Calum, 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 ‘Dynamic tuning of thin-walled cylinders by Continuous Tow Shearing’, under the supervision of Dr. Rainer Groh, Dr. Alberto Pirrera and Dr. Eric Kim.
After completing nine months of taught units, the three-month summer research project gives the first-year cohort the opportunity to conduct the research work before embarking on their Ph.D. projects.
Dr. Alex Baidak, Vice President – Aeromatrix Materials and Processes, and Dr. Paul Mackenzie, Senior Vice President and CTO at Hexcel, congratulated Calum on his award via videoconference.
During the call, Calum gave them a brief elevator pitch of his project and his plans to expand on his work during the next three years of his Ph.D. The project investigated the potential of the Continuous Tow Shearing (CTS) process to improve the dynamic response of thin-walled cylinders for application to aerospace structures. The numerical modelling undertaken in Abaqus CAE revealed the potential of the CTS process to produce tow-steered structures that exhibited notable performance increases compared to conventional straight tow designs.
Calum said: “I greatly appreciate Hexcel for awarding me this prize for the best research project. It was a pleasure to speak with Dr. Baidak and Dr. Mackenzie and be given the opportunity to engage with industry representatives. I want to thank my supervisory team for their insights and guidance, especially given the remote working nature of the project.”
Dr. Alex Baidak, Vice President - R&T Aeromatrix & Adhesives at Hexcel, said: “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 Calum for his outstanding work and would like to wish him all the best for the completion of his Ph.D. project.”
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