Length: 3 year studentship
Funded by: Coventry University – Faculty of Engineering and Computing
Maintenance grant: £13,590 maintenance per annum (tax free)
Supervised by: Dr Svetlana Aleksandrova, Prof Stephen Benjamin, Dr Carol Roberts
The proposed enrolment date is 21st January 2013
The deadline for application is 30th November 2012.
Details of proposed research
This is a PhD proposal to investigate experimentally and numerically swirling flows in automotive catalytic converters. The project is directly relevant to the reduction of carbon emissions as it deals with the design of aftertreatment systems for small, turbocharged car engines. The project will be carried out in close collaboration with Jaguar Landrover.
Catalytic converters are used for removal of toxic emissions from car exhaust. Uniformity of the flow inside the catalyst is important for maintaining high species conversion efficiency, and also affects catalyst durability. Recent trend to use turbochargers on engines results in swirling flow entering the catalyst. The effect of swirl on the flow distribution inside the catalyst is not well understood. The purpose of this project is thus to investigate the effect the swirl has on the flow uniformity inside the converter. It will involve measuring flow profiles with HWA (Hot-Wire Anemometry), PIV (particle-image velocimetry) and also modelling the flow using commercial software such as StarCCM+.
Successful applicants should hold a Master’s or Engineering degree with a solid background in fluid mechanics. Experience in CFD modelling and/or experimental flow work is desirable. Please send your CVs to Dr Svetlana Aleksandrova (s.aleksandrova(at)coventry.ac.uk).
Please note that only EU applicants are eligible.