PhD Student – Large Eddy Simulation of Nozzle Flow and Interaction with Ambient Air (SLICE Project) Centre Européen de Recherche et de Formation Avancée en Calcul Scientifique in France

PhD Opportunity: Large Eddy Simulation of Nozzle Flow and Interaction with Ambient Air (SLICE Project)

The Centre Européen de Recherche et de Formation Avancée en Calcul Scientifique (CERFACS) in Toulouse, France, invites applications for a fully funded PhD position as part of the Horizon Europe MSCA SLICE Doctoral Network. The project focuses on advanced large eddy simulations (LES) of rocket engine nozzle flows and their interaction with ambient air, with a strong emphasis on environmental impact and climate change.

Research Context: The SLICE project addresses the urgent need to understand and mitigate the environmental impacts of increasing space launch activities, particularly their contributions to global warming and ozone layer depletion. The research bridges space engineering and climate science, aiming to close knowledge gaps in the life-cycle analysis of space launch systems. The project supports the European Green Deal and ESA’s Agenda 2025, and will inform EU Space Law and Product Environmental Footprint regulations.

Host Institution: CERFACS is a leading private research center specializing in high-performance numerical simulation and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The CFD team at CERFACS is internationally recognized for expertise in turbulent, unsteady, and reacting flows, especially in combustion and aerospace propulsion. The team develops and maintains advanced simulation codes used by research and industry across Europe.

Project Description: The doctoral candidate will use the AVBP LES code to study the evolution of emissions in the near field of rocket engine wakes, focusing on the effects of different fuel blends and the interaction of reacting mixtures with nozzle and wake flows. The project will incorporate physico-chemical processes, separation, and shock phenomena in challenging simulations, and investigate the formation of contrails from water vapor and alumina particles. Chemical reduction will utilize Cantera and Arcane software. The research includes secondments at Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) and DLR (Germany) for specialized training and validation.

Supervision: The PhD student will be supervised by Dr.-HdR Guillaume Daviller and Dr.-HdR Éléonore Riber, both experts in CFD and combustion at CERFACS.

Funding & Benefits: The position is fully funded for 36 months under MSCA regulations, including a competitive salary, living and mobility allowances, and, if eligible, a family allowance. The candidate will benefit from a structured training program, international networking, and participation in conferences and outreach activities.

Eligibility & Requirements: Applicants must hold or be about to obtain a MSc or equivalent in Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related field. Essential skills include combustion, fluid mechanics, turbulence, and CFD. Proficiency in English and readiness to travel for secondments are required. Applicants must comply with the MSCA Mobility Rule and must not have resided in France for more than 12 months in the 36 months before recruitment. Additional desired skills include programming (Fortran, C++, Python), applied mathematics, and project management.

Application Process: Submit a single PDF with the required documents and a short video introduction by email to [email protected]. The application deadline is 31 March 2026. The expected start date is 1 October 2026.

For more information, visit https://www.slice-dn.eu/ or contact the supervisors directly.