The aim of the PhD project is to investigate the
creep and creep fatigue behaviours of CSEF power plant steels subject to
realistic plant loading cycles.
The current market conditions are such that
combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants are now considering double two-shift
operation, so potentially accruing upwards of 600 starts per year. The pressure
to reduce the extent of pressure system inspections and repairs continues to
increase, with the most recent capacity auction clearing prices for generation
showing a significant reduction when compared to previous years. For operators
of large generation facilities, the key consideration is the through life revenue
return, which will guide decisions on new plant builds and any capital
investments on plant currently operating. On this basis the need for effective
life prediction and condition monitoring tools to support the supply chain
(designer, fabricator, operator and technical service provider) is evident.
Over the years, significant development has been
made on the 9–12%Cr creep strength enhanced ferritic (CSEF) steels.
Traditionally, in material development for power plant components, creep
ductility, which can be treated as resistance to damage, has received much less
attention. However, the risk of catastrophic failure due to low damage
tolerance is a real challenge, in particular, in the situation where mechanical
and metallurgical constraints are present. In addition, due to the increasing
frequency of cyclic operations, i.e. starts up and shut downs for main steam
pipelines of power plants, low cycle creep fatigue failure due to low ductility
of the materials has become an important concern.
The aim of the PhD project is to investigate creep
and creep fatigue behaviour which takes into account the variable ductility for
CSEF power plant steels subject to realistic plant loading cycles, through a
comprehensive theoretical, experimental and computational programme.
Specific objectives will include:
High temperature mechanical testing and physical characterization will be carried out using well-established facility. The theoretical and modelling work will be carried out using finite element package ABAQUS through user defined subroutines.
The candidate must have a high-grade qualification,
at least the equivalent of a UK 1st or 2.1 class degree in an engineering or
science discipline (e.g. mechanical engineering or applied mechanics). A strong
background of Mechanics of Solids and Computational Modelling is preferable.
The students must possess excellent presentation and communication skills and
be able to write high quality academic papers.
The PhD project is of four years
duration, starting October 2022, within the EPSRC Centre for Doctor Training
(CDT) “Resilient decarbonised Fuel Energy Systems”. The studentship which will
cover full university fees and a tax-free, enhanced annual stipend to UK candidates. A limited amount of partial funding is available for
exceptional international applicants who are highly qualified and motivated.
Due to the nature of this funding, the CDT would only be able to cover the cost
of the Home fees and therefore the applicant would need to either find
alternative funding or self-fund the fee difference.
Please apply to
the University of Nottingham.
Informal enquiries
may be sent to Dr Tao Liu (tao.liu@nottingham.ac.uk). Please note that applications sent directly to
those email addresses will not be accepted.
This project will explore the fundamental link
between biomass milling, classification and conveying to optimise biomass
processing. The project will explore the fundamental science of milling
fracture mechanics to develop a test for the critical particle size for
comminution through compression for biomass particles. This test will be bench
marked against the industry standard bond work index milling test and milling
in a lab scale vertical spindle mill.
The fundamental science behind classification will
be investigated to ascertain the impact of biomass particle size and shape on
classification and linked back to milling fracture mechanics. A model will be
developed which can predict if classification will be successful based on the
milled product from the grinding bed. An existing rig which examines biomass
conveying in pipes will be further developed to analyse a wide range of biomass
particle flow conditions.
A novel biomass particle roping rig will be built
to investigate roping and its link to biomass particle size and shape. Roping
mitigation strategies will be developed, which will then be verified on a
laboratory vertical spindle mill with pneumatic classification.
This would be a four-year project based in the new
Resilient Decarbonised Fuel Energy Systems CDT based at The University of
Nottingham and working alongside Net Zero Research partners.
We are seeking applicants to start in October 2022.
Applicants are expected to have obtained (or be heading for) a First or
Upper-second degree at Master’s level (or equivalent) in Mechanical or Chemical
Engineering and be highly motivated. The project will be a mixture of lab based
and modelling experiments. They should have broad interests in renewable and
low carbon technologies, and in the application of these technologies.
Furthermore, the applicant should have a desire to gain industrial experience
during the EngD. Applicants should also be able to demonstrate excellent
written and oral communication skills, which will be essential for
collaborations, disseminating the results via journal publications and
attendance at international conferences.
The PhD student will work within the EPSRC Centre
for Doctoral Training (CDT) “Resilient Decarbonised Fuel Energy
Systems”. In addition to the standard EPSRC stipend and payment of UK
fees, there will be a stipend enhancement of £3,750 per annum for 4 years, with
£6,000 per annum of funding for research costs and travel.
Please apply to the University
of Nottingham.
Informal enquiries may be sent to Dr Orla Williams (orla.williams@nottingham.ac.uk). Please note that applications sent directly to those email
addresses will not be accepted.
We are seeking applicants with a process
engineering background to start in Autumn 2022 on a project with Mitsubishi
Chemical UK Ltd. The funded studentship is the result of a major expansion of a
programme to decarbonise the entire value chain around acrylic polymer
manufacturing. Chemical recycling of current and legacy acrylic materials is a
key challenge that needs to be met in order to realise the broader
decarbonisation programme, and microwave heating has been identified as a key
enabling technology that can meet this challenge. Mitsubishi Chemical have
partnered with the University of Nottingham to carry out this work due to their
world-leading expertise in microwave heating technologies. The partnership aims
to better understand the impact of material properties and processing
conditions on recycled product and its ability to displace fossil resources in
the acrylic manufacturing process. A continuous, industrial-scale demonstration
process will be developed towards the end of the programme.
The aim of the PhD project will be to gain better
understanding of how both microwave and conventional heating technologies can
be used to process waste plastic and produce monomer product that is of
sufficient quality to re-use in acrylic manufacture. Working with the industry
partner, other PhD students and project team members the successful candidate
will establish and model concepts for refining feedstock and crude monomer to
the required quality, where challenges will be around variable feedstock
composition and the separation of close-boiling components. These refining
processes will be combined with new technologies for acrylic recycling to
produce a number of system-level process models that can be used to establish
feedstock-technology-product relationships. These models will in turn be used
to direct technology development for recycling processes and to develop a
broader industry implementation strategy for recycled acrylic, optimising the
acrylic circular value chain.
This is an excellent opportunity for an
enthusiastic first or upper second class graduate in a process engineering
discipline to develop expertise and key skills in the sustainable manufacture
and recycling of plastics, and to establish relationships with international
academic and industrial partners.
The project will be part of the EPSRC-supported
Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) "Resilient Decarbonised Fuel Energy Systems".
The student who undertakes it will be one of a cohort of over 50 students in a
broad range of disciplines across the Universities of Sheffield, Nottingham and
Cardiff.
Please apply to the University
of Nottingham.
Informal enquiries
may be sent to Prof. John Robinson (john.robinson@nottingham.ac.uk). Please note that applications sent directly to those email
addresses will not be accepted.
The impact of carbon-based deposits on climate change and human health
is the driver for legislation, fuel technology change and engineering
improvements. The carbon species produced by the internal combustion engine
have various impacts on emissions and despite many years of research are still
not fully understood. Recent work at Nottingham has shown a paradigm shift in
the understanding of injector deposits:
“Spatially Resolved Molecular Compositions of Insoluble Multilayer
Deposits Responsible for Increased Pollution from Internal Combustion
Engines”
Max K Edney, Joseph S Lamb, Matteo Spanu, Emily F Smith, Elisabeth Steer,
Edward Wilmot, Jacqueline Reid, Jim Barker, Morgan R Alexander, Colin E
Snape, David J Scurr. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 12 (45),
51026-51035, 2020.
“Internal Diesel Injector Deposit Chemical Speciation and
Quantification Using 3D OrbiSIMS and XPS Depth Profiling” Joseph S Lamb, Jim Barker, Edward Wilmot,
David J Scurr, Colin E Snape, Emily F Smith, Morgan R Alexander,
Jacqueline Reid. SAE
International Journal of Advances and Current Practices in Mobility, 2020,
349 364.
This work has informed industry mitigator chemistries and thus reduced
emissions. The project is a unique opportunity to use very sophisticated
surface science techniques such as Orbitrap 3D SIMS and XPS. The study will
involve carbon material from across the powertrain vista, road, rail, off road,
marine, and standing. The material will be associated with injector deposits and filter deposits to enable emission reduction and soot, especially those
associated with respiratory inflammation, cardiovascular health problems, and
premature mortality. The information regarding the structure of these species
will be used to invent mitigation strategies for the benefit of all.
We are seeking applicants to start in September 2022. Candidates should have a first or high 2.1 class honours degree in an
engineering or science discipline.
The PhD student will work within the EPSRC Centre for Doctor Training
(CDT) “Resilient Decarbonised Fuel Energy Systems”.
Please apply to the
University of Nottingham.
