Novel Composite Materials for Electricity Distribution

Institution: University of Manchester

Dept/School/Faculty: EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Power Networks

PhD Supervisor: Prof S Rowland

Co-Supervisor: Dr I Kinloch

Application Deadline: Applications accepted all year round

Funding Availability: Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

Student background required: 

Suitable candidates will have a first class to upper second class degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics or Materials. 

Benefit to / Impact on Industry: 
Improved products will increase efficiency and reliability. A key output will be to influence academic work, identifying potential impact of materials development in the University of Manchester. 

What novelty will the student base their PhD on? 
Novelty will come from access to cutting-edge materials, and design know-how. This will include graphene, graphene derivatives and nano composites 

Project overview: 
A range of new materials are under development that could offer considerable benefits to the design of electricity network assets. These include nano engineered materials, graphene, carbon nanotubes and their composites. This project will initially examine the availability and applicability of these materials to application in electricity transmission and distribution. This will be done by bringing together materials scientists and equipment designers and developers both in industry and academia. One key area will be identified for deeper study, which will include design, process and development of materials for one application. Examples of this might be hydrophobic coatings, or non-linear nano-structured insulation systems for high voltage and high temperature application.

Outline of Proposed Project Plan: 
Year 1: Taught courses and preparatory study 
Year 2: Following high level studies in the first year, the student will consider one or two applications in detail. These will be matched to high performance materials being developed. A plan of research will be drawn up to evaluate materials, and fully characterise the needs of the application. This is likely to require some detailed design work in packages such as FEA. It is hoped that the student will spend 3 months of this year in ENW improving their understanding of the role of plant in the network. 
Year 3: The final two years will be dependent on the route/opportunity chosen. Typically the 3rd year will be developing materials, including process techniques and characterising their behaviour. Finally prototypes will be designed. 
Year 4: The final year may concern fabricating prototypes and testing these against planned regimes. Plans for technology transfer to previously identified partners will be developed. 

Funding Notes:

This project is funded by EPSRC, the University of Manchester and our Industry partners. Funding is available to UK candidates. EU candidates are also eligible if they have been studying or working continuously in the UK for three or more years (prior to the start date of the programme). The successful candidates will have their fees paid in full and will receive an enhanced maintenance stipend. 

See here for information on how to apply and entry requirements: www.power-networks-cdt.manchester.ac.uk/study/projects-apply