PhD position in Marie-Curie Project YIELDGAP - Modeling gravitational collapse and phase separation...

General description

The YIELDGAP project is an Innovative Training Network (ITN – Marie Slodowska Curie action) involving 9 academic and 4 industrial partners from 7 European countries, dedicated to a better understanding of yield-stress fluids, from fundamental systems to industrial fluids, using experimental and modelling approaches. This ITN will develop a European multi-disciplinary, intersectoral educational research framework, to comprehensively train 12 early stage researchers to PhD level, among which the PhD offer described below.

For more information: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/955605

Project descritpion

ESR12: Modeling gravitational collapse and phase separation of yield-stress fluids

The ESR12 will study phase separation and gravitational collapse over aging of yield-stress fluids, in order to investigate the interplay between physical stability rheology and microstructure. Many formulated products are colloidal gels that own their physical stability to the presence of a yield stress. A yield stress is often achieved by mixing colloidal particles and soluble polymers to achieve a so-called depletion gel that has an yield stress thanks to the excluded volume forces generated by interaction between colloidal particles and soluble polymers. These gels have a very low yield stress and can phase separate under gravity. In this simulation project, we will study phase separation and gravitational collapse of a depletion gel modeled through a continuous poroelastic constitutive equation. This continuous model will be coupled with a coarse-grained model to estimate the rheology and the gel porosity. The need of a multiscale model arises from the fact that rheology and microstructure evolve over time and we need to couple microscopic and macroscopic dynamics to close momentum balance equation.

The successful candidate will work on the following activities:

• Develop a numerical solver to simulate phase separation of yield-stress fluids
• Test the numerical method with data taken from the literature
• Apply the numerical method to industrial user cases
• Compare the model prediction with experimental data

Some mobility periods to Procter & Gamble (Belgium) and KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden) are planned.

Starting date is planned during the second semester of 2021.

Project duration: 36 months.

Candidate profile:

• Background in chemical/mechanical engineering, materials science or physics
• Experience in numerical simulations (master thesis, specific courses, projects, etc.), fluid dynamics and rheology is a plus
• Spoken and written competences in English
• Aptitude for team-working, ability to work independently

How to apply

Please submit your application no later than 19th September 2021 to:

[email protected]

as a single PDF file containing a CV, motivation letter, transcripts from your Bachelor and Master studies with grades, including range (highlighting the most important courses for this position) and an English language certificate. Translation into English or Italian if the original document is not issued in one of these languages must be included. Please write YIELDGAP_ESR12 in the email subject.

Eligibility

As this is an ITN EU initiative with a mobility requirement, eligible candidates must not have lived, studied or worked in Italy for more than 12 months in the last 3 years before their recruitment.

Furthermore, the applicants shall, at the time of recruitment, be in the first four years of his/her research career and have not been awarded a doctoral degree (this time is measured from the date of award/diploma of the most recent taught degree, time dedicated to teaching is not considered).

The applicants can be of any nationality.