Informal enquiries may be sent to Dr David Scurr (david.scurr@nottingham.ac.uk). Please note that applications
sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.
Hydrogen proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are a key
technology in enabling the transition to net-zero carbon energy. Hydrogen powered fuel cell stacks have been
demonstrated to be eminently suitable for powering cars and especially trucks,
because battery solutions are not viable for most larger vehicles. A recent
Hydrogen Council report (link below) emphasises the synergy in using both
battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) to
have a major impact on transport derived CO2 emissions. The heavy duty truck
market is expected to be the first to become fully commercialised FCEV
application due to the less-demanding infrastructure network requirements.
However, a key issue severely impacting the performance and efficiency
of PEMFCs is water flooding. Water flooding occurs in the cathode-side catalyst
layer whereby water generated in the cathode reaction condenses out in the
pores of the catalyst support thereby blocking access for in-coming oxygen.
Hydrophobic ionomer is added to the cathode catalyst layer to attempt to
mitigate against flooding. In order to design the optimal formulation and
fabrication process for the cathode catalyst layer, it is necessary to
understand the relationship between the properties of the layer, especially
pore size, pore connectivity and surface wettability/hydrophobicity, and the
performance in the actual PEMFC. However, it has been found that current
characterisation methods used are unable to distinguish sufficiently between
the pore network and wettability characteristics of different layers to predict
differences in their eventual PEMFC performance. Hence, new characterisation
techniques are needed, and this is the aim of this project. The objectives of
this project are to test three such candidate techniques for suitability. NMR
spectroscopy and relaxometry of hyperpolarised (hp) krypton and xenon have been
shown to be sensitive probes of pore size and the spatial distribution of
hydro-phobic/-philic surfaces within a probed network. We, thus, intend to test
hp Kr and hp Xe NMR techniques for determining the spatial distribution of
ionomer and inception of water adsorption within cathode pore networks. The
second candidate is adsorption calorimetry. Previous combined gravimetric and calorimetric
studies of gas uptake in gas shales have suggested the technique can readily
assess the spatial arrangement and juxtaposition of pore condensate in complex
geometries, and its impact on mass transport. This technique will also be tried
on catalyst layers. Finally, serial water adsorption and mercury porosimetry
studies on catalyst pellets have revealed that this method can characterise the
spatial distribution of the adsorbed water and the impact on percolation
pathways within the pore network, and will thus be tested on cathode catalyst
layers. We will also aim to develop a characterisation technique that can be
used as a quality control, near-to-line measurement during manufacturing.
References
https://hydrogencouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Transport-Study-Full-Report-Hydrogen-Council-1.pdf
This project
is open to home students only. The PhD project is of four years duration, starting
October 2022, within the EPSRC Centre for Doctor Training (CDT) “Resilient
decarbonised Fuel Energy Systems”. The studentship which will cover full
university fees and a tax-free, enhanced annual stipend. The student
who undertakes it will be one of a cohort of over 50 students in a broad range
of disciplines across the Universities of Sheffield, Nottingham and Cardiff.
Please apply to the
University of Nottingham.
Informal
enquiries may be sent to Prof Sean Rigby (sean.rigby@nottingham.ac.uk) and
Prof Thomas Meersmann
(thomas.meersmann@nottingham.ac.uk). Please note that applications sent
directly to those email addresses will not be accepted.
Hydrogen is an important energy vector for future
industry and a significant amount of research is underway to decarbonise heavy
industry by using hydrogen as a fuel for heat and power. Processes which
traditionally rely on natural gas must quickly adapt to using hydrogen as a
fuel and this has resulted in a need for new, flexible burner technologies
capable of working with hydrogen along with a variety of other gas fuels.
Hydrogen is a challenging fuel due to its
inherent properties, such as flame speed, heat release rate, density and
optical properties. This research project will involve closely working with an
industrial burner engineering company to study the underpinning science of
fuel-flexible hydrogen burners at large scales. It is expected that this
project will involve analytical, design and investigative work, including
practical measurement of combustion phenomena.
Ideally, this studentship would suit somebody with
a strong background in science / engineering, including skills in
experimentation / computer aided design and simulation.
The PhD project is of four years
duration, starting October 2022, within the EPSRC Centre for Doctor
Training (CDT) “Resilient decarbonised Fuel Energy Systems”. The studentship
which will cover full university fees and a tax-free, enhanced annual stipend. The student who undertakes it will be one of a cohort of over 50
students in a broad range of disciplines across the Universities of Sheffield,
Nottingham and Cardiff.
