Project Rationale and Description
The market of the machining industry is estimated to be worth $341.91bn and rapidly growing at least 7%. This growth is attributed to high demand from industries such as automotive, electrical, consumer goods and plastic industries. The basic requirement for the machining industry is a cutting tool; which is principally used to remove some materials from the stock material through shear deformation to achieve a specific shape of a functional component. In a machining process, the cutting tool is exposed to extreme conditions of wear, deformation, corrosion and localized temperature. The design of a cutting tool should therefore take into consideration of these conditions. Although several cutting tools’ materials have been developed and available in the market, cutting tools still remain a major cost in the machining industry. The current focus by the research industry is on the reduction of the use of bulk materials rather application of thin film coatings on inferior bulk substrates while producing superior performance of the cutting tools.
This project aims to develop nanocoating materials for tool inserts for application in precision and high-speed machining processes of hard-to-machine materials such as super-alloys and so many other such materials. The project novelty can be summarised as:
- To carry out a state-of-the-art survey of the potential materials for nanocoating applications in machining coating tools;
- To develop a processing route for fabrication of self-lubricating nanocoating for cutting tools for high-speed machining operations through magnetron sputtering technique; this shall involve application of computer simulations and experimental tools;
- To design the characterization techniques suitable for the developed nanocoating materials;
- To design and carry out extensive machining operations for evaluation of the developed nanocoating materials.
Key skills required in research work packages are:
1. A degree in mechanical/manufacturing engineering with working/research experiences in machining or thin film industries or both;
2. A basic knowledge on conventional, advanced machining, and precision engineering;
3. Possesses some skills on design of experiments (DOEs) and experimental background;
4. Possesses basic knowledge on computer simulations in thin film deposition and/or machining computations;
5. Good knowledge on word processing software, statistical and other related software such as MS software, SPSS, Minitab, MATLAB, etc.;
Informal queries about the project can be sent to the principal supervisor for this project Prof. Esther Akinlabi ([Email Address Removed]).
Eligibility and How to Apply:
Please note eligibility requirement:
- Academic excellence of the proposed student i.e. 2:1 (or equivalent GPA from non-UK universities [preference for 1st class honours]); and a Master’s degree (preference for Merit or above); or APEL evidence of substantial practitioner achievement.
- Appropriate IELTS score, if required.
- Applicants cannot apply for this funding if currently engaged in Doctoral study at Northumbria or elsewhere or if they have previously been awarded a PhD.
For further details of how to apply, entry requirements and the application form, see
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research-degrees/how-to-apply/
Please note: Applications that do not include a research proposal of approximately 1,000 words (not a copy of the advert), or that do not include the advert reference (e.g. FAC22/…) will not be considered.
Deadline for applications: 3 October 2022
Start Date: 1 March 2023
Northumbria University takes pride in, and values, the quality and diversity of our staff and students. We welcome applications from all members of the community.
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