PhD in Numerical Simulations of Active Flow Control for Trucks

The Department of Applied Mechanics is one of the leading environments within Vehicle and Mechanical Engineering research. The six different research divisions conduct world-leading research, usually in close collaboration with national and international industries. Research topics encompass both fundamental and applied research questions. Our goal is to contribute to the development of safe and environmentally friendly products for a sustainable society.

The Department of Applied Mechanics offers a wide range of courses in the undergraduate programmes, in addition to two international Masters programmes in Automotive Engineering and Applied Mechanics. Courses are available within the four graduate schools: Machine and Vehicle Systems, Solid and Structural Mechanics, Thermo and Fluid Dynamic and Internal Combustion Engine Technology. In addition Applied Mechanics provides international continuation courses.

The department has approximately 170 employees.The details of the departmental research activities may be found at http://www.chalmers.se/am

Information about the research/the project
The project aims to study active flow control (AFC) for drag reduction of trucks. We will focus on the sources of the aerodynamic drag that can be found on the truck itself rather than on the trailer.  The AFC in this project will be applied on the A-pillars of the truck. Both the experimental and the numerical methods will be used in the project. The work performed at Chalmers will be primarily numerical but it will be coordinated with partners doing experimental work. The project is a collaboration project between Volvo and Chalmers.The PhD student will primarily work with unsteady numerical simulations such as large eddy simulations (LES) and hybrid RANS-LES simulations such as detached eddy simulations (DES) and Partially-Averaged Navier-Stokes (PANS) simulations. The project will start with investigation of generic A-pillars and will gradually advance to more realistic geometries. Simulations will be run using both commercial and open source CFD software on large parallel computers. The project will require from the PhD student a strong numerical background and good capability to study flow physics.

Major responsibilities
Present project focuses on numerical simulations of turbulent flows around A-pillars of trucks. Good knowledge in CFD, unsteady simulations and turbulence modeling is beneficial. Your major responsibilities as PhD student are to pursue your own doctoral studies. You are expected to develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing, both in Swedish and in English. The position generally also includes teaching on Chalmers' undergraduate level or performing other duties corresponding to 20 per cent of working hours. 

Position summary
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.

Qualifications
To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in a relevant field. The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in Swedish and English. If Swedish is not your native language, you should be able to teach in Swedish after two years. Chalmers offers Swedish courses. 

Application deadline: 2013-12-25


For questions, please contact:
Professor Sinisa Krajnovic
E-mail: sinisa@chalmers.se
Phone: +46 (0)31 772 5272




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