Please apply to the
University of Cardiff.
Informal
enquiries may be sent to Prof Richard Marsh (marshr@cardiff.ac.uk) and
Dr Daniel Pugh (pughdg@cardiff.ac.uk). Please note that applications sent
directly to those email addresses will not be accepted.
Application deadline: 30.06.2022
According to the UK Hydrogen Strategy
published in 2021, UK will largely depend on green hydrogen fuel to decarbonise
heating, transport, industrial and other sectors to meet 2050 emission targets.
Green hydrogen fuel is produced using electrolysers (which split water into
hydrogen and oxygen) powered by electricity generated from renewable energy
sources such as solar or wind energy sources. Alkaline electrolysers, compared
to other electrolysers, are reliable and cheap. Clean Power Hydrogen (CPH2) has
developed a novel and efficient membrane free alkaline electrolysers which
employ very cheap materials, thus substantially reducing the cost of the water
electrolysis system and boosting the adoption of this green hydrogen generating
technology.
This project looks for ways to further
improve the efficiency and the durability of the membrane-free electrolysers
through investigating new materials, surface-treatments and/or designs.
Particular attention is to be given to the materials of the electrodes where
the oxygen and hydrogen evolution half reactions take place. In this regard,
alternative materials will be investigated and shortlisted based on their
efficiency, durability, and corrosion-resistance. These materials will be
ex-situ and in-situ tested. Further, multiphysics models simulating the
corrosion process and/or the operation of the electrolyser will be developed to
shorten the design cycles and obtain insights on how to improve the performance
and the lifetime of the electrolyser.
Candidates should hold a first- or
second-class honours in chemistry, chemical engineering or other relevant
disciplines. A strong background in electrochemistry, corrosion studies,
electrolyser technology, and/or modelling and simulation are desirable but not essential. This project is industrially sponsored by CPH2 which is a
leading electrolyser manufacturer in South Yorkshire that develops a unique
membrane free electrolyser. The successful
candidates will work under the supervision of Dr Mohammed S. Ismail and Prof
Mohamed Pourkashanian (University of Sheffield) and Mr Ian Pillay (CPH2).
If interested, please apply online at: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/apply/applying mentioning the title of the project and the names of the supervisors in your
application and ensure that you enclose all the following documents:
An up-to-date CV
Degree transcripts
A cover letter detailing your suitability for the project (max 500 words)
Two references - at least one of which must be from an academic familiar with the applicant's academic work and abilities
References
UK Hydrogen Strategy: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-hydrogen-strategy
CPH2’s website: https://www.cph2.com/about/
Funding The project will be part of the
EPSRC-supported Centre for Doctoral Training in Resilient Decarbonised Fuel
Energy Systems. The studentship will cover full
university fees and a tax-free, enhanced annual stipend of £20,352. The student
who undertakes it will be one of a cohort of over 50 students in a broad range
of disciplines across the Universities of Sheffield, Nottingham and Cardiff. This
studentship is open to home students and EU students who have been residents in
the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the studentship. Where
possible, covering the international fees for outstanding students will be also
considered.
Informal
enquiries may be sent to Prof Derek Ingham (d.ingham@sheffield.ac.uk). Please note that applications sent
directly to this email address will not be accepted.
Application deadline: 20.06.2022
Carbon capture is considered the only technology able to
decarbonise the hard-to-abate industries. Many of these industries utilise
legacy sites with little space for large new unit operations required in
conventional carbon capture. Rotating packed beds (RPB) look to solve this
problem by intensifying carbon capture and reducing the footprint required by
up to ten times, while also significantly decreasing the capital cost of these
units. When combined with proprietary solvents, it is believed the cost of
capture can be reduced to $30/tonne CO2 in some cases, helping to
enable the rapid uptake of carbon capture and progression towards net zero.
RPB are a novel technology that utilise the principles of
process intensification to enhance the performance of mass transfer processes
between fluids. Given the application of RPB to the field of CO2
capture is relatively new, there is uncertainty regarding the impact of
different process variables on the performance of the RPB that would otherwise
require a significant amount of practical experimentation to investigate.
Computational fluid dynamics can enable the process to be accurately modelled,
allowing for quick and inexpensive prediction of performance under various
conditions.
In this project a rotating packed bed absorber will be
modelled in Ansys FLUENT, with validation of the model’s outputs through use of
the 1 tonnes of CO2 per day (TPD) pilot-scale rotating packed bed
absorber at the University of Sheffield’s Translational Energy Research Centre.
