Research Assistant or Associate in Mechanics of Advanced Composite Structures

Imperial Enterprise; Greater London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel to conferences

Collaboration with Rolls-Royce

Pension scheme

Job summary

Imperial College London seeks a Research Assistant or Associate to advance translaminar fracture concepts for CFRP in aircraft engine blades. You will design testing and computational methods, evaluate advanced microstructures like braided composites, and collaborate with Oxford and Rolls-Royce on deployment.

The role offers opportunities for hands-on lab work, numerical modelling, and publication in leading journals, with scope for travel to conferences and supervision experience.

Qualifications

• Experience in failure modelling of fibre-reinforced composites using FEM.
• Interest or experience with AI.
• Practical experience in a composites lab.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop translaminar fracture characterisation and simulation capabilities for CFRP with advanced microstructures.
• Collaborate with University of Oxford and Rolls-Royce on deployment of methods.
• Develop experimental and simulation methods and FE/AI surrogates.

Skills

Composite materials

FEM

AI interest

Education

PhD in Aerospace/Mechanical Eng

Masters in Aerospace/Mechanical Eng

Tools

AFP machine

FEM

Job description

Research Assistant or Associate in Mechanics of Advanced Composite Structures

This post (Research Assistant/Associate in Mechanics of Advanced Composite Structures) will allow you to contribute to a greater project developing the next generation of aero-engines. You will develop strong research, supervision, network, communication and project management skills. You will gain unique hands-on experience with both numerical techniques and with the most advanced lab equipment. You will get the opportunity to travel to International Scientific conferences and to University (Oxford) and industrial (Rolls-Royce) partners.

Your work will focus on developing innovative concepts to characterise and simulate translaminar fracture (such as in the case of a blade out event). You will develop experimental and simulation methods for actual deployment at Rolls-Royce, namely translaminar fracture toughness characterisation methods and FE / AI-assisted surrogate models for translaminar fracture of composite structures.

What you would be doing

You will design and develop innovative translaminar fracture characterisation and simulation capabilities for CFRP with advanced and complex microstructures (such as braided composites), suitable for aircraft engine fan blades. This will entail design, testing, analysis and simulation. The simulation will be done in collaboration with the University of Oxford; our focus will be on translaminar fracture propagation both directly with physically-based models and via incorporating Artificial Intelligence surrogates into the numerical Finite Element framework.

What we are looking for

Research Associate: Hold a PhD in Aerospace, Mechanical Engineering or a closely related discipline, or equivalent research, industrial or commercial experience

Research Associate and Assistant: A recognised first class masters degree (or equivalent) in Aerospace, Mechanical Engineering or a closely related discipline

*Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as Research Assistant.*

• Experience in failure modelling of fibre-reinforced composites using FEM
• An interest or experience with AI
• Practical experience in a composites lab
• An interest in working in a larger group, collaborating with other universities and industry.

What we can offer you

• The opportunity to build a strong network with contacts at other universities (University of Oxford, University of Bristol) and at Rolls-Royce
• The opportunity to develop test methods and computer codes that should be deployed and used in practice by Rolls-Royce
• Ample scope for travelling to international conferences to disseminate the work done.
• Ample scope for publishing in leading journals.
• The opportunity to gain hands-on experience with unique equipment, such as an AFP machine.
• The opportunity to gain supervision and project management experience.
• The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to continue science for humanity.
• Sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 39 days off a year and generous pension schemes).

Further information

This post is available until 31 st Oct 2029.

Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities mentioned above.

Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities mentioned above.

About Imperial

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This is your chance to help shape the future. We hope you’ll join us at Imperial College London.

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