Rarefied-gas dynamics play a crucial role in many engineering systems that operate under extreme vacuum conditions, such as in high altitude flight in aerospace or heat and mass transport in EUV semiconductor photolithography machines. Such extreme conditions can lead to partial ionization of the residual gas, creating a complex interaction between the neutral rarefied gas and the ionized plasma.
This PhD project aims to develop a hybrid computational framework for plasma-gas mixtures in extreme environments. The approach will integrate deterministic mesoscale models for rarefied gas flows, developed by the team at TU/e, with stochastic microscale particle models from the group at KU Leuven.
The resulting hybrid methodology represents a transformative advance in computational modeling of plasma-gas interactions, by combining accuracy and scalability, while reducing stochastic noise. The framework will serve as a foundation for future extensions such as multiphysics coupling and industrial integration.
InformationThis PhD project focuses on the development of fast, accurate, and multiscale computational methods for modeling partially ionized plasma flows. The work will involve:
- Deriving kinetic and enhanced fluid models for coupled rarefied gas–plasma dynamics.
- Designing computational algorithms for the hybrid multiscale model.
- Performing numerical validation through benchmark cases in collaboration with industrial partners.
The successful candidate will join the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), under the supervision of Dr. Michael Abdelmalik and Dr. Harald van Brummelen, as well as the Scientific Computing group, under Dr. Giovanni Samaey, at KU Leuven.
The project is part of a joint research effort bringing together complementary expertise in fluid dynamics, statistical physics, and machine-learning methodologies, along with industrial stakeholders who are actively involved in the development of rarefied technologies.