Optimisation of Landing Gear at Overall Aircraft Level PhD

Start date: 30th Jan or 05th June 2023

Fee status of eligible applicants: UK / International

Duration of Award: 4 years

1st Supervisor: Craig Lawson

2nd Supervisor: Martin Skote

Sponsored by UKRI/EPSRC, Airbus and Cranfield University. Eligible students could receive a tax-free bursary up to £17,312 per annum. To be eligible, you must have a UK connection. To be eligible for this funding, we require that applicants are currently under no restrictions regarding how long they can stay in the UK. Funding eligibility rules are here, where the UK connection is defined:

https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/UKRI-050422-TrainingGrantTermsConditionsGuidance-Apr2022.pdf

Refer to page 12 on Student Eligibility and Annex B

Also here:

https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/UKRI-030221-Guidance-International-Eligibility-Implementation-training-grant-holders-V2.pdf

This 4-year PhD opportunity is sponsored by UKRI/EPSRC, Airbus and Cranfield University. Eligible students could receive a tax-free bursary up to £17,312 per annum. The project aims to investigate future aircraft landing gear designs and operations in the context of a holistic approach. The landing gear has important structural and system interfaces with the rest of the aircraft in providing its functions to enable taxi, take-off and landing.

Historically, the interface between airframe and landing gear has included a rotational axis and 1 or 2 side stay braces. Using modern analytical methods, this project will help to understand and integrate the Landing Gear into the airframe of new aircraft configurations. State of the art topological optimization as well as innovative materials and manufacturing techniques may open the design space towards sustainable aircraft and better optimized solutions for Overall Aircraft Design.  

Cranfield University excels in strategic and applied research. In the latest 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), 88% of our research was considered ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ in its quality. Cranfield is a ‘Top 5’ research institute, based on commercial income and it is the only Post Graduate exclusive University of the UK.

Airbus is a global aircraft manufacturing company with roots in Europe, which includes in its portfolio a modern and comprehensive family of civil airliners. Airbus has a well-established track record in industrial research and technology development in the aerospace sector. Technological progress through research and innovation allows the company to contribute to civil aviation’s commitments to more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly operations.

Future aircraft may use new energy carriers and converters such as batteries, fuel cells and liquid hydrogen. Methods and design tools developed in this project are expected to enable optimized landing gear solutions for these novel aircraft, which will have different requirements to traditional aircraft.

Entry requirements

Applicants should have a first or second class UK honours degree or equivalent in a related discipline. This project would suit a candidate with a keen interest in Mechanical Engineering, ~Energy Systems, Mechatronics, Materials Science, Optimization or Computational Science, with a command on modelling and a strong passion to learn. The candidate should be self-motivated and have good communication skills. Furthermore, ability to write publications that succinctly describe complex systems and novel concepts is a requirement. A MSc in a related topic would be an advantage.

How to apply

For further information please contact:      

Name: Craig Lawson or Martin Skote

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

If you are eligible to apply for this studentship, please complete the online application form .