Current project opportunities

The University of Bristol is offering a further 3 projects for doctoral studies starting in January 2026 with a focus on the creation of sustainable and efficient solutions for the design of composite structures. The projects will be part of the new CDT launched in 2024 following on from five previous successful centres in Bristol Composites Institute (BCI). The purpose of the CDT is to train future leaders to doctoral level with the skills and expertise to address the design, manufacture and assurance of composite products. Alongside conducting your research project, you will follow a taught programme that provides an in-depth knowledge of composite materials and their use, with a focus on sustainability and the circular economy. You will also follow a structured professional development programme, alongside the research and taught programme, to prepare you for a future career in industry or academia. More information can be found on our website.

Candidate Requirements: Applicants must hold/achieve a minimum a 2:1 MEng or merit at Masters level or equivalent in engineering, physics or chemistry. Applicants without a master's qualification may be considered on an exceptional basis, provided they hold a first-class undergraduate degree. Please note, acceptance will also depend on evidence of readiness to pursue a research degree and performance at interview.

We are seeking highly motivated and committed individuals with an eye on the future, who are interested in conducting stimulating and essential, industrially relevant, research and have a passion for finding sustainable solutions. Hence, we are offering a generous enhanced stipend and additional funding dedicated to training, to support the development of future leaders in the composites sector. There are many challenges in understanding the behaviour of composite materials and structures, so the projects seek to develop new manufacturing routes, design concepts, analysis procedures and development of new solutions.

Type of award: Engineering Doctorate/Doctor of Philosophy

Research focus areas: Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Design Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Research group Bristol Composites Institute

Scholarship Details: An enhanced stipend of £26,780 for 2025/26, a fee waiver and generous financial support for research and training for the successful candidates.

Duration: 4 years

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents, some projects also subject to security clearance

Start Date: January 2026

Candidate Requirements: Applicants must hold/achieve a minimum a 2:1 MEng or merit at Masters level or equivalent in engineering, physics or chemistry, depending on the project. Applicants without a master's qualification may be considered on an exceptional basis, provided they hold a first-class undergraduate degree. Please note, acceptance will also depend on evidence of readiness to pursue a research degree and performance at interview.

Closing Date: 8th October 2025

Project 1 Description (PhD): Composite forming simulation sponsored by Airbus (Supervised by Dr Jonathan Belnoue)

As the aviation industry strives to reduce its environmental impact, the development of lightweight, high performance composite materials offer a promising pathway to enhance fuel efficiency and reduce emission. Simulations of the forming processes will enable the identification of potential manufacturing issues early in the product development stage. Designs and production processes of composite parts can therefore be optimised leading to reduced re-work, material waste and energy consumption. The creation of simulation tools will allow for a deeper understanding of the complex behaviour of composite materials during the forming process, enabling engineers to predict how these materials will perform in industrial conditions. This foresight can lead to innovations in manufacturing techniques, ensuring that components are not only produced more efficiently and sustainably, but also meet the stringent safety and performance standards required in aviation. The PhD project will:

Place you at the heart of one of the world’s leading aerospace companies, with up to 50% of your time spent on-site gaining hands-on experience that few academic programmes can match.

Develop industrially applicable forming simulation methods for composite materials, ensuring scalability of the forming simulation to industrial realistic full stack laminates and large scale structural components.

Extend current forming simulation methodologies for composite non crimp fabric material to prepreg material.

Characterise new materials, conduct experimental validations of the simulations and devise new testing protocols.

Create a post processing tool to ensure correct interpretation of results.

Excite your interests in multiscale modelling of complex components to ensure sustainable manufacturing procedures.

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents subject to security clearance

To apply please submit a personal statement, outlining your experience, the project (s) you are interested in and why you are interested in the PhD project, your CV and transcript of results to https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/. Please do not submit a project description; this is unnecessary as the project is already defined and select PhD in Advanced Composites. Please enter Professor Janice Barton the Director of the CDT as the 2nd supervisor (janice.barton@bristol.ac.uk) and indicate that the funding is provided by the CDT in Innovation for Sustainable Composites Engineering.

Project 2 Description (PhD): Mathematical modelling as an enabler for multi-criteria material selection in automotive design sponsored by Jaguar Land Rover (Supervisor Dr Jonathan Belnoue)

As sustainability reshapes the automotive sector, this JLR-sponsored PhD provides an exceptional platform to engage directly with industry and help define the technologies and strategies that will drive sustainable transport forward. The automotive industry is facing increasing pressure to balance performance, cost, and sustainability, there is an urgent need for data-driven methods to guide material selection. The aim of the project is to develop a multi-criteria indexing framework using advanced data science to quantitatively rank materials based on sustainability, lightweighting potential, mechanical performance, and cost. By reducing subjectivity in the selection process, robust tools will be created to inform both engineering decisions and policy development, driving the next generation of sustainable automotive design.

The PhD project will:

Examine the appropriate engineering properties (e.g. stiffness, strength, density etc), and commercial/legal constraints (e.g. affordability, minimum environmental impact, ability to meet volume etc) and develop a method of weighting these requirements to generate an objective metric capable of informing material comparisons.

Incorporate sustainability considerations into the tool to support understanding of the impact of engineering decisions, addressing the unquantifiable nature of many sustainability credentials such as end-of-life potential, recyclability, reusability, material provenance.

Create a predictive model to generate material indicators through a comprehensive review of existing cross-industry literature/approaches, additional testing, benchmarking including translation of customer insight and experience

Demonstrate the tool via user trials and create a dynamic user interface

Excite your interest in sustainability and life cycle assessment and incorporating engineering science into an accessible data base to support materials selection.

