Project Goals
This PhD project will develop and validate a multiphase/multiregion reactor model that predicts flow, energy, and species transport across coexisting gas/plasma and solid domains, including interphase transport. The work will couple induction/plasma electromagnetic fields to the flow and energy equations and incorporate hydrogen‑radical chemistry for the pyrometallurgical treatment of the black mass. The outcome will be a verified and validated reactor digital twin that predicts flow state, heat and mass transfer, and the recovery performance of valuable elements from the recycling stream across operating windows.
Place of Employment
Chair of Thermal Processing Technology, Montanuniversität Leoben, Franz Josef Strasse 18, 8700 Leoben
Supervisory Team
Harald Raupenstrauch/Zlatko Raonic (MU Leoben; primary), Rene Prieler (TU Graz), Katharina Schroeder (TU Wien)
Secondments
2 months secondment at industrial partner, multiple short visits
Admission Requirements
Master degree in mechanical/chemical/process or computational engineering, materials science, physics
Essential Qualifications
- Experience in CFD for reactive systems, ideally multiphase/multiregion, high‑temperature processes and/or induction/plasma heating and basic electromagnetics or magnetohydrodynamic coupling
- Programming experience in C++
- Experience in OpenFOAM and thermodynamic/kinetic modeling is a plus
Offered Employment
Full time (40h/week) for 48 months
