novel 3D X-ray imaging techniques.
Job profile:
WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
Send your CV, copy of your diploma (if already in your possession) and a motivation letter to Tom.Bultreys@UGent.be, with email subject “Application FLOWSCOPY PD1”, before the submission deadline indicated above.
We do not accept late applications.
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof. Tom Bultreys (Tom.Bultreys@UGent.be)
Ghent University is one of the top 100 universities in the Dutch language area, with more than 44,000 students and 15,000 staff members.
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