Joshua Acosta
MIT SoE — Lord Foundation Undergraduate Research and Innovation Scholar
Development of Advanced Thermo-Adsorptive Battery for Electric Vehicles
2015–2016
MechE
Evelyn Wang
Implementation of the Advanced Thermo-Adsorptive Battery (ATB) system to power a vehicle’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system can potentially increase the driving range of electric vehicles up to 30 %. The objective is to develop a climate control system for electric vehicles (EVs) that is powered by stored thermal energy. The use of novel adsorbent materials, non toxic materials, a negligible self-discharging rate, and silent operation are favorable qualities guiding the project’s progression. High power and capacity requirements for climate control systems in EVs and existing vehicle infrastructure will pose challenging factors. I will be focusing on the design, fabrication, and integration of the ATB prototype,
I began working with the Device Research Laboratory on this project during the summer of my junior year. My coursework in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and interest in thermal sciences is my motivation for this project. My experience with CFD modeling of heat exchangers for high power density CPUs prepared me for the tasks to successfully bring the ATB system to completion.