Materials Science & Engineering: Fully Funded EPSRC PhD Studentship in Materials Engineering

Funding providers: EPSRC IDLA and Constellium 

Subject areas: Materials Science & Engineering 

Project start date: 1 October 2025 (Enrolment open from mid-September) 

Supervisors: Dr Elizabeth Sackett and Professor Robert Lancaster  

Aligned programme of study:  PhD in Materials Engineering 

Mode of study: Full-time or part-time

Project description: 

The fatigue behaviour of the CSTM 6xxx series range of alloys is not well known. As they have potential for use in higher stress areas of automotive vehicles, this subject is becoming increasingly of interest, including the effect of microstructure on the fatigue performance. This includes both solid sections and hollow extruded products. Additional interest is also in alloys with lower embedded CO2 levels. Increasing the levels of post-consumer scrap in 6xxx series alloys is also unknown. Fatigue behaviour is known to be sensitive to microstructure and the increased levels of elements known to influence material behaviour (Fe, Si, Mn etc.) is likely to have an effect. Understanding how the additional scrap content of the alloys affects the fatigue behaviour is very important. 

The objectives of this PhD would be to explore the microstructure of standard and recycled 6xxx series alloys and how this would affect fatigue behaviour. This would involve fatigue testing of the alloys, including round bar, flat strips and hollow profiles, to determine the effect of the higher levels of scrap on the fatigue behaviour and performance of the alloys. In depth microstructural analysis would be required to determine how changes in microstructure, including type, shape and composition of precipitates and intermetallics, may change the behaviour of the alloy. Study of bulk material structures, surface effects, and fracture surfaces would also form part of this work. 

Eligibility

Entry Requirements

Applicants for PhD must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) in Engineering or similar relevant science discipline.

English Language

IELTS 6.5 Overall (5.5+ each comp.) or Swansea University recognised equivalent.