Ultra-High Temperature Ceramic (UHTC) Composites

A new rheology-based process has been developed for creating ultra-high temperature ceramic composites; it has been shown to work well and prototype components have been produced that display excellent properties, both mechanically and thermo-ablatively. The process allows the UHTC powder to be impregnated into carbon fibre preforms both much more uniformly and in larger quantities as well as offering a significant reduction in the number of process steps involved compared to a previous route.

The idea behind this research programme is to investigate the new process route much further, to develop an innate understanding of the process variables, and also to push it in new directions to see just what it is capable of in terms of producing composite materials. As such, the first year of the programme will be spent scoping out possible avenues of exploitation of the new process before making decisions, in conjunction with the research sponsor, on where the 2nd and 3rd years will focus.

This will be an ideal research programme for a PhD student who has a good background in ceramic processing with some knowledge of the rheology of ceramic suspensions and both an inquisitive, scientific mind and also the ability to produce practical, engineering solutions.

The PhD will be partly funded by the European defence company MBDA and partly by a University of Birmingham scholarship. The PhD student will join a research team of around ten researchers, led by Professor Jon Binner, all working in the generic area of ceramic and ceramic composite processing. A strong team ethos exists, where the members all support one another and are, in turn, supported by Jon. Weekly team meetings are held to discuss progress and highlight problems, allowing the rapid exchange of best practice and hence swift progress to be made. It is expected that there will be a significant degree of interaction with the research sponsor and also opportunities to present results at national and international conferences and events.

Informal enquiries about the project should be made to Professor Jon Binner ([Email Address Removed]).

Information about the School of Metallurgy and Materials can be found at: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/metallurgy-materials/index.aspx

Further details about the application process can be found at: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/jobs/index.aspx

Please quote the following reference in your application: M&M UHTC