PhD Studentship: New Approaches for Design for Manufacture to Enable Disassembly of Construction Using 3D Concrete Printing and Hybrid Manufacturing Processes

3-D concrete printing and the latest hybrid manufacturing processes (using robotic milling and finishing processes with concrete printing) are new digitally driven automated construction technologies that can be seen in manufacturing buildings worldwide. These processes have huge potential to address the challenge of net-zero construction manufacturing, but we need to understand how to do this and where the technical challenges are.

This PhD is part of a cohort of five PhDs focused on answering this question. It will bring together the disciplines of life-cycle analysis and circular economy, structural engineering, manufacturing engineering, and material science.

You will work together and develop as a team and your combined research will inform a roadmap of improvement that will influence these technologies worldwide.

This studentship will focus on using materials and process know-how to create novel DfAM workflows that can be applied to the digital design and manufacture of connections and joints for efficient assembly and disassembly in construction and the built environment, targeting energy and material minimisation in manufacture and circularity.

Study interests should include: Design of joints and assemblies, DfM CAD, process constraints modelling, material reduction, design for disassembly, components, and structures.

The successful candidate is likely to have a background in industrial/product design, architecture, civil engineering manufacturing, and/or mechanical engineering.

Funding

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessment and operating University facilities such as the library, IT equipment and other support services. University fees and charges can be paid in advance and there are several methods of payment, including online payments and payment by instalment. Fees are reviewed annually and are likely to increase to take into account inflationary pressures.

The three-year studentship provides a tax-free stipend of £17,668 a year (2022/23 rate) for the duration of the studentship plus tuition fees at the home or international rate.

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