PhD Studentship: High Deposition Rate and High-Fidelity Process for Repair and Remanufacturing Applications

Funding for: UK and rest of the world

Funding amount: Sponsored by Horizon Europe programme, this studentship is fully funded for 3 years, covering full tuition fees and providing a tax-free bursary of £20,000 per annum to cover living costs.

Closes: 11/12/2024

Supervisors: Dr Wojciech Suder or Dr Chong Wang 

Cranfield University is offering an exciting opportunity for a fully-funded PhD studentship in the field of repair and remanufacturing for engineering components. This project aims to develop a high deposition rate and high fidelity wire-based process for repair and remanufacturing applications based on hybrid laser and arc, which enables a steady deposition process with independent control of thermal cycle and bead shape, ensuring the achievement of desired properties of the repaired parts.

Remanufacturing is an industrial process aimed at restoring used or worn products to a ‘like-new’ or ‘better-than-new’ condition through comprehensive steps, including disassembly, cleaning, repair, and reassembly of components. This process often involves upgrading or replacing specific parts to enhance performance and extend the product's lifecycle. Remanufacturing is commonly applied in industries such as automotive, aerospace, and heavy machinery, where it not only conserves resources and reduces waste but also provides cost-effective alternatives to new products. Currently there is more emphasis on repairing and reusing components in particular for high-value assets, which plays an important role in the concept of a circular economy.

State-of-the-art technologies such as submerged arc welding (SAW) and gas metal arc welding (GMAW) need high energy input, resulting in high dilution and large heat-affected zone (HAZ), causing metallurgical defects in the material. While laser directed energy deposition (L-DED), and plasma transferred arc (PTA) provide lower deposition rate, hence higher cost. Powder-based cladding processes are more expensive than wire counterparts, due to higher material cost and its lower utilisation.

This project will develop a high deposition rate and high fidelity wire-based process for repair and remanufacturing applications, which enables a steady deposition process from initiation to termination with independent control of thermal cycle and bead shape, ensuring the achievement of desired properties of the repaired parts as compared to those of the virgin parts. The aim of the project is to develop an advanced cladding process with high deposition rate and high fidelity based on hybrid laser and arc for repair and remanufacturing applications. The specific objectives are:

• To identify the most suitable process (laser, PTA, or PTA-laser hybrid) for repair and remanufacturing.
• To achieve independent control over thermal cycle and bead shape, ensuring high geometrical accuracy, low dilution and optimal thermal conditions.
• To integrate advanced process monitoring techniques (optical sensors and vision cameras) into the process.
• To assess the extent of damage to the virgin material by the repair process.
• To evaluate the process efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the process.
• To develop a repair procedure for management of key output variables that control final properties in the material.

Entry Requirements

You should have a first-class or 2:1 UK degree (or equivalent) in a related discipline such as mechanical engineering, materials science, or welding engineering. Experience with wire-directed energy deposition (DED), welding, or robotics, as well as a strong understanding of material behaviour, sensors, and process monitoring, would be highly desirable.

Advert information