Research Studentship in Droplets and Liquid Jets: Breakup of liquid jets: from fundamentals to applications

3.5-year D.Phil. studentship

The studentship is part of a funded project on "The breakup of stimulated liquid jets".

The objective of the project is to study the hydrodynamics of self-stimulated and externally stimulated liquid jets for the generation of drops. This includes understanding non-linear effects during liquid jet breakup, control and suppression of undesirable ‘satellite’ drops (for inkjet applications), and novel ways of generating drops, by the use of acoustic, hydrodynamic or electrohydrodynamic fields. In order to fully understand the fundamental processes underlying these processes, the dynamics needs to be explored within the temporal (nano- to micro- seconds) and spatial (micro-/milli- metres) scales at which these events occur. This requires the development of high speed visualisation rigs and the use of high resolution numerical simulation tools, CFD (such as Gerris/Basilisk) and corresponding theoretical models. There is the possibility of developing at least one of these topics towards specific applications (particle separation, inkjet control, etc).

The student will be a member of the Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and will be supervised by Prof. Alfonso A. Castrejon-Pita. Further information on the group can be found at http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/fluidlab). The group maintains strong collaborations with colleagues all around the world. For this project, a strong interaction with academic partners based at the University of Seville and UPMC/Sorbonne Paris are envisaged, together with the possibility of short to medium-term visits to such group.

Eligibility

This studentship is funded through the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Doctoral Training Partnership and is open to both UK students (full award – fees plus stipend) and EU students (partial award –fees only). Full details of the EPSRC eligibility requirements can be found here (https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/skills/students/help/eligibility/).

Award Value

University tuition fees are covered at the level set for UK/EU students, as are Oxford college fees (c. £7,432 in total p.a.). The stipend (tax-free maintenance grant) is c. £14,553 p.a. for the first year, and at least this amount for a further two and a half years.

Candidate Requirements

Prospective candidates will be judged according to how well they meet the following criteria:

- A first class honours degree in Physics, Engineering, or Applied Mathematics
- Proven experience in Fluid Dynamics
- Experience in a laboratory environment
- Excellent English written and spoken communication skills

The following skills are desirable but not essential:

- Ability to program in Labview
- Ability to program in Matlab
- General knowledge of electronics and optics
- Knowledge of CFD

Application Procedure

Informal enquiries are encouraged and should be addressed to Prof. Alfonso A. Castrejon-Pita ([Email Address Removed]).

Candidates must also submit a graduate application form and are expected to meet the graduate admissions criteria. Details are available on the course page of the University website (https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/dphil-engineering-science?wssl=1).

Please quote 18ENGIN_07DTP in all correspondence and in your graduate application.

Application deadline: noon on 19 January 2018

Start date: October 2018