PhD Candidate in control of CO2 heat pumps for residential heating

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

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 44,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

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

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

We are looking for a PhD candidate on the topic control of CO2 heat pumps for residential heating at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Internal resources from the Department of Energy and Process Engineering provided funding for this position. The ambition is that a relevant candidate works on development of different controllers, traditional, model predictive or intelligent, in the LabVIEW and dynamic simulation platform for the laboratory plant equipped with a CO2 heat pump and a heated room. Within the PhD project, the candidate should actively work at the mentioned plant to develop relevant models for the system design and control.

CO2 heat pumps are environmentally friendly solution for heating. However, CO2 heat pumps are sensitive on the high return temperature from the heating system. Therefore, choice of the component sizes and their respective properties may significantly contribute to achieve the full potential of the system. Finally, proper control combining control of the building heating system and the CO2 heat pump may significantly improve the system performance and contribute to sustainable energy supply for buildings.

The appointment has a duration of three or four years, depending on the candidate skills and personal fitting to the position. In the case of the four-year position, one year is including teaching duties distributed over the four years. These teaching duties are related to development of digital teaching materials for the courses at our department. Digital teaching materials may include making videos, e-test, codes for exercises, etc. It is preferable that the candidate can speak Scandinavian languages to easier cope with the material and further development. The requirement on the teaching due is not crucial. During the evaluation process, the priority will be given to the candidates who fit the best to the scientific criteria explained in the first two paragraphs.

The position is linked to the Department of Energy and Process Engineering and the Sustainable Energy Systems group . The group has a well-established expertise in energy supply systems, building energy services, and renewables. Research activities within the group range from building energy use, building energy supply, indoor environment, energy efficiency, building services, control and automation, energy planning, building performance modelling and simulation, to energy storages, etc. The group is strongly involved in the Norwegian FME Research Centre on Zero Emission Neighborhoods in Smart Cities (ZEN) (http://www.fmezen.no ) as well as in various national and international projects, e.g. IEA Tasks or EBC Annexes. The group is responsible for the HVAC laboratory at the department.

The PhD position will be supervised by Professor Natasa Nord  at NTNU.

• Complete the PhD training consisting of courses (minimum 30 ECTS credits).
• Review of relevant research field.
• Perform performance monitoring in LabVIEW of the system.
• Develop relevant controllers in LabVIEW for the system.
• Develop dynamic simulation model in a relevant simulation platform.
• Optimization of the system design and component properties.
• Control optimization of the system in LabVIEW.
• Develop documentation for the LabVIEW platform and developed controllers.
• The PhD candidate shall publish the research outcomes in at least three internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals.
• Teaching duties of one year, distributed over four years. This will include development of digital teaching materials for the courses at our department.

• You must have a professionally relevant background in HVAC Engineering, Energy Engineering or Control Engineering.
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must have good knowledge about heat pumps and energy in buildings
• Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position to be able to apply for the PhD admission.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program (https://www.ntnu.edu/iv/doctoral-programme ).

The appointment is to be made in accordance with  Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant  

• Suitable background (Master degree or equivalent) within HVAC Engineering, Energy Engineering, Energy and Process Engineering or Control Engineering.
• Very good knowledge of LabVIEW and MATLAB/Simulink or similar tools.
• Very good knowledge of general modelling tools such as MATLAB and Modelica.
• Very good knowledge of building simulation tools such as IDA-ICE and EnergyPlus.
• Very good knowledge about heat pumps and heating systems for buildings.
• Strong programming skills (e.g. MATLAB, Python or similar).
• Knowledge of European standards is a merit.
• Very good written and oral English.
• Knowledge of Scandinavian languages is an advantage.

The applicant should:

• Analytical, respectful, and excellent at thinking «out-of-the-box»
• Motivated, ambitious, and eager to «walk new paths»
• Very good skills in practical meters
• Collaborative, open-minded and able to take initiatives, able to work independently and in team, with high degree of personal responsibility
• Excellent communication skills, both written and orally
• Eager to disseminate knowledge, both nationally and internationally
• Have good communication skills in scientific writing and oral presentations.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 501 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 or 4 years. If the employment is for 4 years, the employment will be with 25 % teaching duties.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Engineering,  Doctoral Programme - PhD - Faculty of Engineering Science - NTNU  within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants , and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English. In the case of a four-year application, documentation of previous education work and teaching skill would be beneficial.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include: 

• A motivation letter describing the motivation for this position
• CV and certificates
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Project proposal on maximum 10 pages
• Name and contact information of three referees
• Publications and other relevant academic works if relevant with a brief description of his/her contribution to the attached publications
• Documentation of the education work and teaching experience with a special focus on digital method in education.
• Other enclosures such as recommendation letters

Only candidates with the complete application documentation will be considered for evaluation.

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here . If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality.

-----------------

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation . You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Natasa Nord, email [email protected] . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Ingrid Wiggen e-mail: [email protected] .

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.  

Application deadline: 01.12.22

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Energy and Process Engineering

We conduct research and teaching covering the entire energy chain, from resources to the end-user. We look at how energy is produced and used by humans and machines in a sustainable way with regard to health, climate change and the resource base. The Department of Energy and Process Engineering  is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Engineering.