PhD Research Studentship
Opening of Postgraduate Education Scholarship for RISTEKDIKTI
(BPP-LN) in 2019
The Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education has shared the opportunities for funded PhD studentships starting in autumn 2019 at the University of Nottingham. These programmes are intended for lecturers in Higher Education in Indonesia and further details can be found online (in Indonesian):
285-Pendaftaran BPPLN 2019
Pedoman BPPLN 2019: http://bit.ly/2WdTSFZ
Research Theme
Underground Storage of Hydrogen – Aligned with Sustainable Hydrogen Centre of Doctoral Trainings
Supervisors
Veerle Vandeginste (School of Chemistry); Gavin Walker (Faculty of Engineering); Bagus Muljadi (Faculty of Engineering)
Project Discription
Through actions taken to keep global warming within limits, the world is meeting the challenge to transition the energy portfolio from fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) towards low-carbon, renewable energy. Common renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar energy, depend on weather conditions and diurnal-nocturnal variation. These intermittent energy sources demand solutions for grid energy storage. Underground storage of hydrogen provides a valuable solution. Hydrogen can be stored underground in man-made salt caverns. Salt rock has proven to be a very effective impermeable rock for trapped natural gas on geological time scale (tens to hundreds of million years). However, cyclic injection and extraction of hydrogen in salt caverns is different from long-term gas storage in natural systems which does not involve pressure cycling. To ensure safe field deployment of underground hydrogen storage technology, we need to address environmental concerns of gas storage in salt caverns, especially gas leakage to the surface or into aquifers. The project concentrates on thermodynamics of hydrogen storage in salt caverns, in particular investigating thermal effects linked to cycling of hydrogen injection and extraction, as well as thermal effects linked to composition and heterogeneity of the salt rocks. The project will employ both experimental and numerical approaches for modelling gas flow and transport.
Enquiries can be addressed to Dr Bagus Muljadi on bagus.muljadi@nottingham.ac.uk or +44 (0)7475 834586.
Research Theme
Utilizing multiscale finite elements (MsFEM)
Project Description
Supervisors: Dr Bagus Muljadi, Dr Matteo Icardi (Engineering, and Mathematics)
Background needed: Applied Mathematics, Physics, or Related Engineering disciplines.
Candidates need to be familiar with mathematical and computational modelling.
Many of key 21st century problems hinge on understanding the complex processes of storage in and extraction from natural porous media. Simulating flow in rocks, which are complex porous geometries, is a computationally demanding task. These and many other applications have similar workflows, often involve transferring fine-scale, detailed, information to large simulation scales. This transfer of information faces significant challenges associated with multiscale phenomena and uncertainty. In particular, the accuracy of predictions can depend on factors such as the spatial resolution of the simulations and physical models at particular scales for example pore-scale to Darcy-scale. This challenge exacerbated when the geometries evolve due to dissolution or clogging effects that can occur when observing reactive rock microstructures. The relationship between geochemistry and diverted flow paths is highly nonlinear and adds a layer of computational difficulty.
Utilizing multiscale finite elements (MsFEM) in complex pore geometries has been an area of vivid current research. These methods solve local problems at the sub-grid scale to build in geometric information into the coarse-grid basis. However, these methods suppose a fixed rock microstructure and do not include the effects of dissolution, precipitation, or clogging. The key challenge being that solving fully-resolved microstructural problems in each coarse block is expensive. One method of attack is to suppose pore scale geometries are parameterized and reduced basis or empirical interpolation methods maybe utilized. Linking these parametrizations to physical processes that govern rock surface evolution will be critical in this project. Thus, making a project that is challenging both numerically, but also in terms of physical modelling.
This PhD studentship aims to develop efficient techniques to incorporate these higher order effects into multiscale finite elements at the pore-scale. For this project, persons with experience with numerical methods as well as ability to program in Fortran, Matlab, C++ or other programming languages would be at an advantage. This project will have considerable interaction with the GeoEnergy Research Centre (GERC) and British Geological Survey (BGS). This project will also include possible linkages and training with GERCs industrial partner’s reservoir simulation software Petrel.
Research Theme
Mechanical modelling of the stability of Earth’s peatland carbon reservoirs
Project Description
Applications are invited from suitably qualified graduates with a strong interest in applied mathematics/theoretical mechanics for a fully funded PhD studentship that will be jointly supervised between Engineering, Maths and Biosciences. This studentship is an excellent opportunity to become globally leading in the development of complex multiphase mechanical models of natural systems.
The project involves the development of mechanical models of peatland growth and restoration. Peat is a soft multiphase (solid, liquid, gas) material that stores 1/3 of Earths terrestrial carbon. Current models combine mass balance and hydrology but none consider the mechanical stability of the peat. This is a huge oversight as the extremely weak multiphase peat body should deform with ease and this deformation must influence gas emissions and long term stability. The project will develop novel numerical models of peat growth and the mechanical response of peat to the changes in loading, mass balance and hydrology. The student will have the opportunity to visit peatlands in the UK and Indonesia and to link their work to geospatial observations.This is a truly interdisciplinary project combining supervision from Engineering and Geoscience.
The student will be based in the Faculty of Engineering within the Environmental Fluids and Geoprocesses research group primarily supervised by Dr Bagus Muljadi, Dr Savas Triantafyllou and Dr David Large.
The student must have a high-grade qualification; at least the equivalent of a UK 1st class degree in Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline. The student must be proficient in both written and spoken English, and possess excellent presentation and communication skills.
Enquiries can be addressed to Dr Bagus Muljadi on bagus.muljadi@nottingham.ac.uk or +44 (0)7475 834586.