Mechanical/Materials Engineering Science: Electro-active and magneto-active elastomers for smart vehicle applications

About the Project

Key Information

Open to: UK and international applicants

Funding Providers: A Multi-national Automotive Company, Japan

Subject Area: Materials Science/Engineering, Polymer Science/Chemistry, Computational Mechanics/Engineering, Mechanical/Civil Engineering

Project Start Dates: October 2026

Supervisors: Professor Mokarram Hossain, Professor Eduardo de Souza Neto

Aligned programme of study: PhD in Mechanical Engineering

Mode of study: Full-time

Place of study: Swansea University (Bay Campus)

Project description

Motivation: Soft and flexible materials (e.g. polymers, hydrogels) have revolutionised many areas of science and technology ranging from flexible electronics to soft robotics. Scientists now predict that forty years of conventional hard robot technology and shape-flexible systems will imminently be superseded by a new soft robotics era with soft multifunctional materials in which Electro Active Polymers (EAPs) and Magneto-active Polymers (MAPs) have been identified as materials of natural choice.

Project aims: The main challenge of this project is to synthesize suitable polymeric composites that can have highest actuations under both electric and magnetic fields. ... These actuation ranges will be planned targeting potential applications in smart vehicles where following targets will be explored, i) change tread pattern (or tread groove depth), ii) aerodynamics by changing the surface texture of sidewall, iii) noise cancelling (vibration), iv) mechanical properties (hardness).

Resources: The PhD student will take advantage of state-of-the-art soft polymer fabrication (3D/4D printing) and characterisation (i.e. electro-mechanical multi-axial testing rigs) equipment and the latest computational simulation software tools developed by the group.

Duration of Funding: 3.5 years