PhD Studentship - 3D-Printed High Voltage Insulating Materials for the Green Energy Transition

Deadline: All year round

How to apply: uom.link/pgr-apply-2425

No. of positions: 1

Funding for this project covers tuition fees, UKRI minimum annual tax free stipend (currently £19,237/annum) with an additional £2,000 stipend top-up by the industry sponsor and up to a £5k/annum research training support grant for the full duration of the 4-year programme. The funding covers UK fees however, EU and international students can apply for the fee waiver from the Faculty of Science and Engineering (subject to allocation and approval). The start date is September 2025.

Funding for this project covers tuition fees, UKRI minimum annual tax free stipend (currently £19,237/annum) with an additional £2,000 stipend top-up by the industry sponsor and up to a £5k/annum research training support grant for the full duration of the 4-year programme. The funding covers UK fees however, EU and international students can apply for the fee waiver from the Faculty of Science and Engineering (subject to allocation and approval). The start date is September 2025.

The move to a green economy requires a significant expansion of the existing electricity transmission networks. There is thus an increased demand for installing new transmission and distribution assets including cables, transformers and switchgear etc. The polymer components in such equipment are typically produced by moulding and casting techniques, which are cheap when produced at very large quantities. For the power industry, however, some of the critical products are produced in comparatively smaller volumes, which result in a much higher manufacturing cost per unit especially for a new product to market. 3D Printing, one of the most effective additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, is already a proven method used in high performance industries such as formula one and aerospace and ideal for making such parts. Furthermore, 3D printing allows rapid prototyping and new approaches to be applied in fundamental research. However, there is little ageing data or knowledge on long-term operational experience using components created through this method.

In this project you will use fused deposition modelling (FDM) and direct writing to additively produce a new generation of polymeric insulators for high voltage applications. You will be using both epoxy- and silicone-based polymers with and without nanofillers, including 2D materials. You will be developing the processing-structure-property relationships with a particular focus on how the interface between the consecutively printed layers determines the electrical insulation properties. This interface is a concern since point defects are known to act as initiation sites for electrical breakdown. Technical aspects that needs exploration in this project include additive manufacturing, nanomaterial and their composites, rheology, dynamic thermal analysis, electron microscopy and high voltage testing and qualification.

The project is co-sponsored by National Grid Electricity Transmission and you will have an opportunity to work closely with an industry partner.

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s (or international equivalent) in Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry or a related discipline.

We strongly recommend that you contact the supervisors for this project before you apply; Dr Chen - lujia.chen@manchester.ac.uk and Prof Kinloch - ian.kinloch@manchester.ac.uk. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project.

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