PhD Candidate in High temperature heat pumps for industrial processes: application and integration

21 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Department

Department of Energy and Process Engineering

Research Field

Engineering » Mechanical engineering

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Norway

Application Deadline

18 Mar 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Oslo)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

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

No

Offer Description
This is NTNU

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 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.

About the job

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

The sustainable development of humanity becomes an important issue on global level well described by the United Nations in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The content of these goals is very broad and interacts with every branch of industry and social events. The mission of Academic sector and R&D is to contribute and generate new ideas and solutions, which describes solutions for the relevant SDGs. With strong focus on energy efficiency in processes in the industry, it would reduce the world's projected energy needs in 2060 by one third, which is two times higher if compared with utilization of renewables only. The urgent need of decarbonization of the industrial sector results in the subsequent demand for energy efficient, cost-effective and sustainable  systems.

The technology of high temperature heat pumps (HTHP) provides efficient utilization of waste heat to high pressure steam, hot water or air, which are widely used in the industrial processes. The industrial sector, which utilizes cooling and heating, has highest potential for heat pump solutions that are currently ready for market, when the energy savings for heating and cooling can reach up to 75 %. However, the practical integration of the existed high temperature heat pumps solutions generates significant difficulties related to optimization and balance of technological processes and HTHP performance. The continuous supply of useful heat to the industrial systems is challenged by low availability of waste heat, temperature variations, heat carrier supply and other factors.

Another one limiting factor for HTHP is the working fluid. The high variety of the available working fluids is limited by the high GWP of the most of them like HFCs or high potential risk like HFOs. Due to this, the sustainable HTHP technology aims on the use of natural refrigerants: HCs, water, ammonia, CO2 and air. The requirement of high working temperatures (over 120 ⁰C) generates the necessity of new oil-free compressor technologies like turbo-compressors, screw compressors with injections and other. Thus, the investigation on new equipment together with control and integration strategy of the new environmentally friendly units is a key element of successful optimization of HTHP and decarbolization of industry.

The department of Energy and Process Engineering, Research Group of Sustainable Energy Systems  is looking for a candidate to be hired for three-year PhD position on the topic:

“High temperature heat pumps for industrial processes: application and integration.”

The overall goal for the PhD candidate is to create a deeper understanding of applications and integration challenges of high temperature heat pumps. The work will include simulation of the HTHP process using modelling tools, and will be performed at industrial sites and in laboratories with state-of-the-art infrastructure and in close interaction with other scientists and stakeholders from industry.

Your immediate leader is Head of Department.

Duties of the position

The PhD candidate will work on the following tasks:

• Manage your PhD research project
• Plan and perform experimental design and execution
• Simulation of high temperature heat pump integration in industry: heat and mass transfer problems, energy storage, heat sources etc.
• Design and optimize heat pump and compressor units
• Write scientific papers and a PhD thesis

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in heat pumps and refrigeration, Master’s in mechanical engineering or equivalent.

• 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 meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program (https://www.ntnu.edu/iv/doctoral-programme )

• Experience with writing scientific papers

• Documented excellent oral and written English skills

  The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate  and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU ).

 

Preferred selection criteria

• Experience with heat pumps and refrigeration systems

• Experience with programming like: MatLab, ESS (Engineering equation solver) or Modelica

• Knowledge of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

• Competence with computer-based analytical tools

• Knowledge of a Scandinavian language

Personal characteristics

The applicant should have high motivation for doing a PhD, and to be creative and ambitious, with a strong ability to work problem-solution orientated, both in teams and independently. The applicant should be genuinely interested in scientific research and its industrial applications as well as scientific dissemination.

In the evaluation of which applicant is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience, and personal suitability, in terms of the qualification requirements specified in this position announcement.

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment

• an open and inclusive work environment  with dedicated colleagues

• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

• employee benefits

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 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 3-4 years (depending on the qualifications of the candidate).

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Engineering (https://www.ntnu.edu/iv/doctoral-programme ) within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

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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.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

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:

• 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
• Name and contact information of three referees
• If you have publications or other relevant research work
• Candidates are required to submit a one-page sketch on how they plan to use their scientific background and research ambitions to address the research challenges of this position. 

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.

 

General information

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.

EPT has established EPT Women in Science. The group is focused on supporting female PhD Candidates, Postdoctoral Fellows, Research Assistants and permanent academic employees within the Department. This support aims to help develop the careers of female PhD Candidates, Postdocs and Research Assistants, and is also made visible to our student body to encourage them to consider an academic path. As part of the EPT Women in Science initiative we are building an international network, inviting prominent female academics within and beyond the field of Engineering to speak at our events. NTNU aims to increase the proportion of women in its scientific posts. Women are encouraged to apply.

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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.

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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 Ignat Tolstorebrov, email: [email protected] . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Cathrine Kyung Ja Kravik, 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: 18.03.2024

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.

Questions about the position

Ignat Tolstorebrov
Associate Professor
[email protected]

Cathrine Kyung Ja Kravik
HR Consultant
[email protected]

Requirements

Research Field

Engineering » Mechanical engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Country

Norway

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/258042/phd-candidate-in-high-tem…

Contact

City

Trondheim

Website

http://www.ntnu.no

Street

Hogskoleringen 1

Postal Code

N-7491

STATUS: EXPIRED