PhD position in CFD simulations of thermal comfort in urban areas

Information about the research
The project will be conducted at the division of fluid dynamics of the department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences. The research at the Division covers turbulent flow (both compressible and incompressible), aero-acoustics and turbomachines. Information about the researchOur tools include both computations and experiments. The research covers a wide range of topics. In some research projects the smallest turbulent scales are studied whereas in others the function of a complete gas turbine is analyzed and modelled.

Our applied research is carried out in close cooperation with industry, both in national projects and in EU projects. Vehicles (cars, trucks, busses and trains), airplanes, gas turbines, water and wind turbines are important applications. The Division of Fluid Dynamics is part of Chalmers Sustainable Transport Initiative, Chalmers eScience Initiative and Chalmers Energy Initiative.

A large part of our teaching activity is carried out within our International Master Program in Applied Mechanics. In this program we offer courses covering a wide range of courses, including turbulence modelling, experimental fluid dynamics, CFD, heat transfer, turbomachinery and gas turbine technology.

Main responsibilities
Your major responsibilities as a 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. Your research will be supervised by well-reputed senior researchers at the involved departments. PhD studies also includes a number of doctoral courses, reviewing literature, designing research studies, interacting with industrial companies, collecting and analysing empirical data, and reporting research results.

The position generally also includes teaching on Chalmers' undergraduate level or performing other duties corresponding to up to 10-15 percent of working hours.

Information about the project
Current urban design fairly addresses noise and wind comfort but do not consider thermal comfort and impact of green areas to reduce local temperatures and improve air quality. This PhD project aims to investigate future urban design to achieve thermal and air quality comfort for the majority of urban residents. The final results will provide new guidelines for sustainable urban design and evaluate the best strategies to enhance urban comfort. We will employ a state of the art digital tool based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with unique features in terms of spatial resolution and computational speed.

The specific objectives of the project are i) Upgrading the existing tool with models for heat and pollution transport including the effects of green areas. ii) Developing a physical understanding of the interplay between wind flow patterns and human comfort in urban areas. iii) Applying the digital tool into an urban design study in Gothenburg, to identify critical locations of enhanced (or lower) urban comfort. iv) Providing specific guidelines and test different strategies (use of vegetation and green roofs, cool roofs, traffic restriction plans).

The research plan will be developed in close collaboration with the division of Building Physics at Chalmers and the Fraunhofer-Chalmers Centre for applied mathematics.

Contract terms
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of 4.5 years.

Qualifications
To qualify for this position, you need a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in Mechanical Eng., Civil Eng., Building physics, Chemical Eng., Physics, Math. Eng., Aeronautics or any corresponding MSc. Basic knowledge of fluid mechanics and programming is required. Experience with CFD simulations of turbulent flows using in-house or commercial softwares will be considered meritorious.

The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in English. Swedish is not a requirement but if you have an interest in learning Swedish, Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

Chalmers continuously strives to be an attractive employer. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.

Our offer to you
Chalmers offers a cultivating and inspiring working environment in the dynamic city of Gothenburg. 
Read more about working at Chalmers and our benefits for employees.

Application procedure
To apply, please go to: https://www.chalmers.se/en/about-chalmers/Working-at-Chalmers/Vacancies/Pages/default.aspx?rmpage=job&rmjob=8848

Application deadline: 31 October, 2020