PhD Research Studentships
Towards damage-resistant composite materials through bio-inspired design
| Supervisors: | Himadri GUPTA and Haibao LIU |
| Apply by: | 31 January 2024 |
| Start in: | September (Semester 1) |
Description
Towards damage-resistant composite materials through bio-inspired design
Damage resistance has long been a critical design consideration for composite materials and structures. The global transition to a future zero-emission society has further accelerated the application of composite materials in various industrial sectors. Nevertheless, extreme service conditions, encompassing drastic changes in temperature and loading conditions, consistently subject these composite materials to thermal-mechanical loading, potentially resulting in property degradation and catastrophic failure, which significantly reduces the service life of composite structures.
Existing research has revealed that biological systems, such as bones and shells, can deliver excellent inherent damage tolerance. Drawing inspiration from the structural and functional attributes of these natural systems, composite materials can be designed and optimised to exhibit improved damage resistance. To achieve this, the proposed research will establish a hybrid design framework that integrates computational mechanistic models with data-driven approaches. This advanced hybrid design framework facilitates the efficient exploration of the design space and the identification of optimal designs. The ultimate goal of this project is to use this high-fidelity hybrid design framework to develop novel bio-inspired composite materials that exhibit excellent durability and resilience.
This project is a collaboration between the groups of Prof. Gupta (https://www.sems.qmul.ac.uk/staff/h.gupta/research/) and Dr. Haibao Liu (https://www.sems.qmul.ac.uk/staff/h.liu/research/)
Funding
Funded by: China Scholarship CouncilCandidate will need to secure a CSC scholarship.
Under the scheme, Queen Mary will provide scholarships to cover all tuition fees, whilst the CSC will provide living expenses and one return flight ticket to successful applicants.
Eligibility
- The minimum requirement for this studentship opportunity is a good honours degree (minimum 2(i) honours or equivalent) or MSc/MRes in a relevant discipline.
- If English is not your first language, you will require a valid English certificate equivalent to IELTS 6.5+ overall with a minimum score of minimum score of 6.0 in each of Writing, Listening, Reading and Speaking).
- Candidates are expected to start in September (Semester 1).
Contact
For informal enquiries about this opportunity, please contact Himadri GUPTA or Haibao LIU.
Apply
Start an application for this studentship and for entry onto the PhD Mechanical Engineering full-time programme (Semester 1 / September start):
Please be sure to quote the reference "SEMS-PHD-542" to associate your application with this studentship opportunity.
| Related website: | https://www.sems.qmul.ac.uk/staff/h.gupta/research/ | |
| SEMS Research Centre: | ||
| Keywords: | Mechanical Engineering |