UK/International PhD Studentship, Effect of Microstructure on Mechanical Properties of Nonwoven Materials, Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.

A PhD studentship is now available at Loughborough University in theWolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, which willfully covers University tuition fees and provides a tax-freebursary of £10,000 per year for a period of three years (conditionalto student’s successful progression), commencing on 1 October 2006.Home/UK and international students are eligible to apply.

Project: Scatter in the properties of fibres and non-uniformity oftheir distribution in fabrics determine the deformational behaviourand mechanical properties of nonwoven materials. These two factors ofrandomness act at various scale lengths and should be studiedaccordingly. Existing commercial finite-element software packages cannot be used without modifications to predict the response of nonwovensto an external mechanical load. Instead, multi-scale approaches arenecessary to incorporate properties of single fibres and fabricstructure into modelling schemes. The suggested approach aims at adetailed analysis of principal mechanisms, affecting mechanicalproperties, at various levels and ways to bridge scale levels in aholistic model of nonwovens, accounting for their microstructure.

This research will draw on existing collaboration with the NonwovensCooperative Research Center (NCRC) North Carolina State University(Raleigh, NC, USA).

The Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering atLoughborough University is a 5-rated research school with aninternational reputation and one of the largest Engineering Schoolsdevoted to this subject area in the United Kingdom. The successfulcandidate will work with a group of highly motivated, first classresearchers and research students in the areas of computational andexperimental mechanics of advanced materials.

Applicants should hold a first class, higher upper second classdegree, or equivalent, in either Mechanical Engineering, MaterialsScience, Physics or Mathematics, with knowledge of materials,numerical methods and computer programming; experience of finiteelements is preferred.

Informal enquiries should be made to: Professor Vadim Silberschmidt,Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,Loughborough University, Leicestershire. Tel: 01509-227504. Fax:01509-227502. E-mail: V.Silberschmidt@lboro.ac.uk

For application forms etc., contact Ms J R Mason, ResearchAdministrator, Wolfson School of Mechanical & ManufacturingEngineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire,LE11 3TU, England. Tel: +44 (0)1509 227642. Fax: +44 (0)1509 227648.E-mail: J.R.Mason@lboro.ac.uk . Ref: VS30606

Applications will only be considered on receipt of a completedapplication form. Please send supporting documents to Ms J R Mason atthe above address.

The closing date for applications is 15 August 2006.