Their experiment was to use the imaging beamline IMAT to look at the fluid circulation in a loop heat pipe, which is proposed as a cooling system used for thermal management of batteries in electric vehicles. Because of the unique interaction of neutrons with different materials, they can use the instrument to study the fluid inside the copper and stainless-steel heater blocks.
In this type of system, the battery is cooled through passive cooling, where the temperature changes the phase of the fluid, and this causes it to flow. Therefore, there is no need for pumps or compressors, making it a much simpler system.
The team were able to come to ISIS thanks to funding from the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF).
