The Institute of Low Carbon Industrial Processes at DLR (German Aerospace Center) expands the existing portfolio of DLR’s energy research and places a strong emphasis on the decarbonization of industrial processes. The focus lies on industries such as paper, brick production, automotive, steel, and food manufacturing, as well as the transformation of conventional coal-fired power plants into sustainable, low-carbon energy suppliers.
What to expect
Hydrogen-based direct reduction of iron ore is a key technology for significantly reducing CO2 emissions in future steel production. A detailed understanding of gas flow, heat transfer, and chemical reactions within fixed beds of iron ore pellets is essential for improving reactor design and process performance. High-resolution CT scans can be used to capture realistic packed-bed geometries, but generating CT data for entire beds is time-consuming and costly, especially when multiple configurations or operating conditions are required. As a result, many numerical studies rely on simplified spherical particles, which may not adequately represent real pellet behavior. A practical and scalable alternative is to use CT scans of representative individual pellets to capture realistic particle shapes once, and then generate fixed beds numerically using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). This approach enables the creation of realistic packed beds without repeated full-bed CT scans, while still moving beyond idealized spherical assumptions.
Your tasks
- perform CFD simulations of H2-based direct reduction in fixed beds
- extend an in-house OpenFOAM solver by adding the energy equation
- simulate beds generated by DEM using spherical and CT-based pellet shapes
- compare conversion vs. time and thermal behavior between both beds
- validate simulations against in-house reactor experiments
Your profile
- currently studying physics, chemistry, mechanical engineering, aerospace, engineering or a comparable field
- interest in theory, modeling and simulation of physical processes
- knowledge of fluid dynamics and CFD
- experience in OpenFOAM
- programming experience in C++, Python or other scientific programming languages
We look forward to getting to know you!
If you have any questions about this position (Vacancy-ID 4225) please contact:
