PhD Studentship: From Droplet to Spray – A Mechanistic Approach to Phase Change Thermal Management King’s College London in United Kingdom

This PhD studentship at King’s College London addresses the urgent challenge of thermal management in high-power electronics, fusion energy reactors, and electric vehicle inverters, where heat fluxes are rapidly exceeding the limits of traditional cooling methods. The project, titled "From Droplet to Spray: A Mechanistic Approach to Phase Change Thermal Management," aims to advance the understanding and engineering of spray cooling systems, which are among the most promising solutions for high-performance thermal management.

Spray cooling currently relies on empirical design, due to the complex, stochastic interactions of millions of droplets. This project seeks to bridge the gap between single droplet hydrodynamics and full-spray thermal performance, moving beyond isolated droplet studies to unravel the physics of real-world spray environments. Research objectives include investigating droplet interactions and liquid film formation during high-frequency impingement, developing advanced diagnostics using high-speed optical and thermal imaging, and modelling transitions between boiling regimes to predict heat transfer coefficients.

The successful candidate will join the Thermofluid Physics Laboratory, led by Dr Yutaku Kita, within the Department of Engineering. The lab offers world-class facilities, including high-speed cameras, microscopic visualization tools, and microfabrication capabilities at the Strand Research Facility and London Centre for Nanotechnology. The project is part of the EU MSCA ThermEnTrans initiative, providing opportunities for international collaboration, networking, and secondments with partners such as Imperial College London, UCL, University of Edinburgh, University College Dublin, Kyushu University, and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.

Applicants should have a background in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or Physics, with strong knowledge of fluid mechanics and heat transfer, laboratory experience, and programming skills. Desirable skills include surface sciences, CFD simulations, and image processing. The position is funded for 42 months through an EPSRC DLA award, covering full tuition fees (Home UKRI £5,238 p.a. or overseas £34,700 p.a.), a tax-free stipend of £23,805 for 2026/27 with annual increases, and bench fees of £2,500 per annum.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, with a deadline of March 27, 2026. Candidates must apply via the King’s Apply online system, select Engineering Research (MPhil/PhD), indicate Dr Yutaku Kita as supervisor, quote the project title, and enter code [979] in the Funding section. The selection process includes document pre-selection and interview. For further information, visit the lab website or the King’s College London postgraduate research pages.