EngD Vacancies

This project represents a very exciting opportunity for a Research Engineer to join a company at the forefront of technology development in composite materials and manufacture, helping to develop new, innovative products for a variety of interesting applications. The project will be based at Heraeus Noblelight on the Cambridge Science Park, where the Research Engineer will join a team of industry experts in the field of heating systems for composites manufacture. The project will be focused on optimizing heating strategies for composites manufacture. Current heating systems, including infrared lamps, hot gas torches and lasers, are not optimized for composites manufacturing processes such as Automated Fibre Placement, Filament Winding and Thermoforming. This project will provide the theoretical and experimental basis for developing the most appropriate heating strategy for each process. Heraeus Noblelight has invented and developed a breakthrough heating system based on their Xenon flashlamp technology. This system is capable of providing pulsed, broadband energy for the heating of composites in a range of manufacturing processes and has been shown to have significant benefits over existing heating sources. The technology has been developed over 5 years in collaboration with the National Composites Centre in Bristol and is now breaking into the composites market. The project will concentrate on understanding and comparing this new technology with existing heat sources, and guiding the further development of the Xenon flashlamp heating system. To achieve these goals, the Research Engineer will require a combination of theoretical and practical skills. They will undertake a detailed study of the available heating technologies for a range of composites manufacturing processes and build an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each one. This may involve designing and implementing physical laboratory experiments, creating analytical and numerical models to describe the processes involved, testing and evaluating composite materials and developing an in-depth knowledge of the complex physics-based principles underlying the processes. In addition to the research-based activities, the Research Engineer will be expected to contribute fully to a skilled and highly motivated team of experts, taking part in customer trials, design review and dissemination activities. Application closing date is 25 September 2017, with employment start date "as soon as possible".

Study concerns composite materials, methods of manufacture and fibre architecture for the containment of impact threats across a range of engine sizes.  A comparison of impact capabilities and behaviour and other key attributes including: cost, weight and producibility, will be made. The study will be based on representative sub-component feature impact tests and their simulation. It should also datamine publically available information for other attributes/considerations and data from subject-matter experts in Rolls-Royce. The composite options available will be compared to best metallic offerings as a benchmark. All EngD students are supervised by an academic and an industrial supervisor and are registered at the University of their academic supervisor. Rolls-Royce is a Power Systems company: for more than a hundred years Rolls-Royce have been providing power for aircraft, ships and land applications. Their vision is to provide “better power for a changing world”. Better, because their customers need their systems to become more efficient all the time as they respond to the growing demand for all types of power in a fast changing world. Rolls-Royce are best known for their aero engines, that power many of the world’s most advanced passenger jets, like the new Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. But, there is much more to the company than that. Rolls-Royce also produce low–emission power systems for ships, some of which are designed by Rolls-Royce. They power a wide array of land vehicles: ranging from trains to combine harvesters, and build engines that can generate electricity. Application closing date is 25 September 2017, with employment start date "as soon as possible".

This project is concerned with developing the understanding and improving the methods of controlling the process for manufacturing large-scale composite components by Out‑of‑Autoclave (OoA) methodologies. Sectors like aerospace, oil & gas and renewable energy keep demanding access to the well‑known benefits of composite materials for the manufacturing of larger structures. The quality control required on such components would dictate the use of prepreg methodologies, however, their sheer size, occasionally exceeding 50m in length, makes prepregging unsuitable due to the prohibitive cost and complexity of suitably scaled autoclaves. Market leading OEMs are therefore investing heavily in the development of OoA manufacturing processes which would allow delivery of parts with equivalent quality compared to the prepregged counterpart, without the need to invest in extra-large autoclaves. Such a potential has been recognised by the National Composites Centre (NCC) who has committed funding substantial equipment and infrastructural investments, including the installation of a pilot plant for the automated deposition of fibrous reinforcement for the production of composite wings up to 20m in length. Despite the significant amount of research in this field, scaling up and accurately controlling OoA processes from feature- to full-scale still needs to be thoroughly explored. Currently, manufacturing strategies involving OoA methods are defined empirically and therefore further understanding of the interactions between material properties and processing conditions is required to move towards more reliable and predictable processing. The optimisation of processing parameters through the material deposition, resin impregnation and consolidation phases promises tighter control over component variations in thickness, fibre volume fraction, fibre wash, wetting of fibres and the overall quality of complex components. The ultimate goal of this project is to establish and explore fully the capabilities of the automated dry fibre deposition pilot plant as well as the impregnation and curing facilities due to be installed in the Centre over the next few months. This is expected to be done through understanding of the fundamentals behind the setting, controlling, modelling and analytical processing of all parameters, to optimise manufacturing rate and reduce part variation.

