Engineering Additive Manufacturing Processes for the Design and Fabrication of Resilient Fusion Reactor Components

Delivering reliable and economically viable fusion power depends on the ability to design and build reactor systems that operate safely under extreme thermal and mechanical conditions. As part of the design and build phases of fusion reactors such as the STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) programme, one of the major challenges is to develop manufacturing techniques that can deliver complex, high-integrity and scalable reactor components.

This PhD project will focus on the engineering of additive manufacturing (AM) to support the design and fabrication of resilient components for fusion reactors. These technologies enable highly precise, modular, and geometrically flexible fabrication methods suited to the structural and functional requirements of fusion devices. Their adoption can reduce lead times, simplify assembly, and enhance reliability in the build of reactor systems for power generation.

Working in collaboration with industrial partners, the project will deliver applied engineering solutions that directly contribute to the design and build of future fusion power plants. The emphasis will be on creating practical manufacturing methodologies, validated engineering data, and digital process tools to support the scalable production of resilient, build-ready reactor components.

Please contact Dr Kai Zhang (k.zhang@bristol.ac.uk) for further information.

This project is part-funded by a Community Studentship provided by the Fusion Engineering CDT, and hence the student will be based at the University of Bristol, but should expect to engage fully with the 3-month full-time training programme in the Fusion Engineering CDT at the start of the course (October to December inclusive). CDT training will be delivered across the CDT partner universities at Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool. The training course requires weekly travel to attend in-person training at these universities. For further information about the CDT programme, please visit the CDT website at http://www.fusion-engineering-cdt.ac.uk or send an email to hello@fusion-engineering-cdt.ac.uk.