Evaporative Cooling of Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Low-Boiling Dielectric Fluids (LANDINIS2_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
Thermal management has emerged as one of the most critical challenges in the advancement of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), particularly in high-demand applications such as electric vehicles (EVs), aerospace, and grid-scale storage. Elevated cell temperatures and temperature non-uniformity within battery packs can significantly reduce lifespan, degrade electrochemical performance, and in extreme cases, trigger thermal runaway. With the push toward faster charging and higher energy densities, passive and active cooling systems face increasing pressure to perform reliably and safely under dynamic thermal loads.
Conventional air and liquid cooling systems suffer from relatively low heat transfer coefficients and often require complex hardware or substantial parasitic energy consumption. Recently, immersion cooling with dielectric fluids has gained attention due to its ability to remove heat directly from cell surfaces without electrical risk. However, most existing studies focus on boiling-based or single-phase immersion regimes.
This project proposes an innovative non-boiling evaporative cooling method, where the dielectric fluid changes phase via surface evaporation at moderate temperatures, offering a potentially safer, more controllable, and energy-efficient alternative. This research will pioneer a novel, passive-to-semi-active thermal management method that takes advantage of surface evaporation without boiling—thus avoiding issues like vapor bubble instability, pressure fluctuations, and fluid degradation associated with nucleate boiling.
Aims and Objectives
The primary aim of this project is to develop and evaluate a low-boiling-point dielectric evaporative cooling system that utilises surface phase change (no nucleate boiling) to maintain optimal battery temperatures during operation. Specific objectives include:
• Selection and characterisation of suitable dielectric fluids
• Design and fabrication of a laboratory-scale cooling system to test thermal performance under realistic cycling conditions.
• Development of a multi-physics simulation model coupling heat transfer, evaporation, fluid flow, and electrochemical behaviour.
• Evaluation of long-term reliability, degradation risks, and cooling efficiency under varying operational loads and environmental conditions.
Entry requirements
The standard minimum entry requirement is 2:1 in Mechanical Engineering, Energy Engineering, Engineering.
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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