Major grant for breakthrough research in thermal management

The project aims to develop novel mathematical tools to aid the design of innovative thermal management devices for use in multiple ground and space-based applications including everything from electric vehicles to satellites.

Speaking about the grant, project lead Professor Marco Marengo said: “Our project can best be summed up as “better cooling for powerful electronics”. The worldwide market for heat exchangers and thermal management systems is very important and fast-growing driven by such things as the development of heat recovery systems, fuel cells and batteries for electric vehicles.

“But the cost and difficulty in designing new systems is high. This is particularly true of applications used in space, where thermal management can represent up to 15 percent of the cost of a satellite.

Professor Marco Marengo

“Our project aims to further close the gap between our ability to design and develop such systems using state-of-the-art numerical simulation.”

It is hoped that the new technology arising from the project – the Hybrid Pulsating Heat Pipe - will go aboard the International Space Station in 2020 with the support of the European Space Agency as part of British astronaut Tim Peake’s second space mission.

The project is being run in collaboration with three industrial partners: Libertine FPE which develops technology in the automotive sector; Sustainable Engine Systems Ltd which develops heat exchangers; and Kayser Space, one of the most important companies in the European space sector.