This research will focus on establishing whether during the early stages of creep stress relaxation there is accumulation of creep damage. Experiments will be undertaken to explore the behaviour of both creep “brittle” and creep “ductile” 316H stainless steel. Numerical models will be developed to complement the experiments. 

Candidate requirements: The Solid Mechanics Group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering is seeking PhD candidates to undertake industrially sponsored research.  The candidates will be expected to have achieved honors 1st Class or 2.1 class degree in either Engineering, Mathematics or Physical Sciences. Candidates with an MSc degree in these disciplines are also acceptable. All the projects are related to the safety of nuclear power components and all candidates are expected to work closely with the industrial sponsors

Funding: Available from October 2014. Studentship covers full UK/EU (EU applicants who have been resident in the UK for 3 years prior to application) PhD tuition fees and a tax-free stipend at the current RCUK rate (£13,863 in 2013/14). EU nationals resident in the EU may also apply and will qualify only for PhD tuition fees

How to apply: Please make an online application for this project at http://www.bris.ac.uk/pg-howtoapply. Please select Mechanical Engineering on the Programme Choice page and enter details of the studentship when prompted in the Funding and Research Details sections of the formPlease ensure that in the Funding section you tick “I would like to be considered for a funding award from the Department” and specify the title of the scholarship in the “other” box below.

Contacts:  David Smith (medjs<στο>bristol.ac.uk) and Chris Truman (c.e.truman<στο>bristol.ac.uk)

For general enquiries, please email gsen-pgrs<στο>bristol.ac.uk