Supervisors : 

Subject description :

Crystallization is one of the major operations in industrial processes to produce, purify, or separate solid compounds or products. Regardless of the process, fine control of matter transfer and/or heat processes, i.e., supersaturation, is crucial to achieve the desired physical quality objectives of the product.

The MEMCRYST project (ANR funding), started in 2022, aims to study a revolutionary concept of continuous crystallization through membranes. It is an innovative technology made possible by the enhanced performance of membranes, which could give the French industry a competitive edge. The project consortium is coordinated by Élodie Chabanon of the LAGEPP in Villeurbanne (Laboratory of Automatic Process and Pharmaceutical Engineering) and relies on two public research units and an industrial partner. LAGEPP develops the aspects of membrane process crystallization. M2P2 (Mechanics, Modeling, and Clean Processes - Aix Marseille University) develops the hydrodynamic aspects, numerical simulation, intensification of membrane processes. To anticipate and test scale-up, a French pharmaceutical manufacturer is also a partner in the project.

Position description :

As part of this ANR-funded project, the postdoctoral fellow will be based at M2P2 in Aix- en-Provence under the direction of Dr. Mathias Monnot (lecturer-researcher at M2P2). He/She will also be surrounded by other project members, academic and industrial experts in the fields of crystallization and membrane processes. The objective is to continue the development of the simulation code on StarCCM+ for the flow and performance of the pervaporation process (material and heat transfer) that uses a dense membrane. Experiments carried out by LAGEPP will feed and consolidate the code for CFD-population balance coupling. Calculating concentration profiles to predict crystal localization in the membrane module will be crucial. Access to the AMU mesocenter will be available to shorten computation times. The numerical simulation of the pervaporation process will be done in four steps: (i) prediction of hydrodynamics in membranes, (ii) consideration of solvent separation, (iii) study of hydrodynamic changes with crystal (solid) generation, and (iv) predictions of process performances. The first three steps are to be finalized according to experimental data obtained.

Liberty is an ANR industrial chair and a collaborative effort in the field of computational fluid dynamics applied to the development of new H2 technologies. It aims at developing efficient Lattice-Boltzmann Methods (LBM) for the high-fidelity simulation of multi-species and multi-physics flows in realistic industrial applications such as aerodynamics, aeroacoustics, aerothermal and reacting flows.

The consortium consists of four partners: the M2P2 lab (AMU/CNRS/Centrale Marseille), two aeronautical manufacturers (Airbus and Safran), and a burner manufacturer (Fives-Pillard). The chair holder is Dr. Pierre Boivin (CNRS researcher, CR-HDR), a H2 combustion and safety specialist from M2P2.

Over the last few years, Lattice-Boltzmann Methods have become very popular for full-scale industrial simulations of isothermal, low Mach, non-reactive flows, as their outstanding computational efficiency and accuracy on complex geometries is no longer in question. Their recent extension to compressible, thermal and multi-species flows opens up a wide new range of applications that needs to be explored and matured. These extensions are crucial in the H2 transition context for both energy and transport applications, in line with France 2030 objectives.

The research program articulates around four work packages (WP), each focused on a major scientific difficulty in relation with the development of new H2 technologies:

• WP1 deals with physical and numerical modeling of solid walls and turbulent boundary layers in aerothermal flows, focusing on the resolution of energy and mass conservativity issues typical of cut-cell approaches.

• WP2 aims at modelling arbitrary moving and deformable bodies and lay the groundwork for simulating H2 tank rupture or large propeller deflection.

• WP3 addresses combustion and safety concerns for future H2 low NOx combustion chambers, with an emphasis on mixing, flashback and instability studies

• WP4 explores the possibility of using LBM for high-Reynolds multi-phase flows at high density ratios (both beneath and above critical conditions), such as those encountered in cryogenic and high-pressure H2 storage.

- WP1: 1 PhD position, 1 post-doc position

- WP2: 1 PhD position, 1 post-doc position

- WP3: 1 PhD position, 1 post-doc position

- WP4: 1 PhD position or post-doc position, according to profile

PhD positions are fixed term contract for 3 years. Supervision will be assured by the chair holder Dr. P. Boivin, Dr. E. Serre (WP1), Prof. J. Favier, (WP2), and the team research engineers J. Jacob & Dr. S. Zhao.

Post-doc positions are fixed term contract for 1y, possible extension up to 4 years.

Starting date: negotiable from today

What we expect from you

- Holder of a MSc or Engineering degree,

- English: working proficiency. French is a plus.

- Rigor and excellence.

- Team work.

- Solid background in fluid mechanics.

- Advanced scientific coding (C++, git,…)

- Holder of a PhD in Fluid mechanics or related field,

- Strong track record,

- Ability to participate in PhD supervision

Email to Pierre Boivin and the supervising team (firstname.lastname@univ-amu.fr):

- Detailed CV and cover letter,

- Transcripts (PhD students), PhD defence report (if applicable), a selection of 1-2 relevant research articles.

- References

- Preferred topic.