The posting
- About P&E - Safety Curious about how dense particle flows defy the usual rules of laminar and turbulent motion? Join our ERC project and use MRI to uncover these flows. Job description Inertial Dense Suspensions (IDeS) are common in nature and industry, with examples ranging from blood flow and recycling to waste slurry transport, additive manufacturing, and energy storage solutions. Despite their practical importance, these flows remain poorly understood. As a result, even the most basic properties cannot be predicted reliably. For instance, the best available models over- or underestimate the measured pressure drop in a suspension pipe flow by 30-40% across different flow rates. This makes designing and controlling these flows difficult. The difficulty arises partly because these flows do not fit the conventional 'laminar' versus 'turbulent' classification; they inhabit a terra incognita. Most theoretical studies so far have focused on confined suspensions in the viscous regime, but this idealized approach is insufficient for practical applications. Finite particle size and velocity introduce complex inertial phenomena, such as particle-induced fluctuations, a gradual transition to turbulence, and shear-induced migration. These effects are at best only qualitatively understood, yet they profoundly alter the flow behavior. Understanding and accurately modelling these flows will enable more energy-efficient transport of industrial slurries, improve our understanding of blood flow, and support the development of sustainable manufacturing processes. This PhD position is part of the ERC Advanced Grant project IDeS and you will join a team investigating densely-laden pipe flows. In the project, you will use Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Velocimetry to provide insight into the velocity and concentration profiles. This technique provides a major advantage, as it can measure in opaque suspensions. Your data will supplement the data o...



