Vacancy-ID: 5295
Place of work: Köln
Starting date: 01.08.2026
Career level: Student research project and final thesis
Type of employment: Part time
Duration of contract: 6 Monate
Remuneration: Remuneration is in accordance with the Collective Agreement for the Public Sector - Federal Government (TVöD-Bund)
With more than 140 employees, the Institute of Solar Research conducts research into a sustainable and CO2-free energy supply from solar energy. Our research focuses on concentrating solar technologies that convert sunlight into heat, electricity and fuels. Other research topics include assessing the energy efficiency of buildings and renovation strategies, energy meteorology, quality assurance of solar thermal and photovoltaic systems and the decarbonisation of the chemical industry.
What you can expect
As part of an application-oriented research project, we are investigating how solidified molten salt in the receiver tubes of parabolic trough collectors can be melted in a controlled manner. Understanding these melting processes is relevant for the safe operation of solar thermal plants. Building on this, the emptying or drainage behaviour of the fluid in piping systems will also be considered, since molten salts must be removed safely and in a controlled manner from critical plant sections before possible solidification.
Your tasks
- Analysis of the technical task and derivation of a structured task list for the test rig setup
- Development of a suitable test rig concept for investigating melting and drainage processes in transparent tube geometries
- Elaboration of the basic engineering and detail engineering, including CAD modelling
- Specification, selection and procurement of suitable components as well as construction and commissioning of the test rig
- Development of an experimental plan and execution of experimental investigations using paraffin
- Writing your master’s thesis
What do you bring with you
- you are studying mechanical engineering, process engineering, energy engineering, chemical engineering or a related engineering discipline.
- you are interested in thermophysical processes and would like to investigate them analytically, through simulation and practically in the laboratory.
- you have knowledge of thermodynamics, heat transfer or fluid mechanics.
- you have initial experience in CAD design.
- you are able to structure and document technical information; familiarity with common MS Office applications supports you in your daily work.
- you would like to become part of a project team, familiarize yourself with new topics and questions in the field of concentrating solar energy systems, and pragmatically develop technical solutions further.
- you have very good written and spoken German skills for coordination within the project team, laboratory work and documentation; you are also able to confidently understand English-language technical documents and literature.
We look forward to getting to know you!
If you have any questions about this position (Vacancy-ID 5295) please contact:
Dr. Eckhard Lüpfert
Tel.: +49 2203 601 4714
