Physics-based modelling of the membrane electrode assembly

8 May 2023
Job Information

Organisation/Company

AC2T research GmbH

Department

SIM-group

Research Field

Physics » Computational physics
Physics » Solid state physics

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Austria

Application Deadline

9 Jun 2023 - 21:00 (Europe/Vienna)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

40

Offer Starting Date

1 Sep 2023

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

HE / MSCA

Marie Curie Grant Agreement Number

101072578

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The Doctoral Candidate (DC11) will be hired for two consecutive 18-month periods as part of the “Bridging Models at Different Scales To Design New Generation Fuel Cells for Electrified Mobility (BLESSED)” project which is funded through the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Networks. The DC11 individual project will be realized at: (a) the Numerical Simulation & Modelling Pool of AC2T research GmbH (AC2T) in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, under the supervision of Prof. A. Vernes and (b) at the Laboratoire de Réactivité et Chimie des Solides (joint research unit between CNRS & Université de Picardie Jules Verne) in Amiens, France, under the supervision of Prof. A. A. Franco. DC11 will be enrolled in the PhD program of the Université de Picardie Jules Verne (France). A one-month secondment at the R&D Advanced Technologies (AT) Division of Toyota Motor Europe (TME) in Zaventem, Belgium is foreseen.

The main objective of DC11 is to develop a physics-based model of the membrane electrode assembly as resulting from the manufacturing process of the proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), i.e., to properly simulate numerically the impact of the assembling conditions on the mesostructural and operational properties of the functional layers, namely electrode, microporous layer (MPL), and gas diffusion layer (GDL).

Toward to achieve this goal, DC11 (i) will combine using various stochastic techniques the electrode 3D mesostructures predicted in silico by DC10 with the 3D mesostructures of MPL and GDL known as X-ray CT-images, (ii) will inject these in silico sandwiches into a Discrete Element Method (DEM) model for predicting the impact of pressure and temperature on the mesostructure of the functional layers as well as their interfaces, (iii) will characterise various functional 3D mesostructures in terms of textural descriptors used for their validation, such as their porosity, tortuosity factors and electric conductivities, (iv) will evaluate the interfacial electric resistances based on a resistor network and electro-mechanical contact models, (v) will insert these models into the continuum models developed by DC1&3 for simulating the operation principles of PEMFC, and (v) will study the impact of the seed used for mesostructure generation on the resulting assembly mesostructures to account for uncertainties in predictions.

Requirements

Research Field

Physics » Computational physics

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Physics » Solid state physics

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Candidates should have a strong background in computational physics / physical chemistry or theoretical condensed matter / solid-state physics. They should have a good experience with LAMMPS and/or LIGGGHTS software (mandatory) plus high-performance computing centers (HPC) and excellent developing/programming skills in Python (mandatory). Some background and experience in Machine Learning are also welcome.

Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English (working language) is required.

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Additional Information
Benefits

The selected candidate will receive a salary in accordance with the MSCA regulations for DCs. The gross salary includes a living allowance (€3400 per month subject to MSCA Country Correction Coefficient, namely 106.3% for Austria and 116.4% for France), a mobility allowance (€600 per month) and a family allowance (€660 per month), if the researcher has family (‘Family’ means persons linked to the researcher by (i) marriage or (ii) a relationship with equivalent status to a marriage recognized by the legislation of the country where this relationship was formalized or (iii) dependent children who are actually being maintained by the researcher). The guaranteed (EC) funding is for 36 months.

Eligibility criteria

Applicants can be of any nationality and must hold a Master of Science degree (or equivalent) in Physics, relevant to the aforementioned topics. They need to fully respect the following eligibility criteria:

(a) Must be doctoral candidates, i.e., not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment.

(b) Must undertake transnational mobility. Researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Austria for more than 12 months within the 36 months immediately before their date of recruitment. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account.

Selection process

Applications should be received by 9 June 2023, at 21:00 CET , at the latest.

The candidates should send a CV, cover letter, BSc and MSc degrees (certified copies plus translation in English) and two letters of recommendation. Copies of publications could be sent later on, upon request. Personal interviews might be asked.

All applications must be obligatory mailed to all of the following addresses [email protected] , [email protected]   and [email protected] with subject: “BLESSED-DC11-Application”.

The outcome of the evaluation process will be announced by mid of June 2023. The contract is expected to start on 1st of September 2023.

Additional comments

During the first 18 months DC11 will be working in the SIM-group at AC2T. This group consists of about 15 experienced researchers focused on various aspects of numerical simulation and modeling in tribology. AC2T research GmbH was founded in 2002 as the Austrian Excellence Center for Tribology within the COMET funding program of the Austrian Government. Nowadays, is one of the worldwide largest private research service providers in tribology employing more than 100 scientists with an academic qualification in either physics, chemistry, computer science, electrical and mechanical engineering, or material science. Besides of the in-house high-performance computing cluster at AC2T with a total computing power of 25 TFlops, and a direct access to Vienna Scientific Cluster (VSC) – the most performant supercomputer in Austria and in the top 100 worldwide – will be also guaranteed. Prof. Dr. András Vernes is a highly experienced researcher and founder of Multiscale Computational Tribology in Austria of which focus is the realistic numerical modelling and simulation of tribological phenomena from atomic scale on up to macroscale by coupling various ab-initio, molecular dynamics, and continuum mechanics methods.

The second 18-month period DC11 activities will be carried out at the Laboratoire de Réactivité et Chimie des Solides (LRCS) located in Amiens, France, is a Joint Research Unit between CNRS and Université de Picardie Jules Verne. More than 130 people, from more than 25 nationalities, work mainly in the field of electrochemical energy storage technologies (batteries). Professor Alejandro A. Franco’s group at LRCS has more than 20 years expertise in multiscale modeling and artificial intelligence applied to electrochemical energy devices with a strong ongoing activity on the digitalization of battery manufacturing processes.

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

AC2T research GmbH

Country

Austria

City

Wiener Neustadt

Postal Code

2700

Street

Viktor Kaplan-Strasse 2

Geofield

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Laboratoire de Réactivité et Chimie des Solides

Country

France

City

Amiens

Postal Code

80000

Street

15 Rue Baudelocque

Geofield

Where to apply

E-mail

[email protected]

Contact

City

Wiener Neustadt

Website

https://www.ac2t.at/en/
https://www.lrcs.u-picardie.fr/

Street

Viktor Kaplan-Strasse 2

Postal Code

2700

E-Mail

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED