Project title: High-contrast neutron imaging for visualising flows in porous materials
Project description:
The demand for sustainable energy production is increasing, and with it the need to convert and store energy. A highly effective solution is exploiting electrochemical energy conversion and storage by batteries, fuel and electrolysis cells, which will all be crucial in implementing power-to-X energy technologies. Common for those devices is that they all constitute granular porous electrodes of functional materials, where the performance, degradation and life-time is closely linked to the changes in microstructure, micro pores and flow in 3D. To design the best electrodes supporting these future solutions it is important to understand the evolution in microstructure, micro pores and flow during operation.
In this PhD project, we will explore the capabilities of phase-contrast neutron imaging with the purpose to directly visualize flows in multiscale porous materials, for instance the electrolyte inside an electrode in an electrochemical device (battery or fuel/electrolysis cell). Phase-contrast neutron imaging is a novel method which has the capability of pushing the limits of resolution by up to two orders of magnitude compared to conventional neutron tomography.
The PhD project will explore the advantages of combining phase-contrast with so-called energy resolved (or time-of-flight) neutron imaging in order to further push the resolution limit of what is today possible to visualize with this technique. The experimental findings will be compared with computational models from colleagues in SOLID.
This PhD project is part of the Center of Excellence, ESS (European Spallation Source) Lighthouse in Hard Materials in 3D (SOLID).
ebna@dtu.dk