Bidzina Kekelia is a senior research engineer in NREL’s power electronics and electric machines group with a focus on novel cooling solutions for power electronics and integrated electric traction drives for ground vehicles and electrified aviation applications. His career has included extensive support for the Ministry of Energy of Georgia, including preparing pre-feasibility techno-economic studies to attract funding to major power sector projects, and developing the Georgian power generation dispatch model for assessing the technical and financial benefits of exporting surplus summer electricity production from existing and proposed hydropower plants to neighboring countries.

Research Interests

Thermal management systems for integrated electric traction drives

Thermal energy recovery, storage, and applications

Passive two-phase heat transfer (heat pipes, thermosiphons)

Education

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah

M.S., Renewable Energy, University of Oldenburg

B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Georgian Technical University

Professional Experience

Senior Research Engineer, Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences, NREL (2015–present)

Post-Doctoral Research Associate, University of Utah (2012–2015)

Graduate Research & Teaching Assistant, University of Utah (2007–2011)

Senior Energy Expert, CORE International (2004–2006)

Project Engineer, PA Consulting Group (2001–2003)

Deputy Project Director, Academy for Educational Development – Energy & Environment Program (1999–2000)

Associations and Memberships

Senior Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Member, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

Member, Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International)

Member, International Solar Energy Society (ISES)

Member, Experimental Aviation Association (EAA)

Featured Work

Numerical Simulations of High Prandtl Number Liquid Jets Impinging on A Flat Plate, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (2023)

Techno-Economic Feasibility Analysis of an Extreme Heat Flux Micro-Cooler, iScience (2023)

Thermal Management System for an Electric Machine With Additively Manufactured Hollow Conductors With Integrated Heat Pipes, 2022 International Conference on Electrical Machines (2022)

Experimental and Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Characteristics of Single-Phase Free-Surface Fan Jet Impingement With Automatic Transmission Fluid, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (2021)

Comparison of Thermal Management Approaches for Integrated Traction Drives in Electric Vehicles, Proceedings of the ASME 2020 International Technical Conference and Exhibition on Packaging and Integration of Electronic and Photonic Microsystems (2020)

Surface Temperature Effect on Convective Heat Transfer Coefficients for Jet Impingement Cooling of Electric Machines With Automatic Transmission Fluid, Proceedings of the ASME 2019 International Technical Conference and Exhibition on Packaging and Integration of Electronic and Photonic Microsystems (2019)

Electrothermal Modeling and Analysis of Gallium Oxide Power Switching Devices, Proceedings of the ASME 2019 International Technical Conference and Exhibition on Packaging and Integration of Electronic and Photonic Microsystem (2019)

Nucleate Pool Boiling of R-245fa at Low Saturation Temperatures for Hydrogen Precooling Applications, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (2019)

Thermal and Thermomechanical Modeling to Design a Gallium Oxide Power Electronics Package, Proceedings of the 2018 IEEE 6th Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (2018)

U.S. Light-Duty Vehicle Air Conditioning Fuel Use and Impact of Solar/Thermal Control Technologies, SAE International Journal of Passenger Vehicle Systems (2019)

Patents

Heat Flux Micro Coolers Having Multi-Stepped Features And Fluid Wicking, U.S. Patent No. 11,729,951 B2 (2023)

Awards and Honors

IEEE Senior Member (2023)

Best Paper Award, Geothermal Resources Council (2009)