Centre SPIN (« Sciences des Processus Industriels et Naturels ») of Mines Saint-Etienne is a research, teaching and technology transfer center recognized 
for its expertise in Process Engineering applied to granular media, 
at the service of innovation for industrial companies facing the digital and environmental transition. 
Most of the research activities in centre SPIN are carried out in the Georges Friedel Laboratory (LGF), a Joint Research Unit of the CNRS (UMR 5307), 
affiliated with the Institute of Engineering and Systems Sciences (INSIS). 

These researches address complex challenges related to the sustainability and energy efficiency of industrial components and installations, while exploring various stages from grain to factory. 
The study of powder technologies to contribute to both the industry decarbonation and the fight against global warming has become one of the main activities of centre SPIN/LGF.

The successful candidate will contribute to the MULTITHERMO project, a cutting-edge initiative focused on advancing Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies, financed by the French National Research Agency (ANR). 

Thermochemical heat storage, a pivotal aspect of this project, involves storing thermal energy through endothermic and exothermic solid-gas reactions. 
Rotary kilns involving powders emerge as key players in this endeavour due to their potential for efficient energy storage. 
Thermochemical heat storage consists of storing thermal energy through an endothermic reaction that can then be reused at another time through the reverse exothermic reaction. 
Gas-solid reactions, particularly those in rotary kilns involving the chemical transformation of powders, are particularly interesting due to their much greater energy storage density, limitless storage duration as chemical bonds without heat losses, 
and simple product separation. 
Despite their potential, a satisfactory physical-chemical modelling that comprehensively incorporates the intricate interactions between fluid physics, granular flow, heat transfers and, chemical kinetics within rotary kilns has never been successfully carried out until now. 
The successful candidate will contribute to bridging this critical gap, paving the way for advancements in sustainable energy solutions.

Job duties and activities: your job will involve:

1) Modelling and Simulation of Rotary Drum:
a) Develop and implement a comprehensive CFD-DEM model for granular flow in a rotary drum involving thermochemically interesting powders at low temperatures in the absence of chemical reaction.
b) Validate simulations using experimental results conducted by others at SPIN.
    
2) Modelling and Simulation of Electrical Rotary Kiln (ERK):
a) Extend the validated model to simulate granular flow in an ERK with thermochemical storage reactions going on by adding a chemical kinetic module.
b) Compare simulations with experiments conducted at SPIN.

3)Extension to Solar Rotary Kiln (SRK):Extend findings from ERK simulations to model granular flow in a Solar Rotary Kiln developed at PROMES, a research partner of LGF in the MULTITHERMO project. Tasks may change depending on the needs of the department and Mines Saint-Etienne.

The position is based on the Saint-Étienne campus.