Applications are invited for a research studentship in the field of “Control of lubricant additive performance via electric fields”, leading to the award of a PhD degree. The studentship will be based in the Shell-Imperial University Technology Centre for Fuels and Lubricants, which is hosted by the Tribology Group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London It will be supervised by members of academic staff in the Group including Profs. Daniele Dini and Hugh Spikes. The student will be expected to study at a Shell location for a minimum period of at least 3 months during the studentship and will be offered industrial mentoring throughout the project. At Imperial, the student will be a member of a larger community of Shell-funded researchers in the Tribology Group who are working on lubricant and electric vehicle-related projects. The Tribology Group at Imperial College is a vibrant, world-leading research group with unparalleled experimental and modelling equipment facilities.
Previous studies have found that the application of an electric field across a lubricated rubbing contact can greatly reduce, or in some cases increase, friction and wear. It has been shown that applied fields can influence both lubricant additive adsorption and additive reaction at surfaces, but the details of these processes, their relative importance, and how they influence friction and wear performance are still poorly understood. This topic has recently become very important in the context of electrification of transport, where electric fields are readily available and may be applied deliberately or inadvertently across rubbing contacts. If applied deliberately they may be used to optimise system response of electric vehicles (EVs), but if inadvertent, they may reduce EV component life or efficiency.
In this project you will apply advanced experimental techniques including tribometry, interferometry, in situ Raman, QCM and molecular fluorescence to investigate the impact of applied electrical potential on tribofilm formation and resulting friction and wear response of lubricants in rolling/sliding contacts. The objective is to provide understanding of how lubricant additive performance can be controlled by applied electric fields and to use this knowledge to optimise surface and lubricant design in EVs. This project comprises one of a pair of studentships to run in parallel; this project will be predominantly experimental and will inform, and be informed by a second project that will apply advanced computer-based molecular modelling methods to simulate the response of lubricant additives to applied electric fields.
You will be an enthusiastic and self-motivated person who meets the academic requirements for enrolment for the PhD degree at Imperial College London. You should hold or expect to obtain a First-Class Honours or a high 2:1 degree at Master’s level (or equivalent) in Mechanical Engineering, another branch of engineering, Materials, Physics, Chemistry or a related science. We expect you to have an enquiring and rigorous approach to research together with a strong intellect and disciplined work habits. An interest in developing experimental methods to investigate the effect of electric fields on engineering interfaces across the scales is essential, as are good team-working, observational and communication skills.
To find out more about research at Imperial College London in this area, go to:
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/tribology/shell-utc/
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/mechanical-engineering/research/
For information on how to apply, go to:
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/mechanical-engineering/study/phd/how-to-apply/
For further details of the post contact Prof. Daniele Dini [Email Address Removed] +44 (0)20 75947242. Interested applicants should send an up-to-date curriculum vitae to Prof. Dini. Suitable candidates will be required to complete an electronic application form at Imperial College London in order for their qualifications to be addressed by College Registry.
Closing date: until post filled
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