Research Fellow – CFD & Battery Fire Modeling

About the role

We are looking for a Research Fellow to lead the development of a coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and fire dynamics model within the OpenFOAM framework. The work focuses on simulating battery thermal runaway and fire propagation in electric vehicles and power‑assisted bicycles.

Key responsibilities

• Support the Principal Investigator in R&D, project management, technology evaluation and stakeholder coordination.
• Develop and extend CFD models for single‑cell and pack‑level thermal runaway, venting and jet fire.
• Integrate conjugate heat transfer and semi‑reduced‑order models to predict fire spread in EVs and PABs.
• Validate models against experimental burning test data.
• Contribute to a software tool with a simplified user interface for fire modelling.
• Prepare and submit project reports, publications and intellectual‑property documentation.
• Mentor junior researchers and provide regular progress updates to the PI.

Required profile

• PhD in fire engineering, mechanical engineering or a related discipline with a focus on fire dynamics, battery fire or CFD.
• Experience in modelling thermal runaway, electro‑chemical reactions and combustion.
• Proven ability to conduct high‑quality research and publish findings.

Required skills

• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
• OpenFOAM
• Thermal runaway and fire propagation modelling
• Conjugate heat transfer (CHT) techniques
• Software development for scientific tools (user‑interface design)