Post-Doctoral Research Visit F/M High-order structure-preserving numerical methods for compressible multiphase flows with surface tension and elasticity

The Inria center at the University of Bordeaux is one of the nine Inria centers in France and has about twenty research teams. The Inria centre is a major and recognized player in the field of digital sciences. It is at the heart of a rich R&D and innovation ecosystem: highly innovative SMEs, large industrial groups, competitiveness clusters, research and higher education players, laboratories of excellence, technological research institute...

Multiphase flows, where liquids, gases, and solids interact, are ubiquitous in nature and industry, and have applications in aerospace, biomedical, and environmental engineering. Existing models, such as Baer-Nunziato, Kapila, and Romenski, are widely used but do not account for important features such as surface tension, phase transition, or elastic interactions. The main objective of this project is to overcome these weaknesses by developing a novel  hyperbolic and thermodynamically compatible (HTC) multiphase flow model together with  high-order structure-preserving numerical methods.  In this way, we will establish a unified framework that allows us to accurately simulate a wide range of multiphase interactions.

This project will be developed within the framework of a  Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship (European Commission) in collaboration with  Inria Bordeaux, Aix-Marseille University (France), and the University of Trento (Italy).

Travel for international conferences and short scientific visits is expected; expenses are reimbursed according to the applicable scale.

Under the supervision of  Dr. Laura del Río and Dr. Mario Ricchiuto (Inria Bordeaux), and in collaboration with international experts in multiphase flow modeling and thermodynamically compatible (HTC) numerical schemes, the postdoctoral researcher will work on the development of new mathematical models and novel high-order structure-preserving numerical methods for compressible multiphase flows.

The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to the  theoretical analysis of the models and to the  design, implementation, and validation of new numerical schemes. The researcher will also prepare scientific publications and conference presentations, and develop open-source code, ensuring the reproducibility of results following FAIR principles.

More information can be found at:

Project webpage: https://laurariomartin.github.io/copernicus/

Team webpage: https://team.inria.fr/cardamom/

They provide additional details about the project and the research activities of the host team.

Main activities:

• Develop high-order numerical schemes that respect the mathematical structure of the model at the discrete level, including curl-free constraints, positivity of conserved variables, and energy conservation.
• Analyze theoretical properties of the developed multiphase models, including hyperbolicity and thermodynamic compatibility.
• Implement and parallelize the new numerical methods for performing large-scale simulations on HPC infrastructures with reduced computational cost
• Validate the new models and schemes against classical benchmarks from the literature and compare with well-known numerical methods

Additional activities:

• Contribute to open-source code development
• Publish scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals
• Present results at international conferences

Technical skills and level required:

• Numerical methods for hyperbolic PDEs: Advanced level
• Scientific programming (Fortran or C): Advanced level
• Parallel programming: Intermediate level
• English: fluent (written and spoken)

Relational skills: 

• Ability to work in an international and team-oriented environment
• Strong communication skills (written and oral) for scientific publications and conference presentations
• Autonomy and initiative in developing and managing research tasks

Other valued experience :

• High-order methods, HTC schemes, multiphase flows
• Open-source software development and open science practices (reproducible research, data management)

• Subsidized meals
• Partial reimbursement of public transport costs
• Leave: 7 weeks of annual leave + 10 extra days off due to RTT (statutory reduction in working hours) + possibility of exceptional leave (sick children, moving home, etc.)
• Possibility of partial teleworking and flexible organization of working hours
• Professional equipment available (videoconferencing, loan of computer equipment, etc.)
• Social, cultural and sports events and activities
• Access to vocational training
• Social security coverage

The grossly monthly salary will be 2788€ (before social security contribution and witholding tax)