Designing and characterising complex fluids for advanced materials manufacturing using advanced imaging techniques, rheology and flow experiments.

Description

A PhD studentship is open as part of a 4 (+3) year £1.6M UKRI Future Research Leaders Fellowship - Smart formulations for manufacturing of functional three-dimensional hierarchical structures (£1.6m), which Dr García-Tuñón holds. The successful candidate will join our team working at the interface between materials, chemistry, and engineering.

The overarching aim of our research program is to bridge the gap between materials discovery and manufacturing through the design and understanding of the complex fluids needed in different manufacturing processes, for example in 3D printing. Within the wider umbrella of Additive Manufacturing or 3D printing techniques, direct ink writing (DIW) is an expanding multi-disciplinary research field with a growing number of applications, from energy devices to tissue engineering. DIW’s main strength is the versatility in advanced materials formulation; high added value materials can be processed through the careful design and characterisation of complex fluids for 3D printing and other manufacturing processes, such as coatings, extrusion or casting. These complex fluids must meet different criteria depending on the manufacturing process. For example, in 3D printing via direct ink writing (DIW) they must be extremely shear-thinning soft solids, able to flow through narrow nozzles; they also must recover their structure upon deposition and retain the predesigned 3D shape. Formulation design and rheology of these soft solids is critical, thus linking rheology and printability is a growing area of research amongst the DIW and rheology communities^[1-3] and the core of our research in complex fluids.^[4,5]

In this PhD project, the candidate will expand our fundamental understanding of complex fluids (elasto-visco-plastic fluids) for DIW and other applications using Large Amplitude Oscillatory (LAOS), Fourier Transform (FT) rheology,^[4] the Sequence of Physical Processes (SPP) and recovery rheology (strain decomposition approaches). The candidate will investigate the behaviour of a wide range of complex fluids, including formulations made in our lab (e.g. ceramics for THz and energy) and other materials for a variety of applications. The rheology studies will be complemented with flow experiments and structural techniques where appropriate, for example using rheo-microscopy, fluorescence microscopy and small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS).

The candidate preferably has a chemical engineering background or similar with a clear motivation to take on this project. You should have some experience/prior knowledge in (or genuine willingness to learn) a programming language (e.g. Python or MATLAB) and be able to use it for data processing and analysis. Relevant training to be provided where required. Note that this studentship is available for an immediate start.

We want all of our staff and Students to feel that Liverpool is an inclusive and welcoming environment that actively celebrates and encourages diversity. We are committed to working with students to make all reasonable project adaptations including supporting those with caring responsibilities, disabilities or other personal circumstances. For example, If you have a disability you may be entitled to a Disabled Students Allowance on top of your studentship to help cover the costs of any additional support that a person studying for a doctorate might need as a result.

We believe everyone deserves an excellent education and encourage students from all backgrounds and personal circumstances to apply.

Applicant Eligibility

Candidates will have, or be due to obtain, a Master’s Degree or equivalent from a reputable University in an appropriate field of Engineering. Exceptional candidates with a First Class Bachelor’s Degree in an appropriate field will also be considered.

Application Process

Candidates wishing to apply should complete the University of Liverpool application form [How to apply for a PhD - University of Liverpool] applying for a PhD in Materials Engineering and uploading: Degree Certificates & Transcripts, an up-to-date CV, a covering letter/personal statement and two academic references.