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Imperial College London

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PhD Studentship in Aeronautics: Programmable Matter from Entangled Architected Materials Imperial College London in United Kingdom

Degree Level

PhD

Field of study

Mechanical Engineering

Funding

Fully funded studentship covering full tuition fees and an annual tax-free stipend of £23,805 for Home, EU, and International students.

Deadline

Jan 4, 2027

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Country

United Kingdom

University

Imperial College London

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Keywords

Mechanical Engineering
Materials Science
Aerospace Engineering
Computational Mechanics
Finite Element Analysis

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About this position

This PhD in the Department of Aeronautics at Imperial College London will investigate whether the mechanical behavior of materials can be reprogrammed after fabrication. The project focuses on architected entangled materials: networks of curved filaments whose stiffness and toughness emerge from the way the filaments interweave and contact one another.

The research will examine how small changes in contact and friction can produce substantial changes in mechanical response. A central goal is to drive a weak deformation mode that is orthogonal to the deformations generated by external loads. This mode remains inactive during ordinary service, preserving stiffness and toughness, but can be deliberately activated to change the contact state and release or reconfigure the network.

You will study contact and friction in different material states, determine how controlled deformation changes filament contacts, identify the loading range over which the mode remains inactive, and establish what limits the contrast in stiffness between states. Potential applications include reconfigurable spacecraft trusses and wearable braces that can switch between protection and mobility.

The project is approximately 50% experimental, 40% computational, and 10% theoretical. Working with Dr Tian Chen, you will join the AIM Lab, a new group in Imperial's Department of Aeronautics, and help shape the research environment as one of its first members. You will develop expertise in the mechanics of slender structures, contact and friction, and the geometry of filament networks.

Your work will combine multi-material 3D printing, a robotic fabrication cell, mechanical testing, and simulation code for modeling entangled structures. The research also includes opportunities to present at international conferences such as the Society of Engineering Science annual meeting and the Functionality through Nonlinearity conference, supported by training from Imperial's Early Career Researcher Institute.

Funding details

Fully funded studentship covering full tuition fees and an annual tax-free stipend of £23,805 for Home, EU, and International students.

What's required

Candidates are expected to achieve or have achieved a First Class Honours MEng/MSci or higher degree, or international equivalent, in Aeronautics, Physics, Applied Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related engineering or physical science subject. Experience with finite element analysis or writing simulation code, ideally for slender structures, is sought. Fabrication or mechanical testing experience is advantageous, as is an interest in geometry and topology. Applicants should be willing to work both in the laboratory and computationally; prior knowledge of textiles is not expected.

How to apply

Review the important application instructions on the project page, then apply through the jobs.ac.uk application link. For project questions, contact Dr Tian Chen; consult Imperial's admissions FAQ or contact the PhD Administrator for admissions questions.

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