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Postdoctoral Fellow in Experimental Measurement of Combustion Instabilities

About the position

A post-doctoral researcher position is available at the Department of Energy and Process Engineering, in the Fluids Mechanics group.

The appointment has a duration of 3 years and is financed through a European Research Council starting grant (TAIAC), which is aimed at radically improving our understanding of combustion instabilities in annular combustion systems.

The Head of the Department is Professor Terese Løvås. The position’s supervision is by Associate Professor Nicholas Worth.

Job description

It is well known that low emission combustion concepts for aeroengines and gas turbines for power generation are prone to combustion instabilities. These instabilities cause large amplitude pressure oscillations that can drastically reduce the operable range or compromise the structural integrity of gas turbines. Within the last few years laboratory­scale annular combustors capable of reproducing thermoacoustic oscillations found in full scale engines have been developed, giving us unprecedented access to information about their nature. The current research project is aimed at improving our fundamental understanding of the combustion dynamics which occur during self-excited instabilities in laboratory scale annular combustors.

The current research project is aimed at improving our fundamental understanding of self-excited combustion instabilities in both an atmospheric and pressurised laboratory scale annular combustor. In particular, the pressurised annular combustion facility has been developed during the TAIAC project and provides a unique opportunity to study such instabilities in a configuration with realistic acoustic boundary conditions. The position will involve designing and running combustion experiments, and conducting experimental measurements using state-of-the-art techniques, such as high-speed OH* imaging and OH-PLIF. These measurements will be aimed at developing our understanding of the flame structure and dynamic response during thermoacoustic instability, with the ultimate aim of helping to reduce gas turbine emissions.

Qualification requirements

A postdoctoral research fellowships is a qualification position in which the main objective is qualification for work in academic positions. The successful applicant should be enthusiastic and highly motivated as well as being able to work effectively by themselves and in a team.

Specific qualifications are listed below:

Required qualifications:

  • A PhD in engineering, applied mathematics, physics or equivalent.
  • Strong background in fundamental or applied fluid mechanics.
  • Previous peer-reviewed publications in well regarded fluid mechanics or combustion focused journals.
  • Programming skills in MATLAB, C, Python, or similar packages.
  • Experience with state-of-the-art experimental fluid mechanics measurements (e.g., high-speed imaging, dynamic pressure measurements, hot-wire, particle image velocimetry, laser-Doppler anemometry).
  • Good written and oral English language skills.

Desired qualifications:

  • Experience with Computer Aided Design (CAD).
  • Experience conducting reacting flow experiments at atmospheric of elevated pressures.
  • Experience with LaVision hardware and DaVis software.
  • Experience mentoring other PhD or Masters students.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and national guidelines for appointment as PhD, postdoctor and research assistant

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

We offer

Salary and conditions

Postdoctoral candidates are remunerated in code 1352, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 515 200 before tax per year. From the salary, 2 % is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

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 criterias 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.

General information

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. Under the Freedom of Information Act (offentleglova), information about the applicant may be made public even if the applicant has requested not to have their name entered on the list of applicants.

Questions about the position can be directed to Associate Professor Nicholas Worth (nicholas.a.worth@ntnu.no) or Professor James Dawson (james.r.dawson@ntnu.no). 

About the application:

Publications and other academic works that the applicant would like to be considered in the evaluation must accompany the application. Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify the individual applicant's contribution to joint works, the applicant must include a brief description of his or her contribution.

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applicants invited for interview must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters.

Please refer to the application number IV-217/19 when applying.

In addition to the required fields on the Jobbnorge website, please include a “research statement” with your application. The research statement should briefly describe your PhD or previous research project. The research statement should not exceed 2 pages, although 1 page is preferred. Furthermore, please include a “qualifications” document explicitly detailing how you meet each of the required and some (or all) of the desired qualifications listed above. An application missing these two documents may be considered incomplete by the selection committee.

Application deadline: 05.09.2019

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.

Deadline 5th September 2019
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Fixed Term
Place of service NTNU Department of Energy and Process Engineering

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