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Background
Compressors consume energy, but their use in mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) & heat pumps will continue to play an important role that contributes towards Carbon Neutrality in society. Nowadays there is great appetite for screw compressors used to compress steam and other fluids which do not allow injection of oil in the working chamber. Such machines could be used not only in processing such fluids but also in refrigeration and other industries.
This PhD studentship is sponsored by the leading compressor manufacturer Mayekawa in Japan and hosted in the Centre for Compressor Technology in the Department of Engineering, School of Science & Technology. The project will be collaboration with Prof Robert Wood, FREng from the national Centre for Advanced Tribology at Southampton University (nCATS).
The PhD project, entitled “Materials and rotor profiles for water injected rotary compressors”, is focused on research in materials & rotor designs for water injected screw compressors to be used in variety of applications including mechanical vapour recompression, steam compression and heat pumps. Various aspects including CRAs for corrosion resistance (pitting) and tribological function, than coatings, surface texturing, tribological/corrosion material performance, rotor profile designs and so on will be considered initially so the student will have every opportunity to select a focused project plan that suits them.
The PhD student would work in tandem with a PhD student at Southampton University and there will be opportunities for working at nCATS and to host the PhD student from Southampton within the Centre for Compressor Technology. There will be regular meetings with Dr Kazuhiro Hattori and Dr David Buckney from Mayekawa as well opportunities to attend leading international conferences on compressors (USA, UK, Germany), wear of materials (USA) & lubrication/tribology (Japan/USA).
Responsibilities
The PhD student will work closely with the world leading experts in modelling of rotating machinery under the Research Chair in Compressor Technology. The objective is to develop accurate, reliable & robust methods for water injected rotating positive displacement machines and validate these methods with the experimental results obtained in the state-of-the-art laboratory within the Centre for Compressor Technology and nCATS.
Person Specification
It is expected that the candidate has a good mathematical background, excellent knowledge of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, understanding of tribology and good skills in using programming languages link C#, Fortran or Python. The candidate will be working closely with other participants in the project from City, Mayekawa and University of Southampton and is expected to have a positive attitude to team work, ability to work proactively & independently and has motivation to learn and contribute to this project.
Additional Information
For further information about the post please contact [email protected]
Applications, consisting of a CV and a Personal Statement, should be sent by email to [email protected]
The role is available from 1st February 2023
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