Opportunity to join CDT on specific PhD project - Fluid mechanics of polymer melt filtration

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Fluid Dynamics is now recruiting to this fantastic PhD opportunity in partnership with Dupont Teijin Films.

As a student on the CDT you will participate in a four year programme that combines an integrated MSc (completed over the first two years) paired with a three year PhD-level research programme. This gives you a combination of bespoke taught modules and inter-disciplinary research training.

You will be part of a supportive cohort of research students with different academic backgrounds, all focusing on different aspects of Fluid Dynamics. During the taught aspects of your course you will receive a range of tailored seminars, lectures and practical laboratories to cover the computational, experimental and analytical aspects of Fluid Dynamics. This provides you with a strong background to the fundamentals of Fluid Dynamics. In addition you will have access to a wide range of personal development activities. Further information on the CDT is available here: fluid-dynamics.leeds.ac.uk

The PhD project: Fluid mechanics of polymer melt filtration.

Sequentially stretched film casting is an essential industrial process for the manufacture of thin polymer films used for a wide range of packaging, personal protective equipment, imaging, electronic devices, photovoltaic and other industrial applications. To maintain the integrity of the manufactured film while maximising the use of recycled material, it is critical that the polymer melt is filtered of all impurities. However, filters fill up through collection of the contaminants and need frequent and costly replacement, necessitating significant downtime to the production process.

This project will develop novel computational tools to predict the evolving complex three-dimensional dynamics of the heated highly viscous, high-pressure flows through different filter designs. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the degradation of the filters over time and how to enhance their performance, efficiency and longevity. The research will require the development of computational models for the evolution of the filter properties over time, which will require some small-scale laboratory work and/or industrial pilot line studies for validation. You will be working closely with a leading manufacturing company, with a long history of supporting interesting and challenging fluid dynamics PhD projects at Leeds.

You will be co-supervised by the School of Mechanical Engineering, School of Computing and Dupont Teijin Films, with lead supervisor Dr Mark Wilson.

How to apply: Complete online application form (details on the fluid dyanmics CDT programme) naming the PhD project on the form

Application deadline: 2nd June 2020

Queries: Please contact us on fluid-dynamics@leeds.ac.uk or +44 (0)113 343 5449