The Leonardo Centre

An exciting opportunity has arisen to undertake a PhD project Sponsored by Tata Steel and the EPSRC to build a method for the measurement on metal strip during hot and cold rolling.

The metal rolling industry produces thin sheet of aluminium and steel for things like car bodies or domestic appliance casings. The strip is rolled between large steel rollers usually lubricated with a coolant. This project is about designing sensors to measure the properties of the rolled strip during the rolling process it self. How thick the strip is, the contact stress, deformation, and lubrication conditions.

The PhD team at the Leonardo Centre of Sheffield are world leaders in the development of ultrasound-based sensors to measure contacts in machine components like bearings, seals, and piston rings. The group are the first in the world to take measurement of the tiny film of oil formed in these components in-situ during operation. This project is building sensors to do the same in metal rolling.

Areas of research will include; building ultrasonic instrumentation, designing and building piezo-electric sensors, the use of ultrasonic sensors to capture the system response and the signal processing algorithms required to analyse the captured data. The development of theoretical/ numerical models predicting propagation of acoustic waves as well as lab/field-based experiments must be performed to facilitate this understanding. We plan to install these sensors on a metal rolling machine based at Sheffield and then on rolling mills at TATA or partner plants.

The successful applicant will be supervised Prof Rob Dwyer-Joyce and Dr Christophe Pinna of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. You would join the group of Leonardo PhD students, which operates as a leading research team in Sheffield.

Requirements

Applicants should have or be expected to get a MEng (or BEng/BSc with MSc) at 2.1 or 1st, or equivalent, in an appropriate discipline, such as: mechanical, bioengineering, physics, electronic, or control systems engineering. Applicants should be self-motivated and able to formulate and implement new ideas. You will also need to be good at managing a project, reporting on the findings, and working with an industrial organisation. Students receive a full PhD funding, fees, and a top-up from Tata steel.

Applications

The deadline for applications is 17/04/2015.

Applications should be made by submitting a CV and covering letter explaining suitability for the role, to Prof Rob Dwyer-Joyce (r.dwyerjoyce<στο>sheffield.ac.uk).

Eligibility

Funding for this studentship is provided by EPSRC and is only open to full UK nationals. The studentship covers the cost of tuition fees and provides an annual tax-free stipend at the standard UK research rate (£13,863 in 2014/15) per annum plus an additional industrially-funded stipend "top-up".

For details of the EPSRC eligibility requirements go to: www.epsrc.ac.uk/skills/students/help/Pages/eligibility.aspx

The awarding of the studentships will depend on the quality, and backgrounds of the applicants. 

Further Information

Please contact:

Prof Rob Dwyer-Joyce

E: r.dwyerjoyce@sheffield.ac.uk

T: +44 (0) 114 222 7736