The first contract research, a 100 hour job done by a student, is right now being performed at Shell Pernis. Participant Aard Duivenvoorden has joined a team of specialists to look at a mechanical problem with a chemical tower. The tower is part of the polyol production equipment at Europe’s biggest refinery Pernis.

The job Aard has, is to look at a possible cause of the deformation of the tower. The type of tower involved is used to extract salts from a substance. It is suggested that an uneven filling of the filter makes the tower deform. Aard is testing this hypothesis by using measured pressure differences in the tower and a computer model. The model is made in Ansys and is used for several load scenarios.

Aard feels quite lucky to be able to do this contract research. ‘Two days per week I work at the enormous refinery, where I can see the actual process and speak with maintenance people, operators and engineers. The job is very interesting and gives me the unique opportunity to get to see Shell from the inside.’

A contract research is performed by a student as a way of financing the study tour. Moreover, it delivers a participant of the tour a unique working experience and valuable contacts for his further career. In general, a participant works on his own and spends 100 hours on the job. Mostly, the job is done at the location of the company.

You work for a company? Take a look here if you’re also interested in offering a contract research!