Rocket combustion is an extreme environment: thousands of chemical reactions occur simultaneously, forming a wide range of species, including those that later shape plume evolution and atmospheric impact.
To understand these emissions, scientists need chemical models that are both accurate and computationally efficient.
Within the MSCA Doctoral Network SLICE – 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝟮 (𝗗𝗖𝟮) will develop reduced chemical mechanisms that capture the essential chemistry of rocket fuels while remaining fast enough for advanced numerical simulations. Using optimisation strategies and kinetic analysis, this work will identify which reactions and pathways truly matter for predicting emissions and pollutant formation.
Research Objectives:
⚙️ 𝘌𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘴, 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘴
🧬 𝘈𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘭𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴
🚀 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘍𝘋 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 .
By transforming highly complex chemical networks into reliable, simulation-ready models, DC2 provides a critical building block for understanding how rocket exhaust is formed, and how launch systems can be designed with cleaner environmental footprints. 🌎🌱
This position is hosted by Université libre de Bruxelles in hashtagBrussels with secondments at ISAE-SUPAERO and German Aerospace Center (DLR).
SLICE is coordinated by Technische Universität Dresden and funded by European Commission.
