PhD Projects for 2024 Entry

The 2024 PhD entry cycle has now closed. Congratulations to the successful applicants, who we look forward to welcoming to the group in the Autumn

For those potentially interested in 2025 entry PhD studentships in the research group, please feel free to reach out to David Williamson or James Perry; we'll be able to update in due course as funding for specific projects is confirmed.

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Some examples of other possible PhD projects (which do not currently have specific funding sources attached) are given below

Ultra-fast temperature sensors for shock (David Williamson)

Accurate temperature measurement during high speed events remains a consistent problem in shock-physics. Existing transducers are rate limited by their thermal mass, whereas standard optical techniques can only be applied under limited conditions (usually very high temperatures). In this project, we will focus on developing new techniques for ultra-fast temperature measurement. These will include modelling, fabrication and testing of nanometre-scale thermistor based instrumentation and fast response infra-red pyrometry. The techniques will be applied to study shock temperatures in polymeric and liquid systems, which are of increasing industrial importance.

Adhesion and damage in composites (David Williamson)

Composite materials are of great importance in the everyday world.  Their fundamentally inhomogeneous nature means composites can exhibit complex forms of behaviour, relating to characteristics of the binder, filler and the nature of the interaction between them.  This project will focus on predicting the behaviour of composites using physically based models, supplemented by experimental data.  Low temperature thermo-physical measurements enable key model parameters to be populated.  Predictions may then be validated using other, mechanically based, measurements.  It will suit a keen experimentalist, and will likely involve extensive collaboration with other researchers.

Dynamic properties of fibre composites (James Perry)

Composite materials (particularly Glass-fibre reinforced polymer, GFRP) can be stronger and lighter than steel, and resistant to corrosion. Fibreglass has been used for decades in everything from small watercraft and waterslides to traffic lights and surfboards, and more recently high-performance composites have started to replace metals in applications such as bicycles, commercial aircraft and wind turbines. Although their properties can be highly desirable, there are several challenges to working with composites. They are highly anisotropic, degrade via damage prior to failure, and are not so much materials as structures, which means their properties can depend strongly on the macroscopic size and shape of a sample.

High-performance applications often push materials towards their extremes, and so it is critically important that we can understand when, how and why materials fail. In the Fracture group we are particularly interested in the rate-dependence of material properties. Even when the quasi-static properties of composites are now quite well understood, understanding of their high-rate dynamic response remains much more limited. Currently, this leads to the need for extensive, expensive, large-scale testing of composite components. If we are to use composites more widely and more cost-effectively, we first need to be able to better predict their behaviour and so reduce the need for physical testing. All of this starts with small-scale lab experiments, to start to unpick the underlying physics both quantitatively and phenomenologically.

Granular materials under high rates of compaction (James Perry)

The processes by which brittle granular materials compact largely depend on their microstructure and the properties and interactions of the grains themselves. Predicting the dynamic response of these systems requires knowledge of how grain-scale phenomena manifest as macroscopic response. Such insight is crucial for a wide range of high rate applications including planetary formation and impact cratering, the response to blast and

penetration, and predicting and improving soil response to earthquakes and landslips through seismic coupling.  This project will follow on from a highly successful project studying the shock compaction of cohesionless sands at different moisture levels; it will extend the research programme to silts (smaller grain sizes), cohesive materials such as clays, and will begin to study how granular compaction can be controlled using suitable ‘modifiers’.

Your idea here (David Williamson / James Perry)

We are always open to ideas with regards to potential PhD projects within the group's field of research, including joint and interdisciplinary projects run between several research groups, where students have access to funding (Departmental, College, JRF etc) - see our research and facilities pages if you need some inspiration.