PhD in Civil Engineering – Data-driven computational modelling for assessing structural integrity of civil nuclear reactors

A fully funded EPSRC iCASE PhD studentship is available at the University of Glasgow in collaboration with EDF from 1st October 2024.

The goal of the project is to investigate novel data-driven computational approaches for simulation and assessment of structural integrity. The accurate and robust assessment of structural integrity of safety-critical structures is essential for the civil nuclear industry.

The modelling based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) commonly relies on constitutive models. However, these are typically phenomenological and empirical in nature and very little of the available experimental and operational data is utilised. This project will develop data-driven approaches to improve the assessment of structural integrity of nuclear reactor’s core. Such approaches will avoid the use of constitutive models and instead exploit in the simulations the large volumes of experimental and operational data that is available, while also avoiding the bias induced by constitutive models.

This project will be undertaken within the Glasgow Computational Engineering Centre (GCEC), University of Glasgow, and will contribute to the ongoing collaboration with industrial partner EDF, who operates all the UK’s civil nuclear power plants. All developments will be undertaken in MoFEM (http://mofem.eng.gla.ac.uk), an open-source finite element software developed at GCEC.

Candidates must hold a First or Upper Second Class (2.1) honours degree in Engineering or relevant science discipline. Candidates will also need to demonstrate knowledge of computer programming. 

How to Apply: Please refer to the following website for details on how to apply: https://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/infrastructureenvironment/