PhD in Advanced Composites – Centre for Doctoral Training in Innovation for Sustainable Composites Engineering

The project:

Recyclable Carbon Fibre Epoxy Composites for Aerospace Applications sponsored by Airbus 

Supervisor: Dr James Kratz

Airbus has supported the Composites based CDT in Bristol since 2018 investigating curing, process simulation, and in-process monitoring. Carbon fibre composites are a catalyst for decarbonising air travel, composites as they are the backbone of future zero emissions aircraft. However the materials are currently extremely difficult to recycle at end-of-life. is By focusing on composites made from a de-polymerisable resin, the PhD project will:

• Tune the manufacturing process to maximise fibre volume fraction, and minimise resin content and porosity.
• Characterisation materials in terms of the viscosity and cross-linking behaviour of the selected resin to identify the appropriate temperatures for curing cycles.
• Undertake quality assessment using state of the art instrumentation, including X-ray CT and microscopy, as well as assess the material mechanical performance
• Explore effect of repeated manufacture-disassembly-remanufacturing cycles,
• Excite your interest into creating manufacturing procedures that enable materials to be recycled into new aircraft or secondary products by conducting stimulating and essential research into manufacturing processes for circular materials.

How to apply:

To apply please submit a personal statement, outlining your experience and why you are interested in the PhD project, your CV and transcript of results to https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/.

Please do not submit a project description; this is unnecessary as the project is already defined.

Please select PhD in Advance Composites and enter Professor Janice Barton the Director of the CDT as the 2^nd supervisor (janice.barton@bristol.ac.uk)

Candidate requirements:  Applicants must hold/achieve a minimum a 2:1 MEng or merit at Masters level or equivalent in engineering, physics or chemistry. Applicants without a master's qualification may be considered on an exceptional basis, provided they hold a first-class undergraduate degree. Please note, acceptance will also depend on evidence of readiness to pursue a research degree and performance at interview.

Funding: An enhanced stipend of £25,789 (based on UKRI 2024/25 rate), a fee waiver and generous research financial support for the successful candidates.

Contact: isce-cdt@bristol.ac.uk

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