Formation mechanisms of intermetallic compounds and precipitates under solidification and heat treatments

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 ‘Formation mechanisms of intermetallic compounds and precipitates under solidification and heat treatments’

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 Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology | Brunel University London

The Project

The project investigates the phase transformation, structural and structural and physical properties of multicomponent intermetallic compounds (MC_IMCs) and multicomponent precipitates (MCPs) formed during the casting and heat treatment of lightweight alloys using a combination of first-principles density-functional theory approaches and experimental methods.

This combined approach will be applied to the MC_IMCS and MCPS in recycling Mg-Al based lightweight alloys which contain a rich variety of impurities. The present project is to provide accurate and reliable knowledge on the intermetallic compounds and precipitates in the aimed systems. This study benefits the sustainable development of our society.

Please contact Dr C. M. Fang at changming.fang@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 an Engineering, Materials Science, Metallurgy, Chemistry, 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;

Knowledge about Quantum Mechanics and Materials Sciences.
Programming skills and experience in Unix/Linux Operation Systems.

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

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.

Related Research Group(s)

Mechanics of Solids and Structures - Internationally leading research in the areas of experimental testing and computational modelling of solids and structures.

Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology (BCAST) - BCAST is an academic research centre focusing on both fundamental and applied research on solidification of metallic materials.