About the Project
Applications are invited for a highly interdisciplinary PhD studentship to research the design, development and testing of a multicaloric instrument, as well as to investigate multiferroic materials suitable for multicaloric solid state cooling.
The three years post is available from 01 Oct 2018 and the successful candidate will receive a full University PhD bursary.
You will be an enthusiastic and self-motivated person who meets the academic requirements for enrolment for the PhD degree at University of Portsmouth. You will have a suitable honours degree (or equivalent) in Physics, Materials Science or a related Engineering subject, and a rigorous approach to research together with disciplined work habits. Good team-working, observational and communication skills are essential.
Today’s modern refrigeration technology is based almost entirely on a compression / expansion cooling cycle. Excluding commercial and industrial refrigerators, there are currently 1.4 billion household refrigeration units all round the world. The average annual consumption of all these cold appliances amounts to about 453 kWh, resulting in annual electricity consumption of 634 TWh, which is more than the total electricity consumption of Germany. In fact, refrigeration accounts for about 14% of total domestic energy consumption causing worldwide annual greenhouse gas emissions of 450 million tons of CO2eq. Hence, one of the global scientific and technological challenges of today is the development of more efficient cooling methods. Solid-state cooling offers an elegant solution as it is clean and energy efficient technology that utilizes the adiabatic relaxation of an order parameter in solids (electric, magnetic or elastic) to produce a temperature reduction of the solid refrigerant.
The Giant multi-caloric effect in multiferroic materials, is a major breakthrough in solid state cooling, because it offers a unique approach by combining the principles of electrocaloric, magnetocaloric and elastocaloric effects into a unified process with enhanced caloric properties. Despite its first theoretical publication in 2012, the multicaloric effect has not been experimentally proven yet.
In this PhD project the focus is on the design, construction and experimental evaluation of a World first multicaloric testing instrument, as well as investigation of multiferroic materials suitable for multicaloric solid state cooling. A key aspect of this research programme will be an exploration of how this type of technology can be applied within the built environment to provide efficient, low cost, low carbon cooling and /or heating. This will include considering how the demand for heating and cooling varies depending on the building type, the construction type, the occupation profile and the likely occupant expectations of comfort. It is anticipated that much of analysis of these aspects will be based on desk-top simulations and modelling.
Specific candidate requirements:
You will be an enthusiastic and self-motivated person who meets the academic requirements for enrolment for the PhD degree at University of Portsmouth. You will have a suitable honours degree (or equivalent) in Physics, Materials Science or a related Engineering subject, and a rigorous approach to research together with disciplined work habits. Good team-working, observational and communication skills are essential.
Desirable skills:
Familiar with SolidWorks or Cad design
Numerical modelling
Materials fabrication including ceramics and thin films
Experience with vacuum systems and cryogenics
How to apply:
We welcome applications from highly motivated prospective students who are committed to develop outstanding research outcomes. You can apply online at www.port.ac.uk/applyonline. Please quote project code MPHY4310518 in your application form.
Funding Notes
The fully-funded, full-time three-year studentship provides a stipend that is in line with that offered by Research Councils UK of £14,777 per annum.