[Netherlands] PhD ‘Model Reduction and Control Design for Large-Scale Dynamical Systems - Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
PhD ‘Model Reduction and Control Design for Large-Scale Dynamical Systems’
The Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e) has the following vacancy
PhD ‘Model Reduction and Control Design for Large-Scale Dynamical Systems’ (V36317)
at CS, Department of Electrical Engineering.
The Department of Electrical Engineering concerns the research and education of the Electrical Engineering discipline. Electrical Engineering covers the application of electrical phenomena with respect to energy transfer, telecommunication, and calculation and processing of information and the technology involved. Both hardware, in the form of electronic circuits and accessories, and software, in the form of system software for electro-technical application, are the subject of study. Existing and new electrical components and systems are analyzed, designed and realized. In addition, the maintenance of these systems is the subject of research, as is the relevance for society of electrical engineering and informatics.
This position is at the Control Systems Group of the Department and is financed as part of the open technology programme of STW.
The project:
Within the glass industry, there is a growing need of technologies that enable short, low cost development cycles of new products and services to comply with increasingly stringent measures on safety, energy consumption and to remain competitive in the global market. An accurate and profound understanding of operationalmechanisms, interactions and dynamical features of processes is key to the realization of control systems that enable this goal. Mathematical models have proven to be indispensable tools to condense information, knowledge and understanding of such mechanisms. However, such models tend to become extremely complex with increasing demands on accuracy or predictive power.
This high level of complexity is of serious concern if the model is to be used for control purposes or to perform real-time predictions. It is the purpose of this project to develop methodologies to infer simple substitute models for high-complexity (or large-scale) models that retain the accuracy of the original complex model. This project aims to carry out research on fundamental questions that assess the effects of input and experiment design on the quality of substitute models, the preservation of physical quantities in the substitute models, and the use of substitute models in closed-loop controlled systems.
The research activities will be particularly applied to large-scale numerical models that are inferred from nonlinear models of diffusive phenomena as they appear, e.g., in finite element models of glass furnaces. We aim for substantial reductions of model complexity, not possible with advanced meshing techniques, while control aims of the model are taken into account in an explicit manner. The mathematical nature of the research will be generic enough to cover diverse application areas in computational fluid dynamics, including acoustics, combustion processes, aerodynamics, thermodynamics, oceanography, geophysics and meteorology.
The duration of the project is 4 years.
Tasks
Within this project there is an opening for one PhD student. The scope of the PhD project is to develop tools and technology for the efficient design of control systems for applications in glass manufacturing. Specific tasks include the investigation of control-relevant model reduction schemes for large-scale nonlinear dynamical systems as they appear in computational fluid dynamics. This includes the research of :
- achievable performance of controlled systems based on reduced order models
- model reduction by the method of proper orthogonal decompositions
- multivariable and multidimensional aspects of signals
- convergence, stability and accuracy of reduced order models.
The task of the PhD student is to investigate and develop model reduction schemes that explicitly take control objectives into account. The potential of novel concepts need to be proven for applications in glass manufacturing, but are not necessarily restricted to this application domain. The student is required to actively collaborate with other members of the group.
The research in this project must be concluded with the attainment of a PhD degree.
Requirements
We would like to get in contact with talented individuals who have recently obtained an MSc degree in engineering or mathematics and wish to continue their studies within a PhD program.
Appointment and Salary
We offer:
- A challenging job in a dynamic and ambitious University
- A temporary appointment for four years
- Gross monthly salaries are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement of the Dutch Universities (CAO NU), € 1933,00 per month in the first year and increasing up to EUR 2502,- per month (gross) in the last year
- An attractive package of fringe benefits (including excellent sport facilities and child care)
- Assistance for finding accommodation can be given.
Information
For further information on the project you can contact dr. S. Weiland (s.weiland@tue.nl) office PT 4.35, +31 40 2475979, fax +31 40 2434582.
For information concerning employment conditions you can contact Mrs. Femke Verheggen, personnel officer,(f.verheggen@tue.nl) office PT. 1.07, +31 40 247 4796.
Application
If you are interested in this position, please send a detailed curriculum vitae, a letter that describes why the proposed research is appealing to you, a publication list, your course program (incl. grades), and the names of 2 references to the address below, mentioning vacancy number V36317:
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
dr. S. Weiland (s.weiland@tue.nl)
office PT 4.35
Postbus 513
5600 MB Eindhoven
The Netherlands
You can apply for this job before 08-07-2007
http://vacatures.tue.nl/web/Vacature.aspx?VacatureNummer=V36317&Taal=English
