Interview date 20 January 2014

At present, the aerospace grade composites rely on heavy equipment that can provide high levels of applied pressure. Manufacturing processes utilising these tools allow achieving high level of consolidation, suppress formation of impregnation defects, and acquire a good control on component tolerances. However, these processes are expensive, inflexible and exhibit a lack of direct control on local component features. This project contributes to the development of an innovative concept of composite manufacturing: liquid 3D print of composite matrices, addressing these challenges, and enabling incorporation of functional elements.

Advanced nano-reinforcements reveal a great potential in enhancing the properties of conventional polymer composites. Functionalization boosts electrical and thermal conductivity and improves fracture toughness. The main impediment in exploring the full potential of these additives is a lack of technology delivering them to composites with exquisite control at every structural scale. Precise local resin injection process opens the new horizons for functionalization and potentially resolves the issues ofclustering through controlled micro-extrusion process, delivery through automated integration of resin, and patterning through detailed design of the process.

The questions addressed by this study span from the design of a novel manufacturing process to the fundamental questions of flow mechanics and composite performance. The envisaged manufacturing technique presents a number of technical and fundamental challenges with regards to the flow mechanisms at micro and yarn scales, the resultant distribution of nano-reinforcements, and the deformation mechanisms of the functionalised material system. The following issues present a particular interest: (1)Feasibility of precise integrations oriented nano-elements, (2) Quality of impregnation, (3) Mechanical properties of the printed composites. Thus, the major aim of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility of conceptually new method for functionalization and patterning, to characterise the process and the resultant composites at various structural scales.

The first prototype of 3D liquid resin printer, required for the project kick-off, has been constructed and is ready to be used. A bigger and more capable printer will be developed in a parallel project supported by the Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Composites and Bristol Robotics Lab. All the optical, physical, and scanning equipment required for testing is available in the department, the National Composites Centre. The tools and geometrical models for process simulations and optimisation at the micro and yarn-scales are available through bespoke codes and commercial FE packages (Abaqus/Matlab).

Please make an online application for this project at http://www.bris.ac.uk/pg-howtoapply. Please select Aerospace Engineering on the Programme Choice page and enter details of the studentship when prompted in the Funding and Research Details sections of the form Minimum of 2:1 honours degree (or equivalent) in Mechanical, Aerospace Engineering or Robotics.

Mechanical and CAD design tools, Experience in Additive Technologies, Experience in Manufacturing and Experimentation

Contacts:  Dr. Dmitry S. Ivanov:  Dmitry.Ivanov<στο>bristol.ac.uk