EPSRC 'CASE' funded studentship in Mechanical Engineering with Airbus
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Department of Mechanical Engineering for a three and a half year research studentship in the field of flow control and loads control, leading to the award of a PhD degree.
About the project
Start date: October 2013
Funding: Stipend of £15,590 (correct for 2013/14) per year plus tuition fees at
the UK/EU rate.
Conventional control surfaces (flaps and spoilers) are large and require a large amount of actuation power for loads reduction on wing during a manoeuvre or gust. Flow control actuators may be more effective, compact, light-weight, and also cost-effective.
The main objective of this research is to investigate flow control technologies to alleviate loads on aircraft wings for manoeuvres (slow-acting actuators) and discrete gusts (fast-acting actuators). Fluidic and fast-acting mechanical actuators will be experimentally investigated for on-demand activation for decreased lift. The effectiveness of these actuators for loads reduction as well as their frequency response will be studied.
Force measurements, flow visualisation and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements will be conducted. For typical aircraft speed and wing size, actuator design, power requirements and weight savings will be predicted.
The PhD student will spend up to 3 months at Airbus UK Loads and Aeroelastics office.
How to apply
The studentship is available for students with British or EU citizenship. EU students must have been resident in the UK for a minimum of three years to be eligible to apply. Applicants should have an excellent background with a minimum high upper-second class degree in engineering or physics. Enthusiastic and self-motivated candidates with good team-working and communication skills are encouraged to apply.
Interested applicants should send the following to
Professor Ismet
Gursul: An up-to-date CV, a cover letter explaining why you wish to pursue a PhD in this area,
and the names and email addresses of two referees. Suitable candidates will be asked to complete an
electronic application form at University of Bath.
