PhD scholarship in Biomass Corrosion Management in Denmark | Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

The Materials and Surface Engineering section in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark is seeking a candidate for a PhD in the field of “Biomass Corrosion Management”.

Biomass firing plays an important role in the Danish energy strategy to replace fossil fuels in heat and power production. The PhD position is part of a ForskEL funded project with collaboration between DTU and the major Danish plant owner DONG Energy. The PhD includes both fundamental and applied research as well as collaboration with DONG Energy. The PhD position is for a 3 year period expected to start from 1st August 2015.

The PhD position will focus on the improvement of the fundamental understanding of the influence of materials composition and microstructure on high temperature corrosion. The materials assessed will be the currently used TP347H, other candidate lean austenitic steels as well as model alloys and more highly alloyed steels. The materials will be tested in both as delivered and in aged conditions in order to understand changes in corrosion behaviour as a result of precipitation reactions. Modelling tools will be used intensively to support and interpret experimental results as well as to develop models for materials selection and lifetime prediction.

Responsibilities and tasks

The planned research activities in the PhD will involve both practical and theoretical modelling and simulation work.

Practical work:

• Exposure of test-samples under controlled laboratory conditions.
• In-depth characterization of test-samples from both laboratory tests and field tests using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy

Theoretical modelling and simulation work:

• Use of thermodynamic and kinetic modelling software, i.e. Thermo-Calc, DICTRA and MatCalc for understanding microstructure development and coupling this to corrosion behaviour.
• Set-up semi-empirical life-time models based on both modelling and experimental results from investigated steels

Qualifications:

Candidates should have a master's degree in engineering or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to the master's degree in engineering.