Composite Phase Change Materials (CPCM) for Off-Grid Thermal Energy Storage (LANDINIS3_U26EMP)
Key Details
- Application deadline
- 31 January 2026 for International, 31 March 2026 for Home
- Location
- UEA
- Funding type
- Self-funded
- Start date
- 1 June 2026
- Mode of study
- Full-time
- Programme type
- PhD
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Project description
Primary supervisor - Dr Stefano Landini
Background and Rationale
Energy poverty remains a major challenge in rural regions of developing countries, where access to reliable grid electricity is limited. In such contexts, thermal energy storage (TES) offers a promising approach for capturing and reusing surplus thermal energy from solar or biomass sources. Phase change materials (PCMs) are central to this strategy due to their high energy density and near-constant temperature during phase transition.
However, conventional PCMs suffer from low thermal conductivity and phase separation during repeated cycling, which limits their practical deployment. Recent developments in composite PCMs (CPCM)—such as the incorporation of conductive fillers, encapsulation, and form-stable matrices—have led to significant improvements in thermal performance and durability. These innovations open up new possibilities for designing TES systems tailored to rural applications like water heating, space heating, and cooking.
This project aims to design, develop, and evaluate high-performance composite PCMs integrated into compact TES systems for use in off-grid households. A prototype TES unit will be conceptualised and optimised for off-grid rural applications.
Aims and Objectives
• To formulate composite PCMs with enhanced thermal conductivity, shape stability, and cycling durability.
• To evaluate their thermal properties under real-life charging/discharging conditions.
• To design a TES module for solar thermal input.
• To test and validate the system in simulated rural household settings
Proposed Methodology
Composite PCMs will be developed using organic pristine materials enhanced with thermally conductive nanofillers (e.g., graphene nanoplatelets, carbon nanotubes) and encapsulated. Materials will be characterised for melting point, latent heat, thermal conductivity, and stability using DSC, TGA, and thermal cycling tests. A TES module will be modelled in ANSYS Fluent to simulate heat transfer under intermittent solar heating. Based on this, a prototype system will be fabricated and tested in a laboratory environment simulating daily solar exposure and thermal demands typical of rural homes.
Entry requirements
The standard minimum entry requirement is 2:1 in Mechanical Engineering, Energy Engineering, Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical Physics.
Funding
This project is offered on a self-funding basis. It is open to applicants with funding or those applying to funding sources. Details of tuition fees can be found here.
A bench fee is also payable in addition to the tuition fee to cover specialist equipment or laboratory costs required for the research. Applicants should contact the primary supervisor for further information about the fee associated with the project.
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