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Empa's

Laboratory of Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles

pioneers in human manikin research and physics-based modeling at multiple scales. We bridge the virtual to the real world by multi-parameter sensing and creating digital twins that can live together with their real-world counterparts.

Knowledge of heat stress is essential for the health and performance of humans in several situations. A typical example is firefighters, who are exposed to extreme heat or elderly people who are exposed to heat stress during heat waves. Such knowledge can help improve clothing design or indoor air conditioning strategies. Currently, we rely at Empa on the use of thermal manikins that have multiple sensors installed to predict heat stress in several environments and to evaluate the impact of clothing.

Your tasks

This PhD project aims to advance further in the field of heat stress prediction by combining sensing with textile-integrated physical sensors and complementing this with virtual sensing through digital human twins. That way, we want to augment our knowledge of the spatially and temporally caring heat load on the human body. The results of this work will be used by the textile or HVAC industry. This project is performed in close collaboration with industrial partners.

The tasks for the PhD student will be:

• Develop and test a textile-based heat flux sensor for measurements in thermal manikins.
• Build a multiphysics model of the environment, clothing and skin (and body), including convection, radiation and conduction in materials. Specific models for skin burn, heat stress and also for clothing aging for end-of-life modeling are included.
• Integrate this model into a digital twin of the human to predict the risk of skin burn or heat stress prediction. You use the input of one or a few textile-based heat flux sensors to have a prediction of more locations on the full human body.
• Integrate the model into a digital twin of the clothing to predict the end-of-life of clothing for firefighters.

Apart from these subprojects, you will also work at a later stage on another related project that applies advanced sensing on manikins or multiphysics modeling of heat and mass transfer.

Your profile

• Completed Master`s degree in mechanical engineering.
• Demonstrated expert knowledge of the software COMSOL Multiphysics is essential.
• Proven experience in continuum modeling (finite element modeling, computational fluid dynamics).
• Knowledge of heat and mass transport processes in materials and the human-body interface.
• Experience in thermal measurements (temperature, heat flux, infrared, anemometry).
• Excellent communication skills and fluency in English (both written and oral) are mandatory. Knowledge of German is considered advantageous.

Our offer

The project is planned for a duration of 3 years and is envisaged to carry out the above research tasks in the form of a PhD thesis. The project is supported by Empa under the supervision of Prof. René Rossi (academic supervisor), Martin Camenzind (co-supervisor) and Prof. Thijs Defraeye (co-supervisor). It involves a joint affiliation with ETH Zürich (D-HEST). The candidate will perform the research at Empa in St. Gallen. The desired starting date is 1st of February 2025 or upon mutual Agreement.

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