Influence of sheet conditions on the form ability of aerospace materials at room temperature

The Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) is looking for a Graduate to commence on the 1st of March 2017 on the Engineering Doctorate programme . Candidates are required to hold a first or second class honours degree (minimum 2.1) or MSc Distinction in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace, or a related and relevant degree. Applicants must be able to demonstrate enthusiasm, creativity, resourcefulness and a mature approach to learning.


Project Objective: Improvement of the room temperature formability of commercially pure titanium through the optimisation of the surface roughness, edge conditions and lubrication mechanism via press brake, DD and ISF trials.

Project Aims: Understanding the influence of the type of single defect, its orientation and distribution over the part surface roughness; assessment of the influence of the surface roughness on the surface quality of a final product and on the forming limit of the material.

Understanding the development of different values of edge surface roughness for selected cutting methods (water jet cut, EDM, laser cut) and the impact of deformed edge on the formability (press brake) of sheet material at room temperature; optimisation of the material formability via investigation of the influence of the cutting method on the striation formation and microstructural transformation.

Understanding of the change of lubrication mechanism (boundary or boundary-hydrodynamic mechanism) with respect to the surface roughness for ISF and DD.