The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) funds research projects for postdocs abroad with the "Postdoctoral Researchers International Mobility Experience"(PRIME) program. Thorsten Zirwes, a scientist at SCC, successfully applied for the DAAD Prime Fellowship in 2021. As part of the project, he is currently conducting research at Stanford University in California on energy conversion processes in porous media. In this engineering application, a chemically reacting fluid flows through a porous solid made of ceramics or metal. The heat released by the chemical reactions can be absorbed by the solid and directed in a targeted manner to better stabilize the conversion process.
At Stanford University, these processes are already being studied experimentally using modern computed tomography. Thorsten Zirwes is working on simulating these processes, which are very computationally expensive due to the fine pores of the solid and require the use of modern supercomputers. He will conduct research at Stanford University until December 2022, after which he will continue the work in the PRIME program at SCC in collaboration with the Engler-Bunte Institute until mid-2023.
More Information: Pore-resolved Simulation of Energy Conversion in Novel Porous Media Designs (Poster)
Contact: Dr. Thorsten Zirwes