PhD Studentship co-sponsored by motorsport and lubricant industries: Loughborough University

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Embedded Intelligence at Loughborough University is offering a fully-funded PhD studentship to UK/EU applicants.
The Studentship is open to all eligible UK/EU and international/overseas students. It will run for 4 years and it includes:
• A fee waiver equivalent to the home/EU rate*
• An enhanced EPSRC tax-free stipend of up to £18,000 p.a. for four years.
• A personal training budget of £10,000 to support specific training needs.
* Please note that applicants who are not eligible for UK/EU fees will be required to cover the difference between UK/EU and International tuition fees.
Reduction of weight, compactness and improved efficiency are important design objectives. This is particularly true for trend-setting high performance motorsport. A part of this quest is the minimisation of lubricant supply in advanced transmissions. This can lead to lack of lubrication, thus increased friction and power loss, as well as excessive operating transmission temperatures.
A significant effort is expended in the development of additive packages to the bulk lubricant in order to mitigate some of the adverse effects of direct surface interactions, as well as dealing with lubricant degradation at high shear rates and thermal conditions. Boundary active lubricant additives adsorb to solid load bearing surfaces, forming layers of low friction film. The adsorption process is also a function of surface energy of solid barriers, which depends on composition/atomic structure. Hence, coatings as well as surface topography have become an essential part of the problem. It is now clear that lubricant-surface should be considered as a system. This approach will form the basis of planned research.
Applicants should
• Have a first class honours or good upper second class degree in mechanical/automotive/ aerospace engineering, physics or chemistry.
• Have an appreciation of tribology, automotive transmissions and measurement techniques.
• Demonstrate a keen interest in measurement and numerical analysis
• Good inter-personal and networking skills are required, particularly in interactions with industrial partners of research.
• Meet the minimum English Language requirements, details available on the website
• Satisfy the UK residency requirement

Funding information

Funding applies to:

Open to applicants from a range of countries

Contacts and how to apply

Administrative contact and how to apply:

Applications should be made online at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/apply/research/. A list of the required documentation can be found here. Please select "CDT Embedded Intelligence MME" under Programme Selection and quote reference CDTEI16WS1 under Research Interests.