PhD Position in the Development of State-to-State Plasma-Assisted Combustion Solvers

1 - Working at the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike. 

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. 

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again. 

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

2 - Position description

The Faculty of Engineering, Department Applied Mechanics, Research Group Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics is looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant. 

More concretely your work package, for the preparation of a doctorate, contains: 

We offer a full-time PhD position in the framework of the ERC Starting Grant project “Energising the future with clean plasma-based technologies” (ESCAPADE, proposal number 101302707). Plasma-assisted combustion (PAC) offers a promising pathway towards cleaner and more efficient combustion of sustainable fuels. However, progress towards industrial deployment is limited by the absence of predictive computational tools capable of capturing the complex interactions between plasma discharges, chemistry, and flame dynamics. ESCAPADE addresses this challenge by developing an innovative multi-physics simulation framework that combines first-principles modeling, machine learning, reduced-order techniques, and computational fluid dynamics. The project will deliver the next generation of predictive tools for the design and optimization of low-emission combustion systems operating with both sustainable and conventional fuels.

The FLOW research group at the VUB has a strong expertise in both fundamental and applied research topics related to the modelling of thermal-fluid systems, with applications in aeronautics (unsteady aerodynamics, flow control), aerospace (atmospheric re-entry, aerospace plasmas) and energy (wind energy, bioenergy, hydrogen, heat networks, combustion).

Since 2021, FLOW joined forces with the ATM research group at ULB, working in similar fields of expertise, to create the VUB-ULB Joint Research Group BRITE (Brussels Institute for Thermal-fluid Systems and clean Energy, https://brite-research.be).

Plasma-assisted combustion combines non-equilibrium plasma discharges with combustion processes to improve ignition, flame stability, and pollutant emissions for sustainable fuels. While detailed state-to-state plasma-combustion models provide an unprecedented description of the underlying physics, their computational cost remains prohibitively high for multidimensional simulations and industrial applications.

This PhD project aims to develop the next generation of computational tools for plasma-assisted combustion by combining detailed state-to-state kinetic modelling, mechanism reduction, and physics-informed machine learning. The researcher will contribute to the development of advanced plasma-assisted combustion simulation codes capable of explicitly modelling plasma discharges, non-equilibrium chemistry, and combustion processes across a wide range of operating conditions.

A key objective of the project is the development of novel reduction methodologies for large state-to-state kinetic mechanisms containing hundreds to thousands of species and reactions. Building upon recent advances such as plasma-directed relation graph techniques (P-DRGEP), principal component analysis, and machine-learning-based lumping strategies, the PhD candidate will construct high-fidelity reduced-order models that preserve the essential plasma-combustion interactions while significantly reducing computational costs.

The developed methodologies will be integrated into in-house plasma-assisted combustion solvers and validated against experimental benchmark datasets generated by leading international partners of the project. Emphasis will be placed on ammonia/hydrogen combustion systems, which are emerging as key carbon-free fuels for future energy and propulsion applications. The resulting reduced models will enable direct integration of detailed plasma chemistry into advanced CFD environments, including DNS and LES simulations of realistic combustion systems.

References:

-Rekkas-Ventiris, G., Giuntini, L., Sabia, P., Sorrentino, G., & Bellemans, A. (2026). Numerical investigation of plasma-assisted MILD combustion of ammonia using a hybrid modeling approach. Fuel, 406, 136751.

-Rekkas-Ventiris, G., Gomez, A. D., Deak, N., Kincaid, N., Pepiot, P., Bisetti, F., & Bellemans, A. (2024). A novel machine learning based lumping approach for the reduction of large kinetic mechanisms for plasma-assisted combustion applications. Combustion and Flame, 260, 113252.

For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base. 

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

• You hold a Master of Science in Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Computational Science or a related field;

• You have a strong background in numerical methods and scientific computing;
• You have excellent programming skills (Python, Fortran and/or C++);
• You are interested in chemical kinetics, plasma physics, combustion, reduced-order modelling, and machine learning;
• Your experience with CFD, DNS and/or LES methodologies is considered an asset;
• Your experience with kinetic mechanism reduction techniques, data-driven modelling or high-performance computing is considered an asset;
• You are fluent in written and spoken English;
• Your strong analytical skills and ability to work both independently and as part of an international research team.

• You have not performed any works in the execution of a mandate as an assistant, paid from operating resources, over a total (cumulated) period of more than 12 months.

• As a (non-)EEA national, meet the conditions for obtaining a valid permit for VUB and comply with the VUB residence requirements. More info here.

The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.

4 - Offer

Are you going to be our new colleague?

You’ll be offered a full-time PhD-scholarship, for 12 months (extendable up to max. 48 months, on condition of the positive evaluation of the PhD activities), with planned starting date 1 Feb 2027. 

You’ll receive a grant linked to one of the scales set by the government.

IMPORTANT: The effective result of the doctorate scholarship is subject to the condition precedent of your enrolment as a doctorate student at the university.

At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.

As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:

• Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
• An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
• Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike; 
• A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
• Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in  all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques; 
• Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps; 
• The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
• And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.

5 - Interested?

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

Then apply, at the latest on 15 Nov 2026, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:

• your CV;
• your motivation letter;
• your diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni).

Our application process is as follows (subject to change):

• step 1: an initial selection based on your application file; 
• step 2: a job interview.

Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Prof Aurélie Bellemans  at aurelie.bellemans@vub.be. 

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.