PhD Studentship - Experimental Investigation of Passive Natural Circulation Cooling for Generation IV Nuclear Reactors

Research theme: Nuclear thermal-hydraulics

How many positions: 1

How to apply: uom.link/pgr-apply-2425

This 3.5 year project is co-funded by EDF UK R&D and The University of Manchester. A full scholarship, which will cover tuition fees and provide an annual tax-free stipend in line with the UKRI rate (£20,780 for 2025/26), is available only to applicants who quality for UK Home student status.

Natural circulation loops (NCL) will be an essential component in the safe and reliable operation of Generation III+ and IV nuclear reactor designs, including High Temperature Gas-Cooled reactors (HTGR), Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR), Lead-Cooled Fast Reactors (LFR) and Molten-Salt Reactors (MSR). Despite conceptual simplicity, NCLs are highly susceptible to instabilities, producing a wide and complex range of flow behaviours. This challenges the design and substantiation of such systems. A new and versatile experimental facility has been developed by the Thermo-Fluids group at the University of Manchester, which, for the first time, can produce detailed, instantaneous mass flow, thermal, pressure and flow field data over a range of aspect ratios, heating and cooling arrangements and/or cooling fluids.

The objective of this PhD project is to employ the above-described experimental setup of a natural convection loop with water as the cooling fluid. For a range of operating conditions, the student will use a variety of diagnostic and measurement techniques (ranging from thermocouples to particle image velocimetry) to map the flow and thermal behaviour. Analysis of these data will further advance current understanding of the flow features and behaviours which develop within NCLs and provide highly valuable validation data for the development of effective and efficient simulation tools.

The student will be supervised by a group of experts in nuclear thermal hydraulics experiments and modelling from the University of Manchester and research engineers from the EDF Energy R&D centre in the UK.

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s (or international equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering related discipline.

This project is suitable for Engineering or Physics graduates with a strong background in Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer. The work will involve the use of flow diagnostics techniques and post-processing algorithms. It will also require the development of good programming skills (Python/MATLAB or similar), good communication skills, the ability to work independently, and a willingness to engage with industrial partners.

To apply, please contact the supervisor Dr Dean Wilson - dean.wilson@manchester.ac.uk. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project.

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