54291: Engineer, Physicist, Mathematician or similar (f/m/x) - Simulation of two-phase flow in batteries

Area of research:

Other,PHD Thesis

Part-Time Suitability:

The position is suitable for part-time employment.

Job description:

The Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) does research in the field of efficient energy storage systems and next generation energy conversion technologies. The department of Computational Electrochemistry at the Helmholtz-Institute Ulm for Electrochemical Energy Storage (HIU) develops new models and simulation tools for the investigation of battery materials and cells. As part of the excellent battery research in Ulm our work is situated between basic and applied research. In an interdisciplinary team, we investigate the physical-chemical processes in batteries from the nanoscale to the macroscale.

For the development and improvement of battery technology, it is highly important to optimize performance characteristics, as well as production processes. As part of the international research project DEFACTO funded by the European Commission, you will work in an interdisciplinary team to develop an improved understanding of the filling process of batteries with liquid electrolyte and optimize it in terms of sustainability and efficiency. In particular, the coexistence of the liquid electrolyte with a gas phase has to be described and simulated as a two-phase flow in the porous electrode structures. This requires the development of new models and innovative numerical solution strategies on the basis of Lattice-Boltzmann and pore network models.

As a member of an internationally leading research team in the field of microstructure-resolved simulation of batteries, you will make an important contribution to the understanding and optimization of this key technology. We offer you an attractive research environment to conduct your PhD, room for your own ideas and international visibility. In return, we expect you to have an excellent degree - preferably in one of the above-mentioned disciplines - as well as an interest in using innovative methods of scientific computing. Furthermore, you should enjoy working creatively and independently in an international team.

This research center is part of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. With more than 42,000 employees and an annual budget of over € 5 billion, the Helmholtz Association is Germany's largest scientific organisation.