M2A Funded EngD Studentship: Novel Material Development for High Temperature Manufacturing

Swansea University is a UK top 30 institution for research excellence (Research Excellence Framework 2014), and has been named Welsh University of the Year 2017 by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide.

Sponsoring Company: Unifrax

Start date: October 2017

Unifrax’s leading manufacturer of Polycrystalline wool products based at Widnes Cheshire, supplies over 10m+ parts to customers all around the World in the automotive, aerospace, energy generation, fuel cell, filtration, ceramic and metal processing industries, and continues to keep World Class companies supplied with World Class high temperature performance material solutions.

As a market leader in innovation and technical expertise, Unifrax’s commitment to customer satisfaction continues the tradition of supplying quality products which meet our customers’ applications, while maintaining the strong spirit of innovation that has always been a hallmark of our business. This focus on providing innovative products and services continues to position us as a leader in our industry. Our knowledgeable technical support and service from an experienced team of application specialists and outstanding customer service continue to be the cornerstone of our success.

Unifrax Widnes operates a continuous manufacturing process, which involves heating feed stock material to temperatures exceeding 1000oC and reacting with various corrosive atmospheres. In addition, some plant components are subjected to thermal fatigue, mechanical wear, and creep deformation. This hostile environment presents a plethora of materials and manufacturing challenges. This research project will focus on characterising the manufacturing conditions and the making informed decisions on material selection. The research will make measurements of material properties; potentially develop new alloys or coatings in order to deliver a material that can withstand the complex manufacturing conditions.

Project Aims:

Unifrax Widnes therefore wishes to co-fund an industry focused Engineering Doctorate in the area of high temperature and corrosion resistant materials. The EngD research engineer will work closely with the manufacturing plant, providing metallurgical and analytical support to bring about improvements in the manufacturing process.

The successful candidate will have excellent problem solving and innovative skills and the ability to develop options that improve the reliability of manufacturing equipment.

The student will have access to technical laboratory services both on site at Unifrax Widnes and at Swansea University, supported by Unifrax Worldwide.

This is an exciting Engineering Doctorate project with prospects of a career working in global world class company researching and developing alternative material science solutions, utilising super alloys to improve Manufacturing Reliability and reduce the future life cycle cost of the asset.

The Athena SWAN Charter recognises work undertaken by institutions to advance gender equality. The College of Engineering is an Athena SWAN bronze award holder and is committed to addressing unequal gender representation.

Eligibility

Candidates should hold an Engineering or Physical Sciences degree with a minimum classification level of 2:1 or equivalent relevant experience. This project would be suitable for someone with a degree in chemistry, physics, or materials engineering. The Doctorate would suit an applicant who is keen to embrace the challenges of both working in an exciting environment manufacturing unique products, whilst studying a range of novel alloys including austenitic stainless steels, titanium and nickel super alloys.

Our funders require applicants to also meet the following eligibility criteria:

- You must be a UK or EU citizen (i.e. eligible for ‘home’ tuition fees at the University) and have the right to work in Wales at the end of your studies.
- You must be resident in West Wales and the Valleys at the point of enrolment and throughout the duration of your studies.
- You must not be financially able to participate without the award of grant funding.