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents subject to security clearance

Project 3 is sponsored by Carbon ThreeSixty and has a choice of 4 options: two with a PhD award based at University of Bristol and two with an option of an EngD award where students spend 75% of their studies located at Carbon ThreeSixty.

Project Description (PhD): Process modelling & characterisation of a novel winding & compaction process for high-rate production of carbon fibre composite automotive wheels to allow rapid simulation of different wheel sizes and load ratings (Supervisor: Professor Stephen Hallett)

Carbon ThreeSixty are developing a novel manufacturing process for the production of complex cylindrical geometries such as wheels based on the filament winding process. The process is designed to achieve much higher volume manufacturing and also enables the use of recycled carbon fibres, with a target to produce carbon fibre wheels with a similar CO2 footprint to aluminium wheels. Hence a circular manufacturing route is enabled with end-of-life product returned to recycled fibre feedstock. To facilitate the process fibre stacks are formed into a concave shape, with movement and shearing of fibres, making allowance for additional fibre preforms that make up the centre/spoked section of the wheel. The project will involve the creation of an accurate model that can accommodate a range of wheel designs and simulate the process, enabling material configurations and processing details to be set at the design stage. The target is to reduce physical trials, by highlighting any potential defects or fibre angle deviations to feed into structural and impact simulation.

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents subject to security clearance

To apply please submit a personal statement, outlining your experience, the project (s) you are interested in and why you are interested in doctoral studies, your CV and transcript of results to https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/. Please do not submit a project description; this is unnecessary as the project is already defined and select PhD in Advanced Composites. Please enter Professor Janice Barton the Director of the CDT as the 2nd supervisor (janice.barton@bristol.ac.uk) and indicate that the funding is provided by the CDT in Innovation for Sustainable Composites Engineering.

Project Description (PhD): Accurate RTM process simulation & sensitivity analysis method for high performance automotive and aerospace composites which inherently accounts for all common sources of manufacturing variability (Supervisor: Dr Jonathan Belnoue)

Despite significant experience at Carbon ThreeSixty RTM remains a “black box” process, with the exact flow conditions unknown during each moulding. Many RTM simulation tools exist, but the majority simulate one set of conditions at a time. Manufacturing variability leads to variations in the process due to a range of conditions that impact the flow and progression of resin in the mould creating defects such as voids. The project will focus on the creation of a new statistical based simulation method that accounts for all the causes of variability that can be used to modify manufacturing conditions and reduce waste.

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents subject to security clearance

Project Description (EngD): Development of a simplified in-house impact test methods for testing of carbon fibre automotive wheels without the need for pressurised tyres to allow rapid development through assessment of comparative impact toughness (Supervisor: Professor Stephen Hallett)

Standard testing of automotive wheels is performed with tyres fitted and pressurised. Carbon ThreeSixty currently offer wheel products that have undergone these tests but is seeking to develop new wheel products. A simplified in-house rapid comparative test method for wheel impact to accelerate development is required. An impact test that is performed without fitting a tyre would reduce costs and time to market. The EngD project would seek to create the new test methodology and build a validated prototype.

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents subject to security clearance

To apply please submit a personal statement, outlining your experience, the project (s) you are interested in and why you are interested in doctoral studies, your CV and transcript of results to https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/. Please do not submit a project description; this is unnecessary as the project is already defined and select EngD in Composites Manufacture. Please enter Professor Janice Barton the Director of the CDT as the 2nd supervisor (janice.barton@bristol.ac.uk) and indicate that the funding is provided by the CDT in Innovation for Sustainable Composites Engineering.

Project Description (EngD): Next generation structural core and lost-core materials characterisation and development for medium pressure RTM and prepreg compression moulding of complex carbon fibre composite structures (Supervisor: Dr Dmitry Ivanov)

Carbon ThreeSixty manufacture many structural composite components with low-density core materials and/or hollow sections using both resin transfer moulding and prepreg compression moulding. Cored structures allow for very lightweight and complex geometry composite components which can offer superior performance and efficiency in huge range of industries.

The manufacturing process is challenging particularly using moderate pressures of around 3 bar. Hence a detailed charaterisation of different material types and formats is required to support the development of new products. The project will involve in-depth research into applications and materials processing approaches through physical trial to establish a suite of core technologies to deploy for different scenarios.

Eligibility: Home/permanent UK residents subject to security clearance

To apply please submit a personal statement, outlining your experience, the project (s) you are interested in and why you are interested in doctoral studies, your CV and transcript of results to https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/. Please do not submit a project description; this is unnecessary as the project is already defined and select EngD in Composites Manufacture. Please enter Professor Janice Barton the Director of the CDT as the 2nd supervisor (janice.barton@bristol.ac.uk) and indicate that the funding is provided by the CDT in Innovation for Sustainable Composites Engineering.

All four projects will:

Investigate designs and materials that support recyclability and reuse

Employ smart digital technologies to investigate manufacture and design

Enthuse your interest in creating enabling technologies for a sustainable future

Be part of a large cohort of CDT students that conduct their research alongside industry associated within an organisation that supports the entire UK composites sector.

To apply please submit a personal statement, outlining your experience, the project (s) you are interested in and why you are interested in doctoral studies, your CV and transcript of results to https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/. Please do not submit a project description; this is unnecessary as the project is already defined and select either EngD in Composites Manufacture or PhD in Advanced Composites. Please enter Professor Janice Barton the Director of the CDT as the 2nd supervisor (janice.barton@bristol.ac.uk) and indicate that the funding is provided by the CDT in Innovation for Sustainable Composites Engineering.

Closing Date: 8th October 2025