Fabrication of ceramic coatings for next generation aeroengines

The successful candidate(s) will join large research team in School of Materials, University of Manchester to develop environmental barrier coatings for next generation aeroengines. The coating research group in School of Materials has collaborated with Rolls-Royce for more than 15 years and has been involved in development of ceramic coatings for aeroengine applications, initially on thermal barrier coatings, now extend to study of environmental barrier coatings. The appointed PhD student(s) will have opportunity to collaborate with Rolls-Royce both in UK and US to study ceramic coatings being developed for the next generation aero-engine. The project is focused on development of novel processing method for manufacture of coatings.

In this project, the student will use either well established coating techniques or develop new technique for manufacture of coatings, then apply world class characterisation tools available in University of Manchester to study degradation mechanisms of the coatings after thermal exposure of the coatings to environments similar to aero-engine. The goal of the research is to extend lifetime and to enhance performance of the coatings in such demanding environments.