Research Fellow in Adhesively Bonded Joints for Aerospace Structures

Job title:

Research Fellow in Adhesively Bonded Joints for Aerospace Structures

Company

University of Surrey

Job description

The University of Surrey is a global community of ideas and people, dedicated to life-changing education and research.We are ambitious and have a bold vision of what we want to achieve – shaping ourselves into one of the best universities in the world, which we are achieving through the talents and endeavour of every employee.Our culture empowers people to achieve this aim and to collectively, and individually, make a real difference.The roleThe Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Surrey is seeking to recruit full-time researchers to the project: “Multi-Application BONDing” (MABOND), funded by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and GKN Aerospace. The roles are funded until June 2027, with the possibility of a further 8 month extension at that stage.The successful candidates will work with a number of other UK-based industrial aerospace and academic partners within the project consortium, and assist in the characterisation of the strength and ageing of adhesively bonded joints for aerospace structures. Various composite and metallic adherends will be considered. The candidates will use their understanding of structural mechanics and materials science to identify the underlying failure mechanisms and generate an appropriate set of allowables for other engineers to use in future. The modelling they perform will capture the mechanics of failure from the molecular to the macroscopic scale.The Research Fellows’ roles will be to undertake the majority of the experimental work (in collaboration with the University technical staff), and to perform the numerical modelling that complements the experimental work. It is anticipated that the individual researchers will specialise in one of these areas. The analyses undertaken will include mechanical testing, surface chemical analysis (XPS, ToF-SIMS and ATR-FTIRS) and electron microscopy, and Finite Element Analysis of the bonded joints. The Research Fellows will also assist in reporting to the sponsor, and disseminating the results at conferences and in academic journals.About youWe are looking for applicants who hold, or are near completion of, a PhD in a relevant subject. Relevant professional experience will also be considered. The successful applicants will demonstrate experience and knowledge of one or more of the following areas:
– Modelling of structural failure using Finite Element Analysis (in particular bonded joints).
– Ageing mechanisms in polymers and polymer composites (thermal, moisture, etc.).
– Surface chemistry analysis using various experimental techniques.
– Strength of materials experimental work (such as tensile, compressive, double cantilever beam) carried out according to appropriate standard methods (ASTM, ISO).In addition to supporting the research project with internal and external collaborators, the position will serve as a platform for the Research Fellow to develop their career and profile as an independent researcher.The successful candidate will work under the supervision of Prof John Watts in the School of Mechanical Engineering Sciences. Please note that this work will take place under UK Strategic Export Control PL9009, which may restrict the participation of nationals from certain countries.How to applyFor informal enquiries please contact Professor John Watts FREng at or +44(0)1483 68 9617.Further details

Expected salary

£37999 – 40247 per year

Location

Guildford, Surrey

Job date

Sat, 25 Jan 2025 01:26:06 GMT

To help us track our recruitment effort, please indicate in your email/cover letter where (globalvacancies.org) you saw this job posting.