James, a Ph.D. student in the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Composites Science, Engineering and Manufacturing (CoSEM CDT), won the award for his project “Cryogenic thermal shock of epoxy nanocomposites” supervised by Prof. Ian Hamerton, Prof. Valeska Ting, Dr. Karthik Ram Ramakrishnan, and Dr. Sebastien Rochat, along with industrial support from Dr. Marcus Walls-Bruck at the National Composites Centre (NCC).
Christian, also a CDT student, won his for the project “Challenges in Large-Scale Modelling of Textile Damage: Implicit vs Explicit” supervised by Dr. Bassam El Said, and Prof. Stephen Hallett.
After completing nine months of taught units, the three-month summer research project gives the first-year cohort the opportunity to conduct novel individual research work before embarking on their respective Ph.D. projects.
Christian's PhD studentship is supported by Rolls Royce, and regarding his three-month project Christian told us: “The 3-month project investigated the modelling of damage in textile composites, a material which is commonly used in the aerospace industry. The applicability of several numerical techniques was assessed. Moving into the PhD project, I am now shifting my focus onto the experimental testing and numerical modelling of these composites under post-impact fatigue. I would like to thank Hexcel for awarding us this prize. I am grateful to have received recognition for our efforts. This would not have been possible without the guidance and insights of my supervisory team.”
James told us: “The 3-month project gave me a great insight into working in the Bristol Composite Institute and National Composite Centres' labs and how to make the most of my time going into the PhD project. It helped me understand the current state of research on composite materials for cryogenic liquid hydrogen storage while allowing me to conduct a preliminary investigation into a specific area within the field. Overall, it was a hugely beneficial way to end the taught component of the CDT.
I'm grateful to my supervisors and the BCI and NCC technical staff for supporting the project and to Hexcel for awarding the prize.”
Dr. Alex Baidak, Vice President - R&T Aeromatrix and Adhesives at Hexcel, commented: “Hexcel is delighted to sponsor the prize for the best CoSEM CDT research project at Bristol. Hexcel recognises the key research and training roles played by the University of Bristol. We are pleased to congratulate James and Christian for their outstanding work and would like to wish them all the best for the completion of their respective Ph.D. projects.”
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