Four-year EngD scholarship with the National Composites Centre: Exothermic reaction behaviour of single part aerospace grade epoxy resins

Faculty/School/Department:
Faculty of Engineering (University of Bristol)

Location:
National Composites Centre, Bristol (BS16 7FS)

Salary/stipend:
£21,500 p.a.

There is a significant driver to move away for the pre-preg based composite manufacturing processes which currently dominate the aerospace industry. While proven to produce components of the quality demanded by the industry, the high material and infrastructure costs (freezers and autoclaves) have driven a pursuit for alternative technologies. Resin infusion is one such technology which is the subject of significant interest, especially for large scale structures. While widely used in other industries, a significant amount of research and development is required if the process is to meet quality, rate, repeatability and certification requirements of the aerospace industry. The NCC is leading innovation in this area and has recently commissioned large scale resin infusion (LSRI) equipment to complement its existing capability in liquid resin manufacturing processes. Initial work will focus on addressing some near term issues of the process. Resin is preheated in a pot to reduce its viscosity and for degassing. This causes the resin to begin curing and eventually a run away exotherm reaction will occur which can be especially problematic for large components where a large volume of resin is required. This is both a quality and a safety issue and current conservatisms limit the available process window for heat up and infusion before the resin must be cooled for safety reasons. Analysis of the curing process of the resin under these conditions will be used to optimise the process whilst still ensuring safety. The subsequent infusion and curing processes will also be investigated using simulation tools. The long term vision is to develop a framework for infusion process design to accelerate process development for new products.

In the first 12 months, the research work is likely to include the following activities:

• State of the art review
• Resin characterisation and cure kinetics modelling
• Model application to exotherm prediction
• Model development for resin flow process

PLEASE NOTE: Applications are considered as soon as they are received, and the position will be allocated as soon as a suitable candidate is found.

How to apply: If you are interested in applying for this EngD project please send your CV, covering letter and academic transcript to [Email Address Removed]

About the IDC and the EngD programme:
For further information about the IDC and the EngD programme please visit:
http://www.cimcomp.ac.uk/idc