PhD Studentship: Heat Transfer Effect on Nonlinear Disturbances in Transitional Boundary Layers

University of Sheffield - School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Sheffield

Qualification Type:	PhD
Location:	Sheffield
Funding for:	UK Students
Funding amount:	Home tuition fee (£5,005 in 2025/26) and stipend for four years.
Hours:	Full Time

Placed On:	5th February 2026
Closes:	5th August 2026

About the Project

An exciting PhD project on the effects of heat transfer of transitional compressible boundary layers will be carried out under the UK Hypersonics Doctoral Network, which has been supported by the Ministry of Defence and EPSRC for building the necessary expertise to develop next-generation hypersonic vehicles. This offers a fully funded 4 years stipend and tuition fees at the Home status rate at the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering at the University of Sheffield under the supervision of Professor Pierre Ricco (www.pierre-ricco.co.uk). Additionally, the student will be expected to attend cohorting and training activities in the UK Hypersonics Doctoral Network, led by the University of Oxford and Imperial College. Each Cohort will have at least 8 students studying across a number of UK Universities.

Students recruited must be citizens of one of the “AUKUS” alliance nations (United Kingdom, Australia and the United States of America), and should not have dual nationality with any country on the UK Government’s list of countries subject to trade sanctions, arms embargoes and other trade restrictions (www.gov.uk/guidance). The award will cover the Home fees only.

Topic of research

The laminar-turbulent transition in boundary layers is one of the most challenging topics in classical physics and applied mathematics, and stands as a bottleneck problem in the modern flow engineering technology. It is desirable to predict the occurrence of transition to turbulence and suppress the unstable disturbances in boundary layers that lead to transition because the increase of wall friction and wall-heat transfer are major issues in turbulent-flow conditions. The central objective of the project is to utilise wall cooling/heating to stabilise the boundary layer and obtain a delay of transition to turbulence. The methodology of the research is theoretical and numerical, i.e. an existing in-house code will have to be modified. This project offers the unique opportunity to develop strong skills in viscous fluid mechanics, numerical methods and applied mathematics.

Start date: October 2026.
Duration: 4 years.

Education:

A strong 4-year degree or MSc degree in Mechanical, Aeronautical, Civil, Chemical Engineering, Applied Mathematics or Physics.

Knowledge, skills:

• Fluid mechanics; desirable: wall-bounded shear flows, aerodynamics.
• Numerical analysis, in particular Computational Fluid Dynamics.
• Excellent programming skills in C, Fortran, or any other high-level language.
• Desirable: final-year project on a fluid mechanics problem.

Other requirements:

• Unique self-motivation and passion for research in fluid mechanics.
• Excellent communication of research results and writing skills.

Queries and CVs/covering letters can be directed to the supervisor:
Pierre Ricco, Professor of Fluid Mechanics School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Sheffield
Email: p.ricco@sheffield.ac.uk

Applications should be made at: PhD study | MAC | The University of Sheffield
Applications should include:

• Personal statement
• Curriculum Vitae
• Two reference letters
• Degree transcripts to date

Funding Notes

The studentship is available only for UK citizens due to funding restrictions. Funding is only available to cover the level of fees set for UK applicants and a stipend at the standard EPSRC rate of £20,780 for 2025/2026.