Development of natural-ageing-resistant, heat-treatable lean aluminium alloys for automotive applications

Applications are invited for one full-time EPSRC Industrial CASE (ICASE) PhD studentship for the project “Development of natural-ageing-resistant, heat-treatable lean aluminium alloys for automotive applications”

BCAST is a specialist research centre in metallurgy with a focus on the processing of metallic materials for lightweighting applications. See www.brunel.ac.uk/bcast for more information. The project is sponsored by Constellium, a leading global manufacturer of high-quality, technically advanced aluminium products and systems.

Successful applicants will receive an annual stipend (bursary) starting from approximately £23,000 plus payment of their full-time home tuition fees for a period of up to 48 months (4 years).

Lean automotive aluminium with a lower concentration of alloying elements offers moderate strength and relatively high productivity compared to its highly alloyed counterparts. However, automotive aluminium alloys are susceptible to natural ageing at room temperature, resulting in the formation of clusters from a supersaturated solid solution produced after fast quenching from solution heat treatment. This leads to increased hardness, which affects both formability and the subsequent precipitation hardening process. In addition, promoting a circular economy in the aluminium industry by increasing recyclability and using more recycled aluminium is essential for saving resources, reducing waste and creating a more sustainable future.

This project will focus on understanding the effects of vacancy-trapping element addition and quench rate sensitivity of lean Al-Mg-Si-based alloys with varying level of recycled content on the natural ageing response at room temperature and precipitation hardening behaviour during artificial ageing treatment, with the aim of developing lean recyclable Al-Si-Mg-based alloys that are resistant to natural ageing, tolerant of slower quenching rates, and capable of offering high productivity and moderate mechanical properties for automotive applications.

The project will be part of the activities of the Constellium University Technology Centre (UTC) established with BCAST. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to interact with researchers in BCAST and with Constellium’s industrial research engineers. An industrial supervisor of the project will be appointed by Constellium. This close collaboration provides a strong foundation for a future career, whether in industry or academia.

Please contact Prof. Isaac Chang at Isaac.Chang@brunel.ac.uk for an informal discussion about the project.

Eligibility

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

A strong background in physical metallurgy, materials science or chemistry is essential and experience in casting, heat treatment, microstructural characterisation, differential scanning calorimetry and mechanical testing is desirable.

In addition, applicants should be highly motivated, able to work independently, as well as in a team and have effective communication skills.

Applicants must be eligible for home tuition fees through either nationality, residency (living in the UK for at least three years and not wholly for educational purposes) or other connection to the UK.

How to apply

Please submit your application documents (see list below) in one PDF file by noon on 24 April 2025 to cedps-pgr-office@brunel.ac.uk. Interviews will take place in May 2025.

  • Your up-to-date CV;
  • Your personal statement (300 to 500 words) summarising your background, skills and experience;
  • Your Undergraduate/Postgraduate degree certificate(s) and transcript(s);
  • Evidence of your English language skills to IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent, 6.0 in all sections), if appropriate;
  • Contact details for two referees, one of which can be an academic member of staff in the College.

Remember to state the title of the project at the top of your personal statement.

Meet the Supervisor(s)

Isaac Chang - Prof. Isaac Chang is the appointed Professor of Metallurgy & Materials and Head of LiME Training Centre. Prior to this, he was a Reader and Head of Education at School of Metallurgy and Materials, University of Birmingham. He received his DPhil in Materials Science from University of Oxford (1991) and BSc(Eng) in Materials & Metallurgy from Imperial College, London University. He specializes in the field of physical and powder metallurgy, as well as nanotechnology and ceramic science. His research is focussed on the understanding of the relationship between processing, microstructure and properties of materials for industrial applications in transport, energy, healthcare, defence and electronic sectors. He was the first to discover the solid solution with a face centred cubic (FCC) crystal structure in an equiatomic FeCrCoNiMn alloy (the so-called Cantor alloy) in 2004 together with Prof. Brian Cantor, which has contributed to a brand-new field of materials science known as ‘High Entropy Alloys’ or ‘Multiple Principle Element Alloys’. He holds 7 patents and has published over 121 research papers in scientific journals, book chapters and conference proceedings. He is a Fellow of Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) and a member of the editorial board for Journal of Materials, Chemistry and Physics. His current research interest includes muticomponent lightweight alloys, high entropy alloys, metallic glasses, nanocomposites, graphene, high throughput material processing for rapid alloy discovery and synthetic biology for advanced materials development.