In-situ Quantification of Emissions During Safety Venting

Faculty of Engineering

A black and white photo of flames shooting up in the air.

Research project description

This project will develop highly sensitive optical techniques to probe and quantify in-situ particle and gas emissions of Li-ion battery cells as they approach thermal runaway during their safety venting phase. Lasers and optical equipment available at the UW Fire Research Facility will be used to target the time evolution of select gas and solid species and concentrations along with particle size distributions. Resulting data from this work will be used to tailor highly sensitive low-cost sensors to enable early detection of thermal runaway.

This project will involve collaborations with partner researchers at University of Waterloo and at University of Sydney, along with industry collaborators.

Fields of research

  • Fire safety engineering
  • Lithium-ion batteries
  • Thermal runaway
  • Electro-chemistry

Qualifications and ideal student profile

Prospective graduate student researchers must meet or exceed the minimum admission requirements for the programs connected to this opportunity. Visit the program pages using the links on this page to learn more about minimum admission requirements. In addition to minimum requirements, the research supervisor is looking for the following qualifications and student profile.

  • A Bachelor’s (MASc position) or Master’s (PhD position) degree (or equivalent) in fire engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, chemistry, applied physics, or a related field
  • Interest in batteries and energy storage
  • Practical experience with experimental design, machining, CAD, arduinos, and instrumentation
  • Background in experimental methods and thermo-fluids
  • Programming skills using Matlab, Python and Labview
  • Strong communication skills, report writing skills, and ability to work in a multidisciplinary environment
  • Willingness to travel abroad to present findings at conferences and workshops

Faculty researcher and supervisor

            Fire Research and Safety Website→

Graduate programs connected to this project

Important dates

 In-situ Quantification of Emissions During Safety Venting is accepting expressions of interest for intake in the spring 2026 and fall 2026 terms.

Express interest in In-situ Quantification of Emissions During Safety Venting

Citizenship
Please ensure your CV file is a .PDF
One file only.
100 MB limit.
Allowed types: pdf.
Include a LinkedIn, Google Scholar, or other online profile link.
Tell the supervisor why you're a fit for this research opportunity?
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Additional Information
Faculty: