Dr I Mohagheghian
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
McLaren wish to further develop its capability on the area of the material characterization and FEA modelling of adhesives. The project will focus on investigating all the parameters affecting the performance of adhesive joints and developing testing and FEA methodologies to support the design of structural joints.
At the start, a thorough research of the state of the art will be undertaken. The main steps of the project will comprise of the definition and execution of a fully exploded pyramid of tests programme, from coupon level to full scale, in order to establish all necessary material properties required to define the bonded joint when subject to quasi static and high speed crash loading. This will include the assessment of different surface treatments for composite and metallic substrates and the effect on joint performance and manufacturing cost.
A very important aspect of the project is the definition of the most appropriate testing methods to be able to characterize the adhesives.
The testing methodology above will be integrated with an intensive modelling activity based on commercially available FE software packages (for example Abaqus), with the aim of demonstrating a robust and predictive simulation methodology at increasing levels of structural complexity.
This will involve the study of different surface treatment methods for composite and metallic substrates and the definition of the best methodologies to simulate material behaviours using commercially available CAD/CAE software packages and developing innovative and dedicated routines where necessary.
The project will culminate in full vehicle level structural crash testing, simulating test conditions, supporting the execution of the tests simulated and proving correlation and model predictions at material level.
Funding Notes
EPSRC funded with funding criteria - see https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/skills/students/help/eligibility/
Please note that this project advert will close before the deadline if a suitable candidate is found
References
Taken up only at interview point