EngD PhD in Manufacturing and Structural Integrity Validation of Dissimilar Material Bonds for Tungsten Component Joining, with UKAEA

A funded 4-year UK EngD / PhD studentship is available in the group of Prof Sandy Knowles within the School of Metallurgy and Materials at the University of Birmingham, with a tax-free stipend of £20,780 per year, and includes a 3-month fusion engineering CDT training programme as part of the 2026 Cohort.
This project is co-supervised by Dr Chris Hardie from UKAEA.

The UoB Materials for eXtremes (M4X - https://more.bham.ac.uk/M4X/) research group investigates new alloys for extreme environments from fusion/fission reactors, to aerospace gas turbines and concentrated solar power. This involves the design of fundamentally new alloys by computational methods; production through arc melting, powder metallurgy or additive manufacturing; characterisation using advanced electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction techniques; mechanical testing using macro/micro-mechanical methods and failure investigation; and environmental behaviour under oxidation/corrosion and irradiation damage.

Tungsten is the leading candidate for the fusion first wall, however, a major challenge is how it can be joined to other materials & components within a fusion power plant design, e.g. copper alloys and steels. Further there are key questions as to the durability of such joins, especially under service temperatures – where intermediate phases e.g. intermetallics may form, and the effect of neutron irradiation and potential irradiation embrittlement.

However, the immiscibility between Cu and W leads to poor bonding, whilst during high temperature manufacturing/operation embrittlement of steel-W joints occurs due to the formation of brittle Fe7W6 intermetallic at the interface. New manufacturing strategies are needed to create dissimilar material bonds to tungsten for component joining and the validation of their structural integrity. This will build upon the M4X groups expertise in gradient materials (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2024.112604) and tungsten alloys (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmt.2024.102430).

This EngD/PhD project is set within the Fusion Engineering CDT at the University of Birmingham. Students will receive a 3-month training programme in fusion engineering at the start of the course, delivered across the CDT partner universities. For further information about the CDT, please visit the website or send an email to hello@fusion-engineering-cdt.ac.uk.

The candidate should have a 1st / 2.1 class Undergraduate or Masters degree (or equivalent) in Materials Science, or a related discipline.

To Apply please provide: (1) CV, (2) Cover Letter summarising your research interests and suitability for the position, and (3) The contact details of two Referees.

Please send to Prof Sandy Knowles - a.j.knowles@bham.ac.uk via the above 'Apply' button. 
www.birmingham.ac.uk/ajknowles
https://more.bham.ac.uk/M4X

Funding notes: Fusion Engineering CDT

References:

https://www.fusion-engineering-cdt.co.uk/

Gradient materials https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2024.112604

Tungsten alloys https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmt.2024.102430

Correlation mapping - https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-020-00035-y 

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