Graduate Students


 

Master in Applied Science (M.Sc.A.) Project

 

Title:

Development of a surface tension model for molten aluminum alloys.

 

Description:

The project consists in developing a model and a database of model parameters for the prediction of surface tension of aluminum alloys containing impurities with strong short-range order in the liquid.  The surface tension model will be coupled with a molar volume model.  The candidate will learn thermodynamic modeling, property modeling, and the use of FactSage. 

 

Conditions:

This project is part of the “Virtual Laboratory for the Aluminum Industry” supported by NSERC-Canada, Alcan, Alcoa and Hydro Aluminum.  Priorities in the project will be set in agreement with the industrial partners.  The salary is fixed by NSERC regulations (16500 CDN$/year).

 

Contact: patrice.chartrand@polymtl.ca

 

 



Master in Applied Science (M.Sc.A.) Project

 

Title:

Development of a viscosity model for molten aluminum alloys.

 

Description:

The project consists in developing a model and a database of model parameters for the prediction of viscosity of aluminum alloys using the information concerning the configuration of atoms based on a thermodynamic model that considers short-range order in the liquid.  The thermodynamic model is already available for a very large number of alloying elements and impurities.  The thermodynamic modeling of a subsystem within the remaining chemical system can be added to the project.  The viscosity model requires the information about the molar volume of the melt which is obtained by (dG/dP) at constant T, ni.  Using the molar volume model, viscosity will be model using a modified Eyring model with activation energies.  The candidate will learn thermodynamic modeling, property modeling, and the use of FactSage. 

 

Conditions:

This project is part of the “Virtual Laboratory for the Aluminum Industry” supported by NSERC-Canada, Alcan, Alcoa and Hydro Aluminum.  Priorities in the project will be set in agreement with the industrial partners.  The salary is fixed by NSERC regulations (16500 CDN$/year).

 

Contact: patrice.chartrand@polymtl.ca

 


 

Ph.D. Metallurgical Engineering Project

 

Title:

Development of a model and database for the physical properties (density, viscosity, surface tension) of molten Li,Na,K,Mg,Ca,Sr,Ba,…//F,Cl,… salts used as fluxes and electrolytes.

 

Description:

The project consists in developing a database of model parameters for the prediction of density, viscosity and surface tension of salt mixtures used in the light metal industry for metal refining and electrolysis.  A complete thermodynamic model is already available for the Li,Na,K,Mg,Ca,Sr,Ba//Cl and the Li,Na,K,Mg,Ca//F,Cl subsystems.  Thermodynamic modeling of a subsystem within the remaining chemical system can be added to the project.  The density model is based on the molar volume of the salt mixture which is fitted as function of composition as a variation of the excess thermodynamic properties (dG/dP) at constant T, ni.  Using the molar volume model, viscosity will be model using a modified Eyring model with activation energies.  A modified Butler model will be explored for the modeling of surface tension.  The candidate will learn thermodynamic modeling, property modeling, and the use of FactSage. 

 

Conditions:

This project is part of the “Virtual Laboratory for the Aluminum Industry” supported by NSERC-Canada, Alcan, Alcoa and Hydro Aluminum.  Priorities in the project will be set in agreement with the industrial partners.  The salary is fixed by NSERC regulations (19000 CDN$/year).

 

Contact: patrice.chartrand@polymtl.ca

 


 

Master in Applied Science (M.Sc.A.) or Doctoral (PhD) Project

 

Title:

Development of a thermodynamic database for Mg alloys

 

Description:

The project consists in expanding the present FactSage FSlite database by evaluation/optimization of thermodynamic and phase diagram data from the literature using the modules of FactSage such as OptiSage. The project will be co-directed by Dr. Philip Spencer, former president of SGTE. The project will be carried out in collaboration with Prof. M. Pekguleryuz of McGill University whose research group is doing experimental work on these systems. The student will also work in close collaboration with the group of Prof. Patrice Chartrand at the CRCT who are doing similar database development for Al alloys. 

