An article resulting from the doctoral work of Rafael Almeida, a student on the Doctoral Programme in Engineering Physics, taught jointly by the Faculty of Engineering (FEUP) and the Faculty of Sciences (FCUP), both of the University of Porto, was considered one of the best of the year 2024 by the international magazine ‘Journal of Physics: Energy (JPhys Energy)’.
Rafael Almeida’s work deals with a new sustainable refrigeration technology, using a rotating magnetocaloric effect, a variation on magnetic refrigeration technology that will enable a reduction in the use of expensive raw materials.
According to the PhD student, ‘with this technology, the temperature reaches its peak for less intense magnetic field values’, while increasing energy efficiency, and it could be used in the fridges/heat pumps of the future that will operate through a more sustainable refrigeration system than the one used today, leading to the release of greenhouse gases.
Inside this magnetic ‘doughnut’, the temperature of the magnetocaloric material is altered by its rotation. PHOTO: SICC.FCUP
The leading energy publication honoured the article based on the merit of the research, the popularity of the article online (such as the number of views) and the praise and recommendations of the reviewers. Rafael Almeida adds that ‘the journal in which the article was published has an average of seven citations per article published in the last two years [impact factor], and our article already has 11 citations in one year’.
In addition to the distinction at JPhys Energy, this study led to a patent application that has already been officially submitted to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), but Rafael Almeida and the research team he is part of intend to continue the work done so far, and to this end they have made a breakthrough with the successful measurement of the rotating magnetocaloric effect in new materials, the research for which will result in a new article to be published this year.
Research abroad
After completing this study, the FEUP and FCUP student will enter the final phase of his doctorate with an international experience: he will spend four months working at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Ljubljana (ULFS) in Slovenia to simulate devices that incorporate this new effect.
The research is under the supervision of João Horta Belo, Professor at FCUP, and is being carried out in collaboration with the University of Aveiro (UA), as part of the project ‘Magnetocaloric refrigeration by demagnetising effect’, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology.
The team also includes FCUP researchers Cláudia Rodrigues Fernandes, Sara Freitas, João Ventura, João Pedro Araújo and Daniel Silva, as well as Rodrigo Kiefe and João Amaral, from the CICECO Associated Laboratory at the University of Aveiro.
Synergy between Faculties of the U.Porto universe
The Doctoral Programme in Engineering Physics (PRODEF) integrates the application of advanced physics to the challenges of modern engineering. It is distinguished from other doctoral programmes in Engineering by its in-depth knowledge and intensive use of Physics in its research topics, sharing with other doctoral programmes an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach, geared towards action in processes, technologies and devices with a strong impact on Society and the Economy.
Training through research is present from the outset, in the tutorial approach of the curricular units, in the definition of the thesis project by the student and in the research project carried out. Students carry out their research projects in leading research centres in Portugal, often in collaboration with foreign institutions and international teams. Throughout the programme, special attention is paid to transferable skills and student employability.
This Doctoral Programme has an open approach, promoting the interface and collaboration with existing doctoral programmes at FEUP, FCUP, the University of Porto or foreign institutions.