Mr Keiran Ball BEng (Hons)
Postgraduate Research Student
Keiran is a researcher in the Engineering Materials Group at the University of Southampton and is currently using Microfocus X-ray Computed Tomography to assess damage in Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites.
The ideal engineer is a composite … He is not a scientist, he is not a mathematician, he is not a sociologist or a writer; but he may use the knowledge and techniques of any or all of these disciplines in solving engineering problems. —Nathan W. Dougherty, American civil engineer
Keiran graduated with a 1st Class degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sussex. After completing his degree, he enrolled on an integrated PhD (iPhD) course as a member of the Centre for Doctoral Training for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (CDT SIS). Keiran is part of the Engineering Materials Group and is currently supervised by Prof Ian Sinclair, Prof S Mark Spearing and Dr Mark Mavrogordato where his project is industry-sponsored by Solvay.
In common with the early history of fracture and fatigue in metals, the majority of the analytical capability for fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite design currently consists of empirical fits to large experimental databases to determine "knock-down" factors for static design and to construct stress-life curves which can be combined with stress analysis to predict performance. The reliance on this predominantly empirical approach has direct negative consequences in realising the potential of composite materials in light-weighting of transport structures. This project will apply an innovative Data-Rich Mechanics approach to the critical problem of impact performance (known to improve with higher interlaminar fracture toughness in carbon-FRPs by the use of 3-1) Computed Tomography (CT), and related/complementary methods, generating the necessary quantitative tools for future light-weighting of aerospace and other transport sector applications of FRP.