Mechanistic modelling of hydrogen-material interactions

Oxford’s Mechanics of Materials Lab is seeking a PhD (DPhil) student to develop a new generation of mechanistic models to understand the fatigue crack initiation behaviour of metals in hydrogen environments. The project will be conducted in close collaboration with Frazer-Nash Consultancy, who are financially supporting the work.

Project Description:

Hydrogen will play a major role in decarbonising energy-intensive industries worldwide and we need to develop materials-based solutions to enable safe and reliable hydrogen adoption. This PhD project will develop new, physically-based models to better understand and predict the behaviour of metallic alloys exposed to cyclic loading and hydrogen-containing environments. Commercial or open-source finite element codes will be used to conduct coupled deformationdiffusion-fracture simulations that resolve the material physics of the rich problem which is hydrogen-assisted fatigue. There will also be opportunities to explore other Materials 4.0 approaches, such as the use of Machine Learning, and to engage or collaborate with complementary experimental work. Project findings could have a notable impact on the deployment of a green hydrogen infrastructure, as needed to achieve net zero carbon ambitions. The student will be integrated into the Mechanics of Materials Lab and will have the opportunity to interact daily with other PhD students and postdoctoral researchers working on similar topics.

Supervisor:

1. Emilio Martinez-Paneda

Application Deadline:

16 May 2025

Funding Notes:

This is a fully funded project, part of cohort 2 of the EPSRC CDT in Materials 4.0. CDT. The studentship covers fees (home & international), a tax-free stipend of at least £19,237 plus London allowance if applicable, and a research training support grant.

Candidates of all nationalities are welcome to apply; up to 30% of studentships across the CDT can be awarded to outstanding international applicants. Early applications from interested overseas candidates are encouraged.

The Materials 4.0 CDT is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Five countries are represented in cohort 1. We would like to see a more gender-balanced cohort 2, so we strongly encourage applications from female candidates.

Enquiries:

For general enquiries, please contact doctoral-training@royce.ac.uk.

For application-related queries, please contact graduate.studies@materials.ox.ac.uk. Please note that each partner of the CDT in Materials 4.0 will have its own application process.

If you have specific technical or scientific queries about this PhD, we encourage you to contact the lead supervisor, Emilio Martinez-Paneda (emilio.martinez-paneda@eng.ox.ac.uk).

Application Webpage:

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/materials-4-0

Follow the instructions on the website. The ‘proposed field and title of research project’ is the project title on the PDF; the equivalent is applicable to the ‘proposed supervisor’.