 

Conditions:

This project is sponsored by General Motors of Canada and by NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada). The salary is fixed by NSERC regulations at 16500 CDN$/year for an MSc.A. student and 19000 CDN$/year for a PhD student.

 

Contact: apelton@polymtl.ca

 


 

Master in Applied Science (M.Sc.A.) or Doctoral (PhD) Project

 

Title:

Development of a volumetric database for Mg alloys

 

Description:

The project consists in developing models and a database for calculating/predicting the molar volumes (densities) of the important compound and solution phases of multicomponent Mg alloys, as well as the c/a ratios of hcp alloys, as functions of temperature and composition. The project will be co-directed by Dr. Philip Spencer, former president of SGTE. The project will be carried out in collaboration with Prof. M. Pekguleryuz of McGill University whose research group is doing experimental work on these systems. The student will also work in close collaboration with the group of Prof. Patrice Chartrand at the CRCT who are doing similar database development for Al alloys. 

 

Conditions:

This project is sponsored by General Motors of Canada and by NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada). The salary is fixed by NSERC regulations at 16500 CDN$/year for an MSc.A. student and 19000 CDN$/year for a PhD student.

 

Contact: apelton@polymtl.ca

 


 

Master in Applied Science (M.Sc.A.) or Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering

 

Title:

Development of a viscosity model for molten oxides (slags).

 

Description:

The project aims at developing a new model and database of model parameters for the viscosity of multicomponent molten oxides. The proposed approach differs from most previous models in that it takes into account the complex structure of slags. This is done by exploiting the unique state-of-the-art thermodynamic database for multicomponent slags developed at CRCT over the past 25 years. In combination with the FACT software for Gibbs energy minimization, it allows calculation of the distribution of second-nearest-neighbour cation bonds which reflects the local structure of the slag. The model will express the slag viscosity as a function of the amounts of local structural units in the slag, thereby greatly increasing its predictive ability.

The thermodynamic database is already available for most relevant oxide components and non-oxide impurities. The thermodynamic modeling of the remaining subsystems can be added to the project.

The candidate will learn thermodynamic modeling, viscosity modeling, and the use of FactSage thermodynamic software . 

 

Conditions:

This project is part of the Collaborative Research and Development Grant “A New Viscosity Model and Database for Multicomponent Molten Oxides” supported by NSERC-Canada and five companies: POSCO, Rio Tinto, INCO, Teck Cominco Metals Ltd. and Du Pont. Priorities in the project will be set in agreement with the industrial partners. The salary is fixed by NSERC regulations at 16500 $CDN/year for a M.Sc. and at 19000 $CDN/year for a Ph.D. student.

 

Contact: sergei.decterov@polymtl.ca



 

Post-Doctoral Project at McGill University

 

Description:

General Motors of Canada-NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Automotive Light Metals and Advanced Magnesium Materials at McGill University, Metals and Materials Engineering, is seeking a Post-Doctoral Fellow to work in an academic-industrial research environment. Basic requirements are a PhD within the last two years from a recognized University, a background in experimental phase diagram studies and expertise in a number of experimental techniques such as cooling curve analysis, DTA, DSC, electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility measurements, and XRD. Knowledge in microstructural techniques of electron microscopy (FEG-SEM, TEM) will be an asset. Good command of English (written and verbal) is required. The position is renewable on yearly basis for a period of five years. Some aspects of the work will be performed in collaboration with the group of Prof. A. Pelton and Prof. P. Chartrand at the CRCT, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal.

If interested, please send resume to:

Prof. Mihriban O. Pekguleryuz
GM-NSERC Chair in Automotive Light Metals and Advanced Magnesium Materials
McGill University
Dept. Metals & Materials Engineering
3610 University Street
Montreal, QC
Canada H3A 2B2

Email: mihriban.pekguleryuz@mcgill.ca