Initial research will involve investigating the impact of operational
conditions and physical properties of the solvent on capture performance. As
the project continues, the scope will widen to include sensitivity analysis of
design parameters and the impact of scaling the RPB absorber on the existing project
outputs and learnings. Additionally, further rotating unit operations could
also be investigated.
This project will utilise and develop your knowledge
surrounding CFD modelling, mass and heat transfer, reaction kinetics and
chemical equilibria. You will work closely with Carbon Clean, a global leader
in the development of carbon capture technology and pioneers in the use of RPB
for industrial decarbonisation. Your findings could directly impact the design
and operation of commercial working carbon capture facilities, supporting the
pathway to net zero.
Funding
The studentship will cover full university fees and a
tax-free, enhanced annual stipend of
£20,352, including £16,062 (2022/2023) a year for four years and a
stipend enhancement of £3,750 per annum.
We are seeking applicants to start in September 2022. Potential applicants should have, or are expecting
to obtain in the near future, a first class or good 2.1 honours degree in
engineering, mathematics, or science. The studentship is open to UK candidates, but exceptional and highly
qualified international applicants are also welcome to apply.
The project will be part of the EPSRC-supported Centre for
Doctoral Training in Resilient Decarbonised Fuel Energy Systems. The student
who undertakes it will be one of a cohort of over 50 students in a broad range
of disciplines across the Universities of Sheffield, Nottingham and Cardiff.
The research work will be based in the Energy Research
Group within the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Translational
Energy Research Centre (TERC) at Sheffield which is a brand new, high profile,
innovation focused national research facility. You will be working within an
exciting and dynamic group with approximately over 60 researchers undertaking a
broad area of energy research with approximately three years' extensive
research time in industry, preparing for high-level careers in the energy
sector.
Please apply to the
University of Sheffield.
Informal
enquiries may be sent to Prof Derek Ingham (d.ingham@sheffield.ac.uk). Please note that applications sent
directly to this email address will not be accepted.
Application deadline: 10.06.2022
Introduction
As a company, Eminox’s global
strategy is to develop exhaust after-treatment systems (EATS) for on-road,
non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), rail, marine and power generation internal
combustion engines (ICE) that will eventually adopt Carbon-Free Alternative Fuels
such as NH3 and H2.
We now wish
to sponsor a PhD student to work on fundamental aspects of underpinning
knowledge that will help us to develop our business for a cleaner, low carbon
future. See: https://eminox.com/
Background
Fuel decarbonisation will impact
significantly the global reduction of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions the main source of greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions. Ammonia (NH3)
is considered a potential carbon-free fuel and a carbon-free energy vector (carrier).
Large scale NH3 production, storage and distribution has been
commercially established on a global scale for over a century. NH3
can be produced sustainably from waste sources, and renewable energy recognised
as green-ammonia (G-NH3). Fuel blending of NH3
with either H2, LPG (liquified petroleum gas) or diesel has the
potential to enhance the combustion properties for NH3. An understanding
of the engine in-cylinder thermo-chemical kinetics governing NH3 NOx
and Thermal-NOx formation for NH3 and NH3/Fuel
Blends (H2, natural gas LPG, diesel) is required. In addition, the
NOx reduction efficiencies for selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
systems needs evaluation, to understand if changes to the catalyst formulation
are required for effectively treating exhaust gas produced from NH3 -ICE
and NH3/Fuel Blend-ICE. Therefore, it is critical for
Eminox to develop a detailed understanding of the system requirements for an
exhaust after-treatment system suitable for NH3-ICE and NH3/Fuel
Blends-ICE.
Proposed project
In brief, the objectives of the studentship are as follows:
Modeling: Develop and utilise thermo-kinetic
models to investigate NOx formation mechanisms occurring during the
combustion of for pure NH3 and NH3 /fuel blends (H2,
LPG, Diesel) at a range of air-fuel equivalence ratios, temperatures and pressures.
Experimental: evaluation of NOx
reduction efficiencies for an SCR (selective catalytic reduction) system by way
of a fixed bed reactor (University of Sheffield). Simulating engine exhaust gas
emissions resultant from combusting pure NH3 and a NH3/fuel
blends (H2, nat. gas LPG, Diesel) for a range of fuel-equivalence
ratios.
Please apply to the
University of Sheffield.
Informal
enquiries may be sent to Prof Bill Nimmo (w.nimmo@sheffield.ac.uk). Please note that applications sent
directly to this email address will not be accepted.