PhD Studentship: Mathematical Modelling of Thermal Cracking in Metal Billets

This PhD project would investigate using applied mathematical techniques to model thermal cracking of metal billets during heating and cooling. Industrial partners Copper Alloy Ltd cast and hot-work products on-site, and the wide range of alloys produced and products manufactured require careful attention to heating and cooling. Many of their alloys exhibit a ductility trough that requires extremely slow heating and cooling to avoid failure, whilst too slow heating and cooling can negatively impact the material properties of the alloys. Better modelling and optimisation might allow faster heating and cooling without component failure, which would result in better alloy properties, lower energy usage, and increased throughput through better equipment utilisation.

Dr Ed Brambley is an experienced PhD supervisor, currently awarded a UKRI Future Leader's Fellowship to study "Applied Mathematical Modelling of Industrial Metal Forming" . His group's research is internationally unique, and aims to build a new field of mathematical modelling of metal forming as a solid mechanics equivalent of the mathematical modelling of fluid mechanics common in applied mathematics in the UK. Examples of the group's work are given in https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euromechsol.2025.105712 and https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euromechsol.2026.106027 . The group currently consists of Dr Brambley, two PDRAs and a PhD student, and is actively recruiting.

The ideal candidate would have a good undergraduate degree in a numerate discipline (e.g. Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, etc), and a desire to use their applied mathematical modelling skills to solve real-world problems. Knowledge of mathematical modelling, asymptotics, and solid mechanics would be an advantage, but filling any knowledge gaps will be part of the PhD training for this project. Further details are available here , and interested candidates should contact Dr Brambley in the first instance.

This project is funded through the Collaborative EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Awards.

Funding 

This award consists of one 4-year full-time scholarship to start in October 2026, including a UKRI rate stipend, full payment of academic fees at the home rate and a one-off £3,500 RTSG.

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