PhD Candidate in drainage-enhanced flow condensation in micro-structured surfaces

Universitets- og høyskolelektorer/-lærere; Trondheim; On-site; NOK 420,000 - 540,000; Full time

Job summary

NTNU in Trondheim invites applications for a 3-year PhD position in the Department of Energy and Process Engineering as part of the MSCA SurPhase Doctoral Network. The project investigates droplet shedding, film breakup, flooding and heat transfer in ribbed micro-structured surfaces during flow condensation of low-GWP refrigerants.

The successful candidate will work in the Thermal Two-Phase Flow Laboratory on Gløshaugen, under Professor Maria Fernandino, with access to state-of-the-art equipment

Qualifications

• Must hold a Master's degree in mechanical engineering, thermal engineering or applied physics, or equivalent.
• Degree must include a substantial project (min 30 ECTS) and be documented before starting.
• Strong background in fluid mechanics and heat transfer is required.
• Excellent oral and written English presentation skills are required.
• Experience with experimental work and lab studies is essential.
• Programming experience with Matlab or Python (or similar) is required.

Responsibilities

• Design, plan and conduct condensation experiments.
• Contribute to academic publications, project reports and dissemination activities.
• Participate in meetings with supervisors and colleagues.
• Engage in secondments as part of the network training activities.
• Collaborate with other doctoral candidates in the consortium.

Skills

English presentation skills

Experimental work

Programming with Matlab

Programming with Python

Education

Master's degree in mechanical engineering

Master's degree in thermal engineering

Master's degree in applied physics

Tools

Matlab

Python

Job description

This is NTNU

NTNU is a broad-based university with atechnical-scientific profile and a focusin professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KHQjc4ndas&t=41s

About the position

A 3-year PhD position is available at the Department of Energy and Process Engineering as part of the HORIZON Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Doctoral Network “SurPhase”.

Efficient boiling and condensation are fundamental to thermal management in refrigeration, air conditioning, electronics cooling and energy systems. The transition toward slow Global Warming Potential refrigerants is essential for reducing environmental impact, but these fluids introduce new challenges associated with altered wetting behaviour, nucleation, liquid and vapour transport, dryout and flooding. This PhD project will experimentally investigate droplet shedding, film breakup, flooding, heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop in ribbed and finned micro structured surfaces during flow condensation of low surface tension refrigerants.

The successful candidate will work at at the Thermal Two-Phase Flow Laboratory ( http://folk.ntnu.no/fernandi/ ) at NTNU’s main Gløshaugen campus in Trondheim, Norway. Experiments will be conducted with state-of-the-art equipment and experimental techniques. The candidate will be part of a friendly working environment, with close interaction with our postdoc, PhD and MSc candidates working in our group. The position will be supervised by Professor Maria Fernandino.

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate with us, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, in and outside academia.

Your immediate leader will be the Head of Department.

About the project

SurPhase is a Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Network training 12 doctoral candidates in surface engineering and phase-change heat transfer for low-global-warming-potential refrigerants. SurPhase brings together four academic beneficiaries: the University of Birmingham, Sabanci University, Norwegian University of Science and Technology and University of Padova, supported by Ericsson, Arçelik, Fraunhofer IFAM, ANSYS and Hexxcell. The programme combines academic and industrial research, international mobility, network-wide training and cross-sector secondments.

Duties of the position

• Design, planning and running of condensation experiments
• Contribute to academic publications, project reports and other dissemination activities
• Participate in meetings with supervisors and colleagues
• Engage in secondments as part of the project training activities
• Participate in structured training programs and network eventsorganized by the consortium
• Collaborate with other doctoral candidates in the consortium

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required selection criteria

To apply for this MSCA Training position, applicants must fulfil the following criteria:

• At the time of recruitment by the host organisation, candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity, such as work or studies, in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than12 months during the 36 months immediately preceding their recruitment date.
• Applicants must be willing and able to undertake the planned international academic and industrial secondments within the SurPhase network.

General required selection criteria:

• You must meet the requirements for admission to the Faculty's Doctoral Programme ,see Section 6-1 of the PhD regulations for more information.
• You must have a relevant Master's degree in mechanical engineering, thermal engineering, applied physics or equivalent. Your degree must include a major independent project (minimum 30 ECTS) equivalent to a Master’s thesis.
• Master students can apply, but the Master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position and no later than June 2027.
• You must have a strong and relevant academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master's degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU's grading scale . If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker academic background, you may be considered if you can document that you are exceptionally suited for a PhD education, for example through relevant work experience and/or peer-reviewed academic works.
• You must have good oral and written presentation skills in English.

Specific requirements for the proposed project:

• You must have an academically relevant background within fluid mechanics and heat transfer, demonstrated through projects, activities, and/or theses.
• You must have good experience in experimental work.
• You must have programming experience with Matlab, Python or similar.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria