Research project assistant in chemical engineering - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Description

Pro2BE (Processes and Products for a Circular BioEconomy, www.kau.se/pro2be is one of the research environments at the Department of Engineering and Chemical Sciences at Karlstad University and focuses on sustainable solutions for process technology and product applications for the forest industry and society.

Karlstad University is the host and one of the participants in a research project funded by the Knowledge Foundation and participating companies in the area of barrier coatings of paper and paperboard packaging material. Karlstad University’s part of the project is mainly carried out by the research group for Paper Surface Treatment, which is one of the Pro2BE groups. For more information on the work done by the research group, see https://www.kau.se/en/psc.

In order to improve understanding of the coating process, we are now recruiting a project assistant with expertise in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of relevance to paper coating.

Duties

Duties mainly involve CFD modelling of the paper coating process in the production of barrier and functional coatings. The focus areas are computation modelling of the rheology of viscoelastic fluids, evaporation and consolidation of the barrier, in combination with incorporating the structural data into fluid simulations. Numerical calculations of flows in porous media and numerical descriptions of drying/evaporation will be involved. The flow fields result in forces acting on the interface boundary with porous solid paper, which deforms; the resulting displacements of the solid domain in turn lead to a deformation of the fluid domain. At Karlstad University, we mainly use ANSYS Mechanical and CFD (ANSYS Fluent) software in our research to understand flow and stresses in the paper coating process. Some computation modelling work is also done in MATLAB.

The project assistant is expected to perform numerical calculations of different stages of the coating process, including pumping, application, metering, consolidation, and drying. The work is carried out in close collaboration with other researchers in the project, including those from participating companies and research institutes.

Duties further include managing one of the subprojects on barrier coating of paper and paperboard packing material.

Qualifications

A doctorate or equivalent is required in fluid dynamics, materials science, paper technology, applied mathematics or another area relevant to the project.

Good written and spoken skills in English are also required.

Special weight is given to:

• Good knowledge of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of relevance to paper coating.
• Ability to perform numerical modelling of fluids and stresses of relevance to the paper coating process.
• Experience of CFM modelling using the software available at Karlstad University, i.e. primarily ANSYS Fluent.
• Experience and knowledge of the development of User Defined Functions (UDFs) in ANSYS Fluent, combined with an understanding of the rheological issues involved in the paper coating process, with specific focus on coatings from bio-based materials.

Weight is given to:

• Knowledge of the paper coating process.
• Ability to participate in an innovative research network comprising universities, institutes and companies of various sizes.

Considerable weight is also given to applicants’ personal qualities, such as commitment, and the ability to work both in teams and independently. A positive attitude to colleagues is indispensable.

Terms of employment

This is a full-time position for a fixed term of two years, starting on 15 January 2020 and until 14 January 2022.

Application

Applications are submitted through the university’s web-based recruitment tool and should include well-documented qualifications. Applicants are responsible for documenting qualifications in a way that allows for an objective and qualitative assessment of candidates, and for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement before the deadline, so that all their skills can be assessed.

The application should include:

• Application letter describing the applicant’s qualifications in relation to the contents of the position
• CV
• Copies of relevant certificates of employment and degree certificates
• Contact details of at least two references

Last day of application: 24 July 2019

We look forward to receiving your application.