Research Projects

India’s electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem is rapidly expanding, with two- and three-wheelers forming the bulk of adoption. However, thermal management of battery systems remains a major challenge, particularly in extreme Indian climates where ambient temperatures range from −5°C to 50°C. Active cooling systems are bulky, energy-intensive, and impractical for compact EVs. Passive solutions such as phase change material (PCM)-based thermal storage and boiling-based evaporative cooling offer low-power alternatives but face limitations when used individually. This project proposes a hybrid thermal management system that integrates nano-textured boiling surfaces with PCM-based latent heat storage, further enhanced by an AI-assisted predictive control model. The proposed system aims to maintain optimal battery temperatures under dynamic driving and charging loads using safe dielectric fluids (e.g., Novec 7000) and encapsulated PCM modules for transient thermal buffering. The core scientific objectives are to: 1. Design and fabricate nano-textured surfaces using solution-blown polymeric nanofibers to enhance nucleate boiling. 2. Select and integrate suitable PCMs for high-capacity latent heat storage. 3. Develop a hybrid cooling prototype and validate it under realistic EV battery load cycles. 4. Implement and train an AI model to predict thermal behavior and optimize cooling response. The central hypothesis is that combining nano-textured surfaces for pool boiling with latent heat storage and AI-based predictive control will yield a compact, energy-efficient, and scalable thermal management system superior to conventional approaches in terms of responsiveness, safety, and modular integration. The main experiments include boiling heat transfer testing on engineered surfaces using Novec fluids, PCM selection and integration, CFD modeling of hybrid heat transfer and phase change dynamics, and AI model development using real-time sensor data. These steps will culminate in the fabrication and validation of a lab-scale hybrid cooling module. If successful, this research will contribute to the fundamental understanding of coupled boiling–PCM systems and AI-assisted thermal optimization. The project outcomes—including a prototype, CFD-AI datasets, publications, and a patent—will significantly advance passive thermal management technologies for EVs and portable electronics, supporting India's FAME-II, National Cooling Action Plan, and Atmanirbhar Bharat missions.