PhD Studentship: Net-Zero Topological Engineering: Development of Compact Energy Storage Devices for Carbon Conscious Living

Project summary:
Energy storage is a crucial element in modern life. The overarching aim of this project is to develop and test first fully customized thermal battery to store zero-carbon heat & cold. This studentship is funded by The EPSRC CDT in Topological Design and with the support of industrial partner (Eskimo Products).

Supervisory team:
The student will work closely with staff at the Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage, School of Mathematics and School Materials & Metallurgy. The project will be supervised by: Dr Adriano Sciacovelli (Chemical Engineering) and Dr Alexandra Tzella (Mathematics), Prof Professor Moataz Attallah (School Materials & Metallurgy).

Summary of the Project:
Heating and Cooling (H&C) in buildings accounts for the great majority of energy consumption and CO2 emissions. There is a current push toward compact ’thermal batteries’, i.e. systems for storing heat/cold, which take advantage of novel energy storage materials: phase change materials and thermochemical materials to store large amount of energy in a limited volume to ultimately increase utilization of Renewable energy in buildings.

A central limitation, however, is the lack of fully tailored thermal batteries. Achieving fully customized thermal batteries that satisfy the needs of high performance, manufacturability and end-user preference requires radical re-thinking of the whole development process. The objective of the project is therefore to develop a novel customized thermal battery with the aid of topological optimization, manufacture it and ultimately demonstrate its superior performances.

As part of this project, the student will be expected to:

1. To advance a topology optimization models to guide the discovery of non-intuitive optimized thermal battery geometries
2. To numerically analyse how the optimal designs of thermal batteries are influenced by storage material properties and energy charging/discharging strategies
3. To study manufacturability of the optimized thermal battery geometries
4. To realize and experimentally test a thermal battery lab prototype in cooperation with the industrial partner (ESKIMO) to form the basis for future commercialization

Essential requirements:
Applicants should have a first-class degree or at least 2:1 (or equivalent) in Chemical Engineering, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computing, Mathematics, Physics or related areas. Suitable backgrounds for these PhD positions include, but are not limited to, energy engineering, mechanical engineering, mathematical optimization, Physics and Computer Science. Applicants should be highly motivated individuals with a keen interest in conducting interdisciplinary research.

Further Information and Application:
To apply contact Associate Prof Adriano Sciacovelli (a.sciacovelli@bham.ac.uk ) and submit your CV
Closing Date: 30 May 2023; early application is highly recommended as position will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is found, which might be before closing date.

Funding

Studentship is available to UK and overseas applicants on a competitive basis from our CDT Topological Design or alternative funding schemes, covering tuition fees and stipend.

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