The University of Sheffield
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Research Projects

 

Suggested possible projects are listed under relevant research areas below.

These lists are not intended to be fully comprehensive and other topics can be negotiated with individual staff members.

Please note, these are not funded PhD projects and applicants will need to indicate that they have secured funding when applying.

Combustion

Emissions from mixing spent tyre with coal in a fluidised bed combustor
Emissions from blending various biomass fuels with coal in a fluidised bed combustor
Rates of corrosion for different biomass cofired with coal in a fluidised bed combustor
Development of a modifiable effective area fuel injector for use with variable calorific value fuel injectors
High pressure flame instabilities
Acoustic disruption of diffusion flames
Airport primary NO2 from engines
Flame dynamics at elevated pressure
Experimental investigation of impinging flames
Flame and acoustic wave interactions
High speed stereo imaging techniques for flame studies
Understanding the transient behaviour of gas turbine fuel injectors
Fluidically controlled fuel injector for use with variable calorific value fuel
Engine noise and emissions measurement system
Aviation fuel thermal stability
Measuring gas turbine engine oil degradation
The effect of bio fuel blends on the thermal stability of diesel in gas turbines
The use of O2/CO2 closed cycle gas turbines for power generation
Development of pulse detonation engines
Development of a rapid compression machine for screening alternative fuels for gas turbines
Design optimisation of galvanising baths

Design and Manufacturing

Improving the experience of using electronic hand-held devices
Designing hand-held equipment for more effective human interaction
Metal rolling – A new kind of sensor
Economics of designing out terrorism
Improved o-ring materials for use in gas turbines
Cryogenic processing of automotive components
Cryogenic processing of industrial tooling for manufacturing
Optimisation of the geometry of the drill bit and process parameters for cutting hybrid composite/metal structures in new aircrafts
Bioresorbable and bioactive composite scaffold-membrane materials for tissue engineered guided bone regeneration
Optimised manufacturing technique for biodegradable green composites in structural applications
Manufacturing and characterisation of the nano-composites through addition of nanoparticles such as nanoclay and carbon nanotube
Optimisation of the metal coating through high vapour deposition process and characterisation of the resultant elastomers
Manufacturing and characterization of the titanium based dental implants produced by selective laser sintering
Optimisation of the ultrasonic welding of the composite structures
Fabrication of inkjet printed ultrasonic sensors for engineering applications
Manipulation modelling

Designing for ease of use

Modelling the factors influencing the surface roughness of laser sintered parts

Opening up the range of thermoplastic polymers for additive manufacturing

Microstructural evolution and control of aerospace and automotive alloys using selective laser melting and electron beam melting

Wind turbine gearbox cyclic loading and bearing fatigue damage

Effect of stochastic loading and variable speed on gear micro-pitting

Dynamics

Damping technologies applied to sports equipment
Uncertainty modelling in active vibration control
Air film dampers for panel vibrations
Dynamic properties of fibrous materials
Morphing structures using shape memory material
Application of MR dampers to vibration control problems
Auto-balancing using linear inchworm motors
Uncertain finite element modelling
Validating methods for non-linear system identification

Fluid Mechanics

Unsteady flow through cracked pipes
Numerical simulation of wind borne pollutants dispersion
Effect of rotation and stratification on particle dispersion and sedimentation
Wall effect on surface development in pipe flows
DES of fractally forced turbulence
Low reynolds number MAV aerodynamics
Natural laminar flow wing design and optimisation
Hybrid RANS/LES simulation of wind turbine
High fidelity pore-scale modelling for CO2 trapping mechanisms in support of carbon storage
Fundamental study of heat transfer to supercritical fluids in support of the development of novel inherently safe nuclear reactors
Fundamental study of turbulence in unsteady flows
Control of wall turbulence for drag reduction
Control of boundary layer transition to turbulence
Control of the pressure wave induced by a high-speed train running through a tunnel

Mechanics of Materials

Multi-scale modelling of machining
Obtaining 3D stress fields using non-destructive photoelastic methods
Load measurement and life modelling in wind turbine bearings
Design and testing of physical model to investigate Shaken Baby Syndrome
Experimental determination of the 3D stress tensor in engineering components
Using additive layer manufacturing to produce scaled structural models
Modelling of a living tissue (multi-scale technique)
Modelling of a living tissue (RVE analysis)

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM)

Ideas for non-stationarity in structural health monitoring
Self-assembly of structural health monitoring diagnostic systems
Pattern recognition in healthcare diagnosis
Robust structural health monitoring
Disease surveillance methods for structural health monitoring
Verification and validation of damage models

Tribology

Development of an ultrasonic tool for determining contact pressure
Monitoring prosthetic hip joint lubrication
Tribology and the causes of pedestrian slips
Reducing wound infection with ultrasonic irradiation
Pin joints for aircraft landing gear
Piezo electric coatings to measure contact and wear
Lubrication monitoring in bearings
Railway track condition monitoring
Wear of railway train panotgraph and overhead wire
Effect of soot on wear of engine components
Ultrasonic arrays for real-time dynamic contact measurement
Engine chain drive friction and wear
Coolant performance during chip machining
Surface finishing solutions in medical engineering applications
Wind turbine bearing lubrication

Bio-lubrication of contacts in the automotive powertrain

Monitoring lubrication in automotive engines

Analysis of strain in human tissue using dynamic OCT

Testing and optimisation of medical examination and surgical gloves

Tribology of the human foot - Avoiding slips and falls

Evaluation of type II interactions between human tissue and medical devices

 

Biomechanics

Biomechanical modelling for registration of pre- and post-surgery medical images
Development of finite element models for real-time surgical simulation
Development of mesh-free simulation methods for real-time surgical simulation
Simulation and modelling of needle insertion
Model-based registration of medical images
Biomechanical modelling for image-guided surgery
Modelling and experimental investigation of cutting of soft tissues
Human grip of hand-held objects
Traction of sports shoes

Analysis of strain in human tissue using dynamic OCT

Testing and optimisation of medical examination and surgical gloves

Tribology of the human foot - Avoiding slips and falls

Evaluation of type II interactions between human tissue and medical devices