Faculty/School

Faculty of Engineering

School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering

Topic status

We're looking for students to study this topic.

Research centre

Energy Transition Centre

Primary Supervisor

Dr Thomas Moore
Position
Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering
Division / Faculty
Faculty of Engineering

Other QUT supervisors

Dr Michael Dallaston
Position
Senior Lecturer in Applied and Computational Mathematics
Division / Faculty
Faculty of Science

Overview

Carbon capture and storage is a critical technology for decarbonisation of hard to abate sectors such as steel and cement production. The chemical processes used for these technologies - absorption columns and stripper columns - are accurately modelled by sets of nonlinear ODE boundary value problems with interesting emergent behaviour, such as boundary layers and spontaneous bifurcations at critical parameters. These ODEs are routinely solved numerically, but there analytical behaviour is poorly understood. In this project, the student will conduct a therotical analysis of these ODEs, in order to identify analytical and semi-analytical conditions for bifurcations leading to qualitative shifts in performance. If succesful, this project could lead to engineering rules of thumb for engineers designing novel CCS and Direct Air Capture processes. This topic is interdisciplinary, and will be conducted in collaboration with applied mathematicians at QUT. The student should have a strong interest in mathematical modelling, and be comfortable and/or interested in analysis of nonlinear differential equations via tools such as perturbation analyses and bifurcation theory. A strong mathematical background (indeed, a nerdy love for maths) is a pre-requisite for this topic.

Research engagement

Mathematical modelling; Development of Numerical Models

Research activities

The student will develop numerical methods to solve these ODEBVP problems. They will also work with their supervisors to develop analytical methods for understanding the qualitative behaviour of these ODEs. The methods used will include perturbuation analyses, linearisation, and bifurcation analyses.

Research skills

The student will gain a broad understanding of how analytical mathematical tools may be applied to practical engineering problems.

Skills and experience

The ideal candidate would have a strong mathematical background, such as a maths/physics minor or a double degree in engineering/maths or engineering/physics. Most important is a love for maths and a desire to learn.

Start date

2 November, 2026

End date

19 February, 2027

Location

QUT GP (Work from home, etc. can be arranged).

Keywords

Contact

Thomas Moore

0493 832 921

moore44@qut.edu.au