Funding providers: UK Atomic Weapons Establishment (UKAWE) and Swansea University’s Faculty of Science and Engineering

Subject areas: Computational mechanics; Engineering simulation

Project start date:

• 1 April 2023 (Enrolment open from mid–March)

Project supervisors: 

• Professor Antonio J. Gil
• Dr Chun Hean Lee
• Professor Rubén Sevilla

Aligned programme of study: PhD in Civil Engineering

Mode of study: Full-time

Project description:

There is a wealth of Industrial applications which require the use of computer models to understand the nature and behaviour of shock waves in solids caused by intense short-duration disturbances, such as sudden contact-impact loading and/or when a material is exposed to fast temperature changes. For instance, the mechanisms of material failure under a ballistic-shock are crucial in the design of 3D printed elastomer multi-materials, which are of interest to UKAWE.

Current shock-physics simulation codes, which largely rely on industry-optimised Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-based methods, are capable of handling shocks across the entire domain of CFD applications. However, the success of this methodological approach has not been replicated in other fields of science, such as large strain solid dynamics, and its coupling with other physics and with novel materials.

Building upon very recent work made by the supervisory team, this project will investigate a new computational framework using a novel Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) formalism written in the form of a system of first-order conservation laws. The resulting conservation-type ALE formulation, which displays striking similarities to that used by the CFD community, has inspired the investigators to adopt conventional CFD algorithms in the novel context of Computational Solid Dynamics. One key contribution of this work is that the physical deformation gradient can be obtained via its multiplicative decomposition into two auxiliary deformation gradient tensors, both computed via additional first-order conservation laws. Crucially, the new ALE conservative formulation will be shown to degenerate into Lagrangian and Eulerian mixed based systems of conservation laws. A Finite Volume/Discontinuous Galerkin/Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics algorithm with Riemann based upwinding stabilisation will be used for the spatial discretisation, exploiting in-house software.

The recruited PhD candidate will become a member of an active research group working on the development and application of cutting edge computational techniques for large strain solid dynamics, dynamic fracture/contact  and computational multi-physics.

Candidates must normally hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) in Engineering or similar relevant science discipline. See ‘country specific information for European and international applicants (available at the bottom of the page)’. 

English Language requirements: If applicable – IELTS 6.5 overall (with at least 5.5 in each individual component) or Swansea recognised equivalent. Details on the Swansea University English Language entry policy can be found here.

Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is open only to applicants holding a UK passport.

NB: If you are holding a non-UK degree, please see Swansea University degree comparisons to find out if you meet the eligibility.

If you have any questions regarding your academic or fee eligibility based on the above, please email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk with the web-link to the scholarship(s) you are interested in.

This scholarship covers the full cost of UK tuition fees and an annual stipend of £17,668.

Additional research expenses will also be available.

To apply, please complete your application onlinewith the following information:

1. Course choice – please select Civil Engineering / PhD / Full-time / 3 Year / AprilIn the event you have already applied for the above programme previously, the application system may issue a warning notice and prevent application, in this event, please email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk where staff will be happy to assist you in submitting your application.
2. Start year – please select 2023
3. Funding (page 8) –

• ‘Are you funding your studies yourself?’ – please select No
• ‘Name of Individual or organisation providing funds for study’ – please enter ‘RS182 – PhD Civil Eng‘

*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the scholarship award.

One application is required per individual Swansea University led research scholarship award; applications cannot be considered listing multiple Swansea University led research scholarship awards.

As part of your online application, you MUST upload the following documents (please do not send these via email):

• CV
• Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a degree, screenshots of your grades to date are sufficient)
• A cover letter including a ‘Supplementary Personal Statement’ to explain why the position particularly matches your skills and experience and how you choose to develop the project.
• Two references (academic or previous employer) on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references received citing private email accounts, e.g. Hotmail. Referees should cite their employment email address for verification of reference.
• Evidence of meeting English Language requirement (if applicable).
• Copy of UK resident visa (if applicable)

Informal enquiries are welcome, please contact Professor Antonio J. Gil (a.j.gil@swansea.ac.uk).

*External Partner Application Data Sharing – Please not that as part of the scholarship application selection process, application data sharing may occur with external partners outside of the University, when joint/co- funding of a scholarship project is applicable.