This project aims to develop an innovative and sustainable approach for manufacturing critical components used in electric vehicles such as inverter cooler plates. These components are responsible for maintaining the temperature of electric vehicle systems and preventing overheating, which can cause electronics and battery system failure.
Traditionally, inverter heat sinks and cooler plates are manufactured using conventional manufacturing processes that have expensive initial set-up costs and generate significant material waste. This PhD research will investigate the feasibility of using laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) 3D printing techniques to bring together a novel composition of copper and diamond to conceive thermally and structurally efficient inverter cooler plates. The project will look at 3D printing complex inverter cooler designs that are lightweight, high-performance, and cost-effective.
The project will first look at establishing the 3D printing of copper and diamond. This will be followed by process parameter optimisation for targeted thermal and structural properties. As the world transitions to net zero, the use of renewable energy and electric transportation continues to increase the demand for copper. Applying on-demand manufacture to this project will remove the requirements and complications of copper inverter cooler stock, minimise material consumption and reduce supply chain challenges ensuring sustainable material usage.
The project will involve material characterisation, mechanical testing, X-ray computed tomography, laser powder bed fusion, process parameter optimisation, computer-aided design (CAD), finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD).
For further information regarding the project or an informal discussion please contact Director of Studies, Dr Arun Arjunan [Email Address Removed]
Applications
To apply for the PhD Research Studentship applicants must hold a first class/distinction at Master and/or Bachelor level of study.
Applications to include one identified project, a full CV (including 2 referee names and contact details), transcripts and a letter of application outlining the motivation for applying (maximum of 2 pages). Applicants from outside UK must provide evidence of English Language requirement as stated in https://www.wlv.ac.uk/research/research-degrees/
Application submission deadline is 10:00am BST 19 June 2023 to [Email Address Removed]
A shortlist of candidates will be prepared from the pool of applicants, in line with Faculty of Science and Engineering Post Graduate Research (PGR) studentship selection criteria, who will be invited to attend an interview with a panel of academic staff, week commencing 26 June 2023.
Following this process all successful candidates will be notified to enrol in July 2023 on a PhD degree programme. The studentship award will include tuition fees at home level for the first three years of full-time study including any write-up period fees and research support fees.
For further information on fees https://www.wlv.ac.uk/apply/funding-costs-fees-and-support/fees-and-costs/research-fees/
Informal enquiries are welcome and should be directed to individual Director of Studies mentioned above.
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