PhD in Engineering and Material Sciences - The Study of Cavitation Mechanisms in Liquid Metals

School of Engineering, Computing & Mathematics

The Faculty of Technology Design and Environment at Oxford Brookes University is seeking a highly motivated candidate from an Engineering, Materials or Physics disciplinary background who has strong experimental/analytical skills (or would be able and willing to develop them) to undertake a PhD within the EPSRC research project “Upscaling Environment Friendly Cavitation Melt Treatment (UltraMelt2)”.

Brief Project Description

“Research will open the pathway to the design of more efficient processes that can produce lighter and stronger metallic materials on the industrial scale.”

The successful candidate will join a collaborative team working on the application of ultrasonic melt treatment (UST) to Aluminium alloys. UST is an up and coming green, economic and sustainable engineering process which significantly improves the properties and quality of metallic materials. He/She will be specifically responsible for advanced studies of cavitation mechanisms in liquid metals and validation of computer modelling, with further participation in pilot-scale technology development.

This project is driven by the technological need to optimise and upscale UST technology to industrial scale and it is supported by two of the biggest Aluminium companies worldwide, Constellium (Europe, UK) and Kaizer Aluminium (USA). Other collaborators include Brunel University London (UK), University of Greenwich (UK), and Anton Paar Ltd (Switzerland). The successful candidate will collaborate with researchers in participating institutions and interact with other researchers and engineers at Oxford Brookes University. Regular visits to partners’ locations will be required.

The essential selection criteria include:
• At least an upper second-class degree (preferably MSc) in an Engineering, Materials or Physics discipline.
• Suitable experience in studies (experimental, theoretical or both), e.g. in Engineering Processes, Materials Science, Physics, Materials Processing, Fluid Mechanics or Cavitation Bubble Dynamics.
• Experience of processing, analysing and manipulating large amounts of technical data.
• Capability to work independently and as part of a team and learn new things quickly (you are a problem solver).
• Excellent written and oral communication and organisational skills. Proficiency in written English is required (for non UK-graduated citizens – an IELTS certificate with sufficient points is required).
• A real passion and commitment for research.
Application Process:
If you would like to apply for this position, you should request an application pack from the Research Support Office, [Email Address Removed], quoting “PhD in Engineering and Material Sciences”.

Fully completed applications must be sent to [Email Address Removed], by 17.00 on Wednesday, 7 March 2018. As part of the application process you will be required to upload a cover letter with a brief statement of research interests (describing how past experience and future plans fit with the advertised position), CV and the details of two referees.

Information:
For all informal requests about the project and this post, please contact Dr Iakovos Tzanakis ([Email Address Removed])