PhD in Computational Mechanics and Data-Driven Modelling of Composite Materials
The University of Manchester
Deadline: All year round Theme: Computational Mechanics This 3.5-year PhD project is fully funded; students who are eligible to pay tuition fees at the Home rate are eligible to apply. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-fee stipend set at the UKRI rate (£21,805 for 2026/27) and tuition fees will be paid. We expect the stipend to increase each year. The start date is January 2027. International applicants are welcome to get in touch if they hold or intend to apply for external funding. Fibre-rein...
Deadline: All year round Theme: Computational Mechanics This 3.5-year PhD project is fully funded; students who are eligible to pay tuition fees at the Home rate are eligible to apply. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-fee stipend set at the UKRI rate (£21,805 for 2026/27) and tuition fees will be paid. We expect the stipend to increase each year. The start date is January 2027. International applicants are welcome to get in touch if they hold or intend to apply for external funding. Fibre-rein...
Opportunity details
Deadline: All year round Theme: Computational Mechanics This 3.5-year PhD project is fully funded; students who are eligible to pay tuition fees at the Home rate are eligible to apply. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-fee stipend set at the UKRI rate (£21,805 for 2026/27) and tuition fees will be paid. We expect the stipend to increase each year. The start date is January 2027. International applicants are welcome to get in touch if they hold or intend to apply for external funding. Fibre-reinforced polymer composites are widely popular across aerospace, automotive, energy, and sports engineering thanks to their high specific properties. Realising their full potential, and meeting growing performance and sustainability demands, depends on understanding how manufacturing-induced defects affect their behaviour. These defects occur at several scales: voids, cracks and misaligned fibres at the microscale, and misaligned plies at the mesoscale. The development of next-generation composites requires a better understanding of how these defects affect their mechanical performance. The successful candidate will work on one of the following directions, and the final scope will be shaped based on their interests and skills: Defect-informed damage modelling: advanced computational models informed by real microscopic defects to investigate their influence on damage initiation and progression, and improve the prediction of composite performance; Interpretable, physics-informed machine learning: data-driven methods that respect the underlying mechanics, to accelerate structure–property predictions and support quality assessment of manufactured composites; Multiscale modelling: a framework that accounts for defects across length scales and captures the interaction...
Eligibility
Deadline: All year round Theme: Computational Mechanics This 3.5-year PhD project is fully funded; students who are eligible to pay tuition fees at the Home rate are eligible to apply. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-fee stipend set at the UKRI rate (£21,805 for 2026/27) and tuition fees will be paid. International applicants are welcome to get in touch if they hold or intend to apply for external funding. The successful candidate will work on one of the following directions, and the final scope will be shaped based on their interests and skills: Defect-informed damage modelling: advanced computational models informed by real microscopic defects to investigate their influence on damage initiation and progression, and improve the prediction of composite performance; Interpretable, physics-informed machine learning: data-driven methods that respect the underlying mechanics, to accelerate structure–property predictions and support quality assessment of manufactured composites; Multiscale modelling: a framework that accounts for defects across length scales and captures the interaction between constituent-level and ply-level behaviour.
Requirements
Deadline: All year round Theme: Computational Mechanics This 3.5-year PhD project is fully funded; students who are eligible to pay tuition fees at the Home rate are eligible to apply. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-fee stipend set at the UKRI rate (£21,805 for 2026/27) and tuition fees will be paid. International applicants are welcome to get in touch if they hold or intend to apply for external funding. The successful candidate will work on one of the following directions, and the final scope will be shaped based on their interests and skills: Defect-informed damage modelling: advanced computational models informed by real microscopic defects to investigate their influence on damage initiation and progression, and improve the prediction of composite performance; Interpretable, physics-informed machine learning: data-driven methods that respect the underlying mechanics, to accelerate structure–property predictions and support quality assessment of manufactured composites; Multiscale modelling: a framework that accounts for defects across length scales and captures the interaction between constituent-level and ply-level behaviour.
Funding and benefits
Funding eligibility: UK Students, EU Students, International Students. Funding amount: £21,805 annual tax-free stipend and tuition fees will be paid.
Required documents
CV
How to apply
Deadline: All year round Theme: Computational Mechanics This 3.5-year PhD project is fully funded; students who are eligible to pay tuition fees at the Home rate are eligible to apply. International applicants are welcome to get in touch if they hold or intend to apply for external funding. For further information about the project or any informal enquiries, please contact Dr Dimitrios Bikos, dimitrios.bikos@manchester.ac.uk.
Open the official application information
Verify the deadline and final conditions on the official provider page before submitting an application.
Source and verification
Check the current official call before applying
Recorded source check: October 26, 2026. A stored check date does not guarantee that every field is complete or still current. Compare the provider, eligibility, funding and deadline with the live official call before applying.
Benefits
Funding eligibility: UK Students, EU Students, International Students. Funding amount: £21,805 annual tax-free stipend and tuition fees will be paid.
Eligibility summary
Deadline: All year round Theme: Computational Mechanics This 3.5-year PhD project is fully funded; students who are eligible to pay tuition fees at the Home rate are eligible to apply. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-fee stipend set at the UKRI rate (£21,805 for 2026/27) and tuition fees will be paid. International applicants are welcome to get in touch if they hold or intend to apply for external funding. The successful candidate will work on one of the following directions, and the final scope will be shaped based on their interests and skills: Defect-informed damage modelling: advanced computational models informed by real microscopic defects to investigate their influence on damage initiation and progression, and improve the prediction of composite performance; Interpretable, physics-informed machine learning: data-driven methods that respect the underlying mechanics, to accelerate structure–property predictions and support quality assessment of manufactured composites; Multiscale modelling: a framework that accounts for defects across length scales and captures the interaction between constituent-level and ply-level behaviour.
Requirements
Deadline: All year round Theme: Computational Mechanics This 3.5-year PhD project is fully funded; students who are eligible to pay tuition fees at the Home rate are eligible to apply. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-fee stipend set at the UKRI rate (£21,805 for 2026/27) and tuition fees will be paid. International applicants are welcome to get in touch if they hold or intend to apply for external funding. The successful candidate will work on one of the following directions, and the final scope will be shaped based on their interests and skills: Defect-informed damage modelling: advanced computational models informed by real microscopic defects to investigate their influence on damage initiation and progression, and improve the prediction of composite performance; Interpretable, physics-informed machine learning: data-driven methods that respect the underlying mechanics, to accelerate structure–property predictions and support quality assessment of manufactured composites; Multiscale modelling: a framework that accounts for defects across length scales and captures the interaction between constituent-level and ply-level behaviour.
Documents required
CV
Language/test requirements
Listing-board disclaimer
Prime Scholarship Alerts is an independent listing board, not the scholarship provider, university or funder. We do not select applicants, collect provider application fees or guarantee an award. Verify requirements, deadlines, funding, fees and application instructions through the current provider page before applying.