Development of Film-based Polymer Elastocaloric Cooler

Research topic/area

Mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics and related programs of study

Type of thesis

Master

Start time

01.07.2025

Application deadline

30.06.2025

Duration of the thesis

6 months

Description

Refrigeration consumes a significant portion of global electricity, and demand is projected to grow continuously in the coming years. Elastocaloric cooling, a novel solid-state cooling technology, holds strong potential to reshape the market due to its high efficiency and environmental friendliness. Utilizing film-based elastocaloric materials offers the advantage of more effective heat transfer due to their high surface-to-volume ratio. Moreover, applying polymer films in elastocaloric cooling can significantly reduce overall costs compared to shape memory alloys, making this technology more viable for practical applications.

Your thesis work will involve the basic material characterization of novel elastocaloric polymer films, focusing on their thermal and mechanical properties. In addition, you will design, fabricate, and develop an elastocaloric cooling demonstrator utilizing these materials for systematic research.

This is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary project that offers you the opportunity to engage in cutting-edge research and development in polymer-based elastocaloric cooling technology. It will also allow you to deepen your experimental skills and engineering knowledge. Furthermore, there is the potential to contribute to conference and/or journal publications as a co-author.

To support your work, IMT provides access to extensive, state-of-the-art facilities, including a 600 m² cleanroom, rapid prototyping equipment (such as 3D printers and laser cutters), laboratories for assembly and joining technologies, and various advanced metrological laboratories. Intensive supervision will ensure that the project is completed within the scheduled timeframe.
Your Tasks:
• Characterization of elastocaloric polymer samples
• Design and development of lab-scale prototypes for elastocaloric cooling
• Analysis and optimization of the performance of the integrated elastocaloric cooling system

Requirement

Requirements for students

• A strong background knowledge in thermodynamics, heat transfer, and mechanics
• Expertise in CAD, LabVIEW programming
• Experience in microfabrication is a plus

Faculty departments

• Engineering sciences
  Electrical engineering & information technologies
  Mechanical engineering
  Mechatronics & information technologies
  Mechanical Engineering
  Energy Engineering and Management
• Natural sciences and Technology
  Physics

Supervision

Title, first name, last name

M. Sc. Yi-Ting Hsiau

Organizational unit

Institute of Microstructure Technology, IMT

Email address

yi-ting.hsiau@kit.edu

Link to personal homepage/personal page

Website

Application via email

Application documents

• Cover letter
• Curriculum vitae
• Grade transcript

E-Mail Address for application
Senden Sie die oben genannten Bewerbungsunterlagen bitte per Mail an yi-ting.hsiau@kit.edu


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