Phd Offer : Modelling And Numerical Simulation Of Extrusion Blow Moulding Of Composite Tank Liners For Pressurised Hydrogen Storage
Universities and Institutes of France
16 Jul 2023
Job InformationOrganisation/Company
Ecole Centrale Nantes
Department
Civil Engineering and Mechanics
Research Field
Engineering » Simulation engineering
Engineering » Mechanical engineering
Researcher Profile
First Stage Researcher (R1)
Country
France
Application Deadline
1 Oct 2023 - 12:00 (UTC)
Type of Contract
Temporary
Job Status
Full-time
Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?
Not funded by an EU programme
Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?
No
Offer DescriptionContext
Hydrogen, used either in an internal combustion engine or in conjunction with a fuel cell, is seen as a promising alternative to vehicle electrification in the fight against greenhouse gas emissions. However, there are a number of scientific, technological and economic hurdles to overcome before this solution can be implemented in the transport sector, and these are hampering mass deployment, particularly in the automotive sector. Among the challenges to be overcome is the storage of hydrogen on board vehicles, which requires it to be highly compressed (currently 700 bar for private vehicles) to obtain the same amount of energy as a conventional liquid fuel. To meet these challenges, very high pressure storage tanks need to be developed and manufactured at low cost while minimising mass and space in the vehicle. The lightest designs (Type IV) use composite materials for mechanical strength and a thermoplastic liner (usually polyamide) to seal the tank. By way of comparison, a Type IV composite solution is 70% lighter than its steel counterpart.
Today, liners are produced by rotational moulding, which suffers from long cycle times and is difficult to develop to a sufficiently high quality. An alternative is to use extrusion blow moulding to produce these large liners, thanks to the recent introduction of new polyamide grades. This technology is much faster than rotational moulding and offers significant cost savings for mass production. However, it has only been used for smaller films and hollow parts for less technical applications (bottles) and with other polymer grades.
Scientific objectives
The aim of this PhD thesis is to provide scientific support for the understanding and numerical simulation of the mechanisms involved in these new polymers used in the complex process of extrusion blow moulding.
The process involves a first stage in which a tube (called a parison) is produced by extruding the polymer into a mould to the final shape and size of the liner. The parison is then pinched and deformed by internal blowing to be pressed against the mould, which is then cooled to cure the material.
In this thesis we have set out to establish a framework that will eventually allow the complete process to be simulated numerically. To do this, we need to establish identifiable behavioural models for the polymer and implement these models in a numerical computing environment capable of solving a non-linear thermo-mechanical problem with moving fronts.
The models will be implemented in the laboratory's ICI-Tech parallelized finite element library, which includes domain immersion, moving boundary tracking and adaptive anisotropic remeshing methods. The simulations will be used to predict the influence of process parameters on the physical properties of the liner.
RequirementsResearch Field
Engineering » Simulation engineering
Education Level
Master Degree or equivalent
Research Field
Engineering » Mechanical engineering
Education Level
Master Degree or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications
MSc degree (or engineering school), background in mechanical engineering and computational mechanics. Knowledge of plastics processing is an advantage. Strong interest in research and laboratory work.
Languages
ENGLISH
Level
Good
Number of offers available
1
Company/Institute
Centrale Nantes
Country
France
City
Nantes
Geofield
Where to applyCity
Nantes
Website
https:// gem.ec-nantes.fr/
Street
1 rue de la Noe
Postal Code
44000
STATUS: EXPIRED