PhD Studentship: EPSRC supported EngD: Formulation and in-process characterisation of ceramic systems for aerospace component manufacture
University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Institution
- University of Birmingham
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Position type
- PhD
- Subject area
- Engineering
- Location
- Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
- Funding
- Fully funded position
Want to be the strongest applicant for this position?
Book a free 15-minute call with our team. We will look at your profile against what University of Birmingham is actually looking for, and tell you honestly where you stand and what to strengthen before you apply.
Book a free call about this position →No cost, no obligation. Mentors who have secured funded PhD positions themselves.
We mentor STEM applicants only. If your research aspirations are outside STEM subjects, you're very welcome to use this board and apply directly; we just aren't the right people to mentor you.
About this position
A global manufacturer of single-crystal components for gas turbines, Rolls-Royce are continuously improving the capability of their lost-wax investment casting process for future products. A key aspect is formulation improvements of the ceramic systems used to manufacture casting moulds. A hands-on Formulation Engineer is required to work alongside an academic and industrially focussed team based in the High Temperature Research Centre (HTRC); an internationally unique research facility where Rolls-Royce and University of Birmingham staff are collocated with state-of-the-art manufacturing and research equipment.
This EngD will focus on characterising ceramic materials using novel casting methods; evaluating the effect of material properties and mixing on highly filled slurry rheology; and identifying suitable methods of measuring draining behaviour by practical and simulation approaches. This research will lead to the optimisation of ceramic slurry recipes, achieving reliable in process rheological techniques to predict slurry coating thickness, a technical understanding of shell build layer variation and the development of a digital twin to predict coating thickness from measurable slurry properties. This will be assessed by casting complex Turbine components in controlled trials.
The impact of slurry formulation and control on single crystal components will be a major output of this work, improving casting yields for more sustainable use of materials.
Funding notes:
To be eligible for EPSRC funding candidates must have at least a 2(1) in an Engineering orScientific discipline or a 2(2) plus MSc.
To apply and for more details on the Engineering Doctorate scheme visit the homepage: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/centres-institutes/formulation-engineering/cdt-in-formulation-engineering/apply-to-centre-for-doctoral-training
Apply directly to University of Birmingham
Emerging Scholars Council is not the employer and does not recruit for this position. It is advertised by University of Birmingham, and your application goes to them. We help students prepare and strengthen their applications.
Go to the official application page →