Fully funded University PhD studentship: Incremental Sheet Forming – Formability Enhancement

Details

A fully-funded PhD position of 3.5 year is available to work on the development of a novel incremental sheet forming process under the supervision of Professor Hui Long (http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/mecheng/staff/hlong).

Background: Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) is a flexible, cost effective, energy and resource efficient process. It only requires a simple tool to deform the sheet material incrementally to create a desired geometry of a product. Without the need of using moulds, dies or heavy duty forming machines, it is flexible to manufacture small‐batch or customised sheet products with complex geometries as compared to conventional forming processes. ISF has great potentials for applications in various industrial sectors.

This position focuses on investigating the interfacial conditions and heat generation in a new ISF process developed in the University of Sheffield. The aim is to characterise how the key ISF process parameters affect the material plastic deformation and surface quality of ISF benchmarking geometries. The candidate will work closely with the members of the ISF team in Sheffield and collaborate with researchers of other two UK universities as part of an EPSRC funded project. During your PhD, you will develop your skills in ISF experimentation and Finite Element modelling as well as microstructure characterisation. You will have opportunities to develop industrial case studies of the novel ISF process to make a real impact.

Location: You will join the ISF team in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sheffield and collaborates with other researchers of the EPSRC funded project

. The University of Sheffield is part of the prestigious Russell Group universities, while the department of Mechanical Engineering ranks among the top in the UK, and had the largest research income in the UK. 

Funding details:

The funding covers the cost of UK Home student tuition fees and provides an annual tax-free stipend of £15,609 to £16,062 for 3.5 years. This studentship is available for UK students.

Education: A good Master’s Degree (2:1 or above) in Mechanical Engineering or Material Sciences, or related disciplines.

Desirable skills:

Experimental testing, data acquisition and analysis skills.

Finite Element modelling of material plastic deformation.

Microstructural characterisation by optics microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

Other skills: Self-motivated and excellent communication skills.

Start Date: As soon as possible

To apply, please visit https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/apply/applying including your CV and two academic references and indicate on your form that you are replying to this advert. Please contact Professor Hui Long (email: h.long@sheffield.ac.uk) informally if you have any specific inquiries.