The successful PhD candidate will work alongside a team on the URBAN-GeoHeat project. This project aims to assess the feasibility of geothermal energy as a source of district heating for residential developments in Dublin. The project will carry out intensive monitoring of a residential development incorporating shallow (<25m) foundation piles. Groundwater temperature and gradient will be monitoring through the installation of monitoring boreholes equipped with loggers. Temperature profiles at depth within the piles will be recorded using thermocouples attached to data loggers. A small-scale prototype involving geothermal loops will also be installed within a number of these foundation piles which will be connected to a prototype geothermal heating system. The goal of this prototype is not to test implementation of district heating at scale but to test and demonstrate a working prototype in real world conditions to investigate feasibility for construction and operation of such a systems. It will also serve as a flagship demonstration of how district heating linked to geostructures can be incorporated into design in new developments in Dublin going forward. The collected data will be used to assess temporal variations in performance against changing climatic and energy demand profiles and to develop numerical models of each system in terms of heat transfer and groundwater flow. These calibrated models will be then used to evaluate potential optimised system configurations to gain more heat from the same footprint. Overall, the results of this study should help to stimulate the somewhat nascent concept of district heating as a realistic future approach to more sustainable energy management in urban areas of Ireland.
The successful PhD researcher will be involved in some or all of the following tasks:
- Fieldwork involving instrumentation and monitoring of foundation piles and groundwater boreholes
- Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Modelling [may involve groundwater modelling with heat transfer depending on the chosen candidate]
- Energy calculations and life cycle assessments (LCA analysis)
- Conducting strategic policy review
Standard Duties and Responsibilities of the Post:
- Fieldwork at a prototype geothermal installation
- CFD Numerical modelling / Thermal Groundwater Modelling
- Technical report writing
- Engaging with stakeholders and organisation of stakeholder workshops
- Attendance and presentation at technical meetings and workshops
- Preparing academic manuscripts
- Presentation of results at national and international conferences.
Publishing of papers in high-ranking academic journals will be a high priority.
Person Specification
The ideal candidate will be an enthusiastic, self-motivated researcher with interests in the renewal energy, heat transfer / fluid physics, groundwater and mechanical or environmental engineering.
Qualifications
Essential
- Honours Degree (minimum 2:1) in a relevant discipline (mechanical engineering, physics, environmental or natural science, civil and environmental engineering or another related discipline) from an internationally recognised institution. Desirable
- A Masters level qualification in mechanical engineering / physics / environmental engineering or geology would be desirable.
Knowledge & Experience (Essential & Desirable)
Essential
- Knowledge of geothermal energy and heat transfer in fluids / fluid dynamics
- Experience in fieldwork and/or instrumentation
- A strong motivation for research and be able to demonstrate ability in data analysis, statistics and programming (R and PYTHON) or demonstrate the capacity to develop such skills.
- Demonstrated organisational skills, time management and ability to work to priorities.
- Ability to write research reports or other publications to a publishable standard.
Desirable
- Experience in use of CFD software
- Experience in instrumenting field study sites
- Experience in geology and/or groundwater modelling
- Full clean drivers licence.