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Start: December 2025, or later (can be discussed)
Duration: 4 – 6 months
Location: Wetsus, European centre of excellence for sustainable water technology, Leeuwarden, NL.
Project description:
The frictional properties of ice are critical in applications ranging from winter sports to transportation safety. While ice is often modified with salts to improve traction or reduce freezing hazards, the underlying physics and chemistry of how different salts impact the physical properties of ice remain underexplored.
Salts lower the freezing point of water, creating brine veins within the ice and altering its structural and surface characteristics. These phenomena affect ice friction, hardness, and surface morphology, making salt an intriguing subject for detailed study.
This project aims to build a state-of-the-art rheometer equipped with a climate chamber capable of simulating ice rink conditions (adjustable ice temperature, humidity, and ambient temperature). Using this setup, the effects of various salts on ice friction and other physical properties will be systematically studied.
This project is part of the thesis project: Grip on Ice of a PhD student of UvA and Wetsus, Loes Heemskerk
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Benefits:
How to apply:
Please upload your cv (max 2 A4 pages), motivation letter (max. 1 A4 page) and a list of the attended courses and the equivalent ECTS via the application form provided (in Dutch or English). Feel free to contact Loes Heemskerk (loes.heemskerk@wetsus.nl) if you have further questions or need more information.