The NCC has the ability to infuse resin into very complex and large dry fibre preforms rapidly, with RTM cycle times to infuse and cure taking as little as 3 minutes to complete. The creation of the large and complex preforms is limited to semi-automated processes, and currently cannot match the 3 minute cycle time for infusing and curing. With the recent commissioning of the automated preforming cell, there is an opportunity to carry out research into cutting, handling and forming of composite preforms to support rapid infusion and cure. The automated preforming cell is highly instrumented and reconfigurable, with a number of aerospace preforming projects planned in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The EngD supporting project work will include the design and construction of robotic end effectors to handle, cut and manipulate fabric. The development of several alternative processes for cutting fabric, forming fabric from 2D to 3D shapes repeatably, reducing waste and activating binder. The work will be a combination of theoretical work to understand the fundamentals of the different processes, and also a large amount of practical work to characterise the processes and then optimise them. Airbus, Rolls Royce and Dowty Propellers have planned project work in the automated preforming cell and this EngD will support each of the projects to develop new capability. Initial deliverables are likely to include: Literature review of forming processes Completion of training on automated preform cell Design of experiments matrix for material forming trials

3D fibre architectures offer several advantages over conventional 2D laminated composites. Most notable is the potential to address composites susceptibility to delamination, therefore providing components with increased damage tolerance and impact resistance compared to the two-dimensional counterpart. The purpose of this project is to develop a methodology to predict the high level performance of 3D fibre architecture composites. The final goal is to have a process which determines the performance of a composites built from a 3D fibre architecture and associated infusion or percolation process. This requires an understanding of the processing and whether this has a significant effect on the final properties.

The ability to measure manufacturing process parameters during composite manufacturing is an important component to quantifying manufacturing processes, validating process modelling capability and generating the inputs required for automated in-process adaptation, machine learning, and development of digital twins. This project will: Identify the key process parameters for a composite manufacturing technique and the sensing capability available to quantify them in-process Simulate using multi-physics the performance of the sensor to ensure the data generated is valuable for the identified use Design and manufacture a tooling system that incorporates the sensors to demonstrate and validate their use

The differences in material properties in the different constituents of composite materials makes them particularly susceptible to residual stress. Overmoulded components are even more so by the nature of their construction, and the use of thermoplastic materials increases this further. This project will: Investigate the mechanisms by which residual stresses develop in overmoulded components Understand the effect of residual stresses on key performance criteria of overmoulded components (e.g. interface strength) Develop predictive modelling capability to predict and optimize the residual stress for a given design intent Define a set of design and manufacturing guidelines to enable development of overmoulded components

Automated Tape Laying (ATL) and Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) are forms of additive manufacturing: the process of joining materials to make parts from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer. AFP has been at the core of the NCC capabilities since the centre was opened in 2010. This capability is currently being expanded to include other Automated Deposition technologies, a hybrid AFP/ATL machine and wide fabric layup machine. The project builds on a number of AFP projects, experimental and simulation focused, as wells as on the process knowledge developed through two NCC sponsored EngD projects. The aim of this project is to develop an industry viable process modelling solution for multi-material automated deposition of advanced composite materials. In particular, the project is concerned with the definition, development and validation of a robust model of the automated deposition process of thermoset, thermoplastic, and dry fibre materials by Automated Tape Laying and Automated Fibre Placement. The EngD candidate will be expected to be an integral part of multiple NCC project teams. This will provide him/her with the opportunity and the challenge to develop the NCC automated deposition process modelling capabilities to serve the complex needs of the NCC industrial customers. The focus will be on the identification, evaluation, and integration of existing models, which were previously developed in an academic environment, into an integrated, validated, and practical process modelling solution that industry can use in the definition of the manufacturing process for new complex composites components. While the project has a simulation focus, the EngD candidate will be expected to get involved in the definition and execution of the experimental work required to support the development and validation of the process model. While it is expected that the bulk of both the simulation and experimental work will be carried out at the NCC, the EngD candidate will be expected to identify opportunities for collaboration with academic institutions, research centres, and commercial organisation which can be beneficial to the successful delivery of the project. The exploitation of such collaboration will be highly encouraged. Within the first 12 months, the EngD candidate is expected to: Carry out a comprehensive critical literature review on the relevant topics; Acquire familiarity with the automated deposition systems available at the NCC, understanding the fundamentals, the potential, and the limitations of the technologies; Define the architecture of the process simulation tool; Deliver at least one working module of the simulation tool.

Defects in composite materials may be produced I during manufacture or service can have a detrimental effect on the strength of the composite or cause failure. It is not always clear where a defect has originated. The purpose of this project is to investigate the root cause of defects in composite materials and structures and investigate how they evolve during the course of manufacturing and later on through service. The selected approach is to utilise in-process monitoring and non-destructive testing to determine the origin and follow the evolution of defects throughout the manufacturing process and then further into the life of the component. Using a combination of non-destructive testing highly instrumented mechanical testing and parallel simulation to characterise the defects and their effect on composite properties. As part of a £32.5 million UK ATI funded investment into new high value manufacturing capabilities, the National Composites Centre is extending its suite of non-destructive testing techniques to improve versatility, defect detection and speed. This, combined with the design and simulation capabilities at the NCC, provides an opportunity to investigate the root cause of defects and follow them throughout the manufacturing process. This could then in turn be used to generate materials for a training course on defects in composite materials and components. The EngD candidate will be expected to be an integral part of multiple NCC project teams. This will provide him/her with the opportunity and the challenge of investigating defects generated across a range of manufacturing techniques and applications. The candidate will also drive the development of the characterisation capability, identifying applicable technologies and applying it to a range of different tests. Initial deliverables are likely to include: Literature review of the causes of defects in composite manufacturing Completion of training in NDT techniques especially X-ray computed tomography Design of experiments matrix for evolution of defects