About the project
Fusion is the process that heats the Sun and all other stars. Atomic nuclei collide together and release energy. The goal of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is to commercialise fusion, by developing ‘tokamak’ devices. They use magnetic fields to confine fusion fuel as a design for future fusion power plants. This has vast potential as a safe, abundant source of low-carbon electricity.
Cryogenics is recognised as an enabling technology that is becoming more prevalent for enhancing and extending the performance of new systems. One of the biggest challenges with developing tokamaks comes from the choice of materials and identifying their operating limits during cryogenic service. Existing fundamental material property data at low operating temperatures is scarce but essential for the design and operation of superconducting magnet coils and their structural housing. Obtaining this material property information in novel ways is the focus for this project.
Your PhD will use digital image correlation (DIC). This is a non-contact imaging technique to obtain strain information from the surface of a material or component alongside inverse identification methods to extract material data from novel mechanical tests. The project will develop new methodologies for the use of DIC at cryogenic temperatures for data-rich material and component testing alongside finite element performance model validation.
A key challenge is to provide visual access. This is essential for inspecting specimens at low temperature and under mechanical load. This limits the ways to effectively transfer cold to the test zone inside a chamber. This must be solved for the work to successfully scale up tests on representative sub-component size geometries - critical to the delivery of fusion technology.
The PhD will be carried out at the University of Southampton within the Department of Mechanical Engineering. You’ll use the advanced mechanical testing facilities in our testing and structures research laboratory which is part of the National Infrastructure Laboratory on our Boldrewood Innovation Campus.
At the cryogenics laboratory on Highfield Campus you’ll be trained in:
- the fundamentals of cryogenics
- low temperature instrumentation
- applied engineering to create cold test environments
You’ll work under the supervision of Dr Wendell Bailey and Dr Andrew Robinson. You'll be part of a team studying cryogenic DIC methods and the application of non-contacting imaging techniques to extreme environments. You’ll have close contact with your industrial supervisor, Dr Lloyd Fletcher.
The industrial sponsors for this project are the UK Atomic Energy Authority and you'll be able to visit to their world leading fusion facilities.
