PhD Studentship in Multi-Functional Additive Manufacturing by Ultrasonic Consolidation, University of Nottingham

Reference : ENG614
Closing Date : Open until filled

Faculty of Engineering – Division of Manufacturing within the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Additive Manufacturing

The EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Additive Manufacturing will be led from the University of Nottingham from July 1, 2012, with Loughborough University as a partner. The aim of this EPSRC Centre is to work at the forefront of Additive Manufacturing and Three Dimensional (3D) Printing research with a focus on next-generation, multi-material and multifunctional Additive Manufacturing systems for the production of end-use functionalised 3D structures and components.

As part of the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Additive Manufacturing, a full-time funded PhD studentship is available at the University of Nottingham’s main University Park Campus. The University of Nottingham is nationally and internationally renowned as a leading research intensive Institution that ranks highly in the latest international league tables for both teaching and research excellence. This, combined with our overseas campuses in China and Malaysia, makes the University of Nottingham a truly global and world-class institution.

Stemming from the world’s leading research group in the field that has recently transferred to the University of Nottingham, the research to be undertaken within the EPSRC Centre will focus on the investigation of new processes and design systems to support the manufacture of end-use, multifunctional products via 3D Printing. The major research theme of the EPSRC Centre is therefore to concentrate on enabling greater potential value and application by integrating additional engineering or systems functionality within a single component. The research is also aimed at exploiting the unrivalled design freedoms associated with 3D Printing to enable next generation products demanded by key industrial partners.

The aim of the project associated with the advertised studentship is to realise an entirely new realm of multifunctional components by the freeform integration of electrical circuitry within dense metal components processed in the solid-state. This will allow the fabrication of novel engineered components as a result of the solid state nature of the Ultrasonic Consolidation (UC) process that will allow the integration of a wide variety of components due to the absence of elevated bulk temperatures. This research will be conducted with three PhD students working within a wider research team comprising of academics, post-doctoral researchers, and technical staff at both Loughborough University and the University of Nottingham. Although operating as part of a collaborative aim, the studentship advertised will primarily research the FEA modelling of the process, working within a larger group investigating the use of computational methods in the design, optimisation, analysis and process modelling for additive manufacture.

The studentship is due to start 1st October 2012, cover tuition fees and provide a tax-free stipend for the three-year duration of the project starting at £13,590 pa. and increasing with an annual increment. An additional £2000 a year may be awarded for students with a 1st class degree/ MSc Distinction from a UK Russell Group University or equivalent. This studentship provides tuition fees at the UK/EU rate only. Students must have a first or upper second class academic qualification in Mechanical Engineering or other relevant engineering discipline. A Masters degree in a similar discipline and/or experience in the following will be an advantage: finite element analysis, computational mechanics, structural analysis, multi-physics analysis, additive manufacturing.

Please direct informal enquiries to Prof Ian Ashcroft, via the EPSRC Centre Coordinator (Martin Baumers) by e-mail to martin.baumers@nottingham.ac.uk or phone +44 (0)115 9513877.

Application forms and notes of guidance can be obtained online, from: http://pgstudy.nottingham.ac.uk/apply-for-postgraduate-courses.aspx and select the Department of Mechanical, Materials & Manufacturing.  These studentships will remain open until filled.