BMW research an Australian first

Kristian Haehndel’s research, which aims to establish a reliable method for predicting vehicle body thermal environments, is highly significant in the design, optimisation and management of vehicle power systems.

His research adds an exciting new dimension to RMIT’s 11-year internship program with BMW in Munich.

German industry has a well-tested tradition of working with global academic institutions like RMIT to support the delivery of doctoral programs.

Mr Haehndel is using the state-of-the-art facilities available at BMW to undertake his PhD research in a virgin area, which involves the use of commercial computational fluid dynamics software to map heat distribution in vehicles.

“I have always wanted to be an engineer and work in Germany,” he said.

“It was evident that RMIT had a significant edge with regards to international collaboration and tailor-made courses to suit industrial needs.

“This was a major factor in my decision to pursue an undergraduate degree in engineering at RMIT.”

Toward the end of his bachelor degree, Mr Haehndel was selected for an internship at BMW’s design division through the RMIT International Industry Experience and Research Program (RIIERP).

This led to a further internship for his final-year thesis.

“The thesis aimed to resolve issues with the conjugate heat transfer calculations of entire vehicle models by improving the surface temperature predictions of the exhaust systems,” Mr Haehndel said.

“It was a problem that BMW had difficulty with for many years. I developed a software platform based in Microsoft Excel which helped engineers in improving their surface temperature predictions.”

His industry on-site PhD supervisor in Munich, Dr Torsten Frank, said: “When Kristian joined the team for his final-year thesis he showed an incredible amount of enthusiasm for the topic.

“He already had a lot of significant experience in the field. Additionally he proved a quick learner and picked up the relevant information in no time, either from literature or from our colleagues.

“This enabled him to achieve some impressive results in his thesis. After this, we were very happy that he joined us for a PhD.

“With his knowledge of our simulation methods and his determination to achieve the best possible result, we are certain that in the next three years he will improve our simulation process.”

Mr Haehndel said: “If not for RMIT, the RIIERP program, and the help of its Director, Professor Sylvester Abanteriba, my dreams of working in Germany would have come to nothing.

“RIIERP is not only an internationally recognised program but also takes particular interest to see that students are taken care of overseas and are exposed to state-of-the-art knowhow and technologies.”

Professor Abanteriba, who is senior supervisor for Mr Haehndel’s PhD, said working and researching overseas could be a life-changing experience.

“As society becomes more globalised it is critical to have an international perspective,” he said.

“Kristian’s PhD program at BMW will expose him to research facilities and expertise not usually available at academic institutions.

“The postgraduate research component was included in RIIERP in 2000 with this objective in mind, as well as strengthening research collaboration between RMIT and best practice international corporations.”

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