Research Assistant on SAFEBATT Project - INTERNAL ONLY

Job id: 091126. Salary: £42,099 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.

Posted: 14 June 2024. Closing date: 23 June 2024.

Business unit: Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sci. Department: Engineering.

Contact details:Dr Francesco Restuccia. [email protected]

Location: Strand Campus. Category: Research.

You will be part of an active research programme in the Heat and Fire Lab (https://heatandfire.github.io/ ) in the Department of Engineering at King’s College London.

Recently re-founded, the Department of Engineering is rapidly expanding into a world-class research and teaching department.

We offer both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, with a distinctive approach, combining both traditional teaching methods with modern, project-based learning, catering for the needs of our students and the industries in which they will work.   

As a new department we have invested in new laboratories and maker space at the centre of the Strand campus in the heart of central London.  

For more information: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/engineering    

We are looking to appoint a part time (0.5 FTE) Research Assistant as part of a Faraday Institution funded project on battery fire modelling, specifically focusing on thermal runaway and cell-to-cell propagation of flaming combustion. The role-holder will be part of a larger team on the SAFEBATT Project, major grant of the faraday institution, being led by UCL.  At King’s, you will be joining a department with new laboratory facilities.

The post is available for October 1st 2024 start and is funded until 31st March 2025.

The research in this project at King’s will help develop a full model that integrates a thermal electrical coupled battery model, a chemical kinetics model and a flame dynamics model  to provide a tool that can be used to predict battery fire propagation and flame properties as well as heat transfer feedback to predict cell-to-cell propagation.

This project will lay the foundation to enable:

1. Design of safer battery packs.

2. Quantification of hot gases and flames emanating from ruptured battery cells

3. Quantification of heat generation and fire propagation in varying realistic operating conditions for battery packs.

Candidates with a background in Fire Science, and battery safety modelling particularly encouraged to apply.

This is a part time post (0.5 FTE), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31/03/2025

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1.       Good knowledge and research experiences in modelling lithium-ion battery fires especially for NMC/LFP/LCO cathode types.

2.       Publications in battery fire safety or closely related area in peer-reviewed journals.

3.       Proficiency in a Multiphysics software (COMSOL or related) and fire dynamics simulation software (FDS or similar)

4.       Knowledge of lithium-ion battery thermal processes

5.       Proficiency in Chemical Kinetics software (Cantera or similar)

6.       Experience in thermal runaway modelling or experiments

7.       Masters Degree in Engineering Discipline

Desirable criteria

1.       Working towards a PhD in Mechanical Engineering or in an area related to Fire Safety Engineering

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘ How we Recruit ’ pages.

Interviews are due to be held in July 2024.

We are not able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.