Modelling of crack initiation and growth under rolling contact fatigue

We are recruiting new Doctoral Researchers to our EPSRC funded Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) PhD studentships starting 1 October 2024. Applications are invited for the project title “Modelling of crack initiation and growth under rolling contact fatigue”.

Successful applicants will receive an annual stipend (bursary) of £21,237, including inner London weighting, plus payment of their full-time home tuition fees for a period of 42 months (3.5 years).

You should be eligible for home (UK) tuition fees there are a very limited number (no more than three) of studentships available to overseas applicants, including EU nationals, who meet the academic entry criteria including English Language proficiency.

You will join the internationally recognised researchers in the Department of Mechanical Engineering research and PhD programmes | Brunel University London

The Project

Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) is responsible for most rail surface defects and is caused by severe stress state that occurs in the tiny contact patch between wheel and rail. The aim of this project is to develop finite element-based modelling approach feasible to simulate crack initiation and crack propagation behaviour with sufficient confidence in capturing both microstructure and stress state related crack driving mechanisms. It is expected to achieve an improved correlation between experimental and simulation results in terms of crack initiation and growth, crack propagation path and RCF life.

Please contact Dr Marius Gintalas at marius.gintalas@brunel.ac.uk for an informal discussion about the studentships.

Eligibility

Applicants will have or be expected to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree in Mechanical Engineering, Material Science, Physics or a similar discipline. A Postgraduate Masters degree is not required but may be an advantage.

Skills and Experience

Applicants will be required to demonstrate the following skills;

Ability to use or willingness to learn the commercial finite element (FE) software Abaqus or an alternative FE package, including open-source packages, for modelling of material damage, crack initiation and growth. Knowledge of solid mechanics, theory of plasticity, theoretical fracture mechanics and most common carbon steel microstructures and related principles of metallurgy is desirable.

You should be highly motivated, able to work independently as well as in a team, collaborate with others and have good communication skills.

How to apply

There are two stages of the application:

1.Applicants must submit the pre-application form via the following link

https://brunel.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/epsrc-dtp-24-25-pre-application-form-brunel-university-lon

by 16.00 on Friday 5th April 2024.

2.If you are shortlisted for the interview, you will be asked to email the following documentation in a single PDF file to cedps-studentships@brunel.ac.uk within 72hrs.

Your up-to-date CV;
Your Undergraduate degree certificate(s) and transcript(s) essential;
Your Postgraduate Masters degree certificate(s) and transcript(s) if applicable;
Your valid English Language qualification of IELTS 6.5 overall (minimum 6.0 in each section) or equivalent, if applicable;
Contact details for TWO referees, one of which can be an academic member of staff in the College.

Applicants should therefore ensure that they have all of this information in case they are shortlisted.

Interviews will take place in April/May 2024.

Meet the Supervisor(s)

Marius Gintalas - Dr Marius Gintalas obtained his doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering studying fracture toughness measurement methods under impact load. He continued research in fracture mechanics field on crack tip constraint in specimens and large scale pipes as a postdoctoral research associate at Manchester University. Later, Marius joined the University of Cambridge for his second postdoctoral project. He worked on characterisation of heavily plastically deformed martensitic carbon steel using transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron radiation. Also, analysed strengthening mechanisms in non-deformed and deformed quenched and tempered martensite. Marius joined The Welding Institute (TWI) Ltd as a senior project leader after postdoctoral period of five years. In 2020 returned to academia as a lecturer at Brunel University, National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC).

Related Research Group(s)

Flood, Coastal and Water Engineering - The Flood, Coastal and Water Engineering Group addresses the challenges of water scarcity, aging water infrastructures and flood management in the UK and worldwide. The group also concentrates on providing research solutions for recycling water and offering sustainable water resources for domestic and industrial uses.