Job description

Project:

With regard to future exploration missions, fire safety plays a major role in human spaceflight. A fire in a spacecraft, lunar base or habitat is one of the most devastating scenarios and could not only lead to the failure of a mission or the termination of exploration efforts, but also to the loss of human life! Since fire under reduced gravity (in orbit or e.g., on the moon) behaves very differently to a fire on Earth under normal gravity, fundamental research is needed. It is important to understand how a fire ignites and spreads and how it can be effectively extinguished. This need is further intensified by the planned reduction in ambient pressure and the associated increase in oxygen concentration (exploration atmospheres). Under these changed conditions, very little is known about the behavior of fire under reduced gravity.

An experimental setup for the Bremen drop tower has already been developed and used in two previous projects. This setup enables combustion experiments to be conducted under microgravity conditions. The aim of this project is to expand and adapt the existing experimental setup so that it can also be used on the new "GraviTower Bremen Pro" drop tower. This will enable experiments under partial gravity, such as lunar or Martian gravity. Once the conversion has been completed, experiments will be carried out both in the Bremen drop tower and on the new platform. Among other things, the effects of oxygen concentration, flow velocity and ambient pressure on the combustion of thin material samples are to be investigated.

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (BMWK) and supervised by the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). It is embedded in the international program "Flammability Limits at Reduced Gravity Experiment (FLARE)", which is coordinated by JAXA and supported by DLR, NASA, CNES, ESA and several universities. There is also collaboration with Gifu University (Japan), the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (India) and the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute - Zag (Slovenia).

Tasks:

• Conducting experiments in the drop towers
• Scientific evaluation of the experiments
• Adaptation and further development of evaluation and control software according to the experiments performed
• Comparing the results of the experiments with data from numerical simulations

The planned technical conversion measures will be implemented by two technical employees. During this time, training in the scientific issues and the technical set-up will take place. Subsequently, the main task is to carry out experiments in the drop towers and perform scientific evaluations. This involves using self-developed MATLAB and Python programs, which have to be adapted and further developed according to the experiments carried out. The experimental results are to be compared with data from numerical simulations. To confirm scientific hypotheses, experimental conditions must be defined and drop tower experiments must be carried out with the support of the technical staff. The progress of the project and the scientific findings obtained will be discussed with international partners, presented at relevant specialist conferences, and prepared for scientific publications.

What you can expect:

• Independent work in an interdisciplinary team in which cooperation and mutual support are very important,
• A wide range of opportunities to help shape the research field,
• Participation in (inter)national conferences and summer schools,
• Possibility for stays with international cooperation partners

Requirements

A university degree in engineering or physics (master's degree or university diploma) is required. Applicants are expected to have a good technical understanding and the ability to work independently in a small team. Strong language skills in English are also required. Basic knowledge of Python or MATLAB programming would be desirable. The wish to do a PhD in the context of the project will be supported if suitable.

General Information

Open to unconventional approaches in research and teaching, the University of Bremen has retained its character as a place of short distances for people and ideas since it was founded 50 years ago. With a broad range of subjects, we combine exceptional performance with great potential for innovation. As an ambitious research university, we stand for the approach of research-based learning and a pronounced orientation towards interdisciplinarity. We actively organize scientific cooperation worldwide in a spirit of partnership.

Today, around 23,000 people learn, teach, research and work on our international campus. In research and teaching, administration and operations, we are firmly committed to the goals of sustainability, climate justice, and climate neutrality. Our Bremen spirit is expressed in the courage to try new things, in supportive cooperation, in respect, and appreciation for one another. With our study and research profile and as part of the European YUFE network, we assume social responsibility in the region, in Europe and the world.

The university is family-friendly, diverse, and sees itself as an international university. We therefore welcome all applicants regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion/belief, disability, age, sexual orientation, and identity. The University of Bremen intends to increase the proportion of women in the academic field and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.

Severely disabled applicants will be given priority if they have essentially the same professional and personal qualifications.

Application:

Please send your application (motivation letter, CV, certificates, list of publications if applicable) with the reference number A226/24 by  July 22^nd,2024 as a PDF file by unencrypted electronic mail to florian.meyerprotect me ?!zarm.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de

or by regular mail to

University of Bremen

ZARM

Dr.-Ing. Florian Meyer

Am Fallturm 2

28359 Bremen

GERMANY

For further information and questions, please send an e-mail to the above address.

Please only send us copies of your application documents (no folders) as we cannot return them. They will be destroyed after the selection process has been completed.

Any costs for the application procedure cannot be reimbursed.