Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
A fully funded PhD opportunity to participate in the world-leading research undertaken by the EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award at the University of Sheffield.
Supervised by Dr Ellis Taylor and Prof Roger Lewis.
The University of Sheffield is one of the leading Russell Group universities in the UK. We carry out cutting-edge research with strong links to industry. When you enrol to do a PhD with us, you will be working with world-leading academics and have access to top of the range facilities. As a PhD student you will have the opportunity to gain skills not only to conduct research, but also to take your career to the next level, whether you want to stay in academia, go into industry or the public sector, or set up your own company. You will have access to a range of training and support services to help you excel in your studies and beyond.
Project Description
Rail grinding is carried out using bespoke trains equipped with a series of vitreous bonded grinding stones for metal removal. These stones are angled appropriately to achieve the required rail profile. Two grinding regimes are typically used: (i) preventive grinding, which restores the rail profile to maintain optimal contact conditions for ride comfort, and reduces contact stresses to keep damage accumulation low; and (ii) corrective grinding, where greater material removal depth is used to address rail cracks. The process is relatively unrefined, meaning the resulting roughness can exceed required thresholds and hard spots of white etching layer (WEL) can form. These spots can lead to post-grinding rail damage such as rolling contact fatigue and squats forming. This issue is worse for harder premium rail steels (which are ground using the same parameters as standard rail) where roughness and WEL remain longer due to lower wear rates in these materials.
Being run in collaboration with Network Rail, this exciting project will initially involve field measurements to assess the surface quality of ground rails. The outcomes will be used to validate laboratory grinding tests that replicate different grinding scenarios, linking grinding parameters such as applied power to surface characteristics. Both sets of data will then be used to develop novel grinding performance maps for different rail grades, helping to identify operational regimes that lower the risk of subsequent rail damage.
Field measurements will utilize the University’s suite of specialized tools available for measuring rail roughness and profile. For other aspects, such as detecting the presence of WEL, new approaches will need to be identified. Laboratory tests will use a unique CNC based grinding set-up that allows the use of actual grinding stones.
The successful applicant will develop a wide range of skills through on track field measurements with Network Rail and laboratory experiments, including instrumentation set-up. The collected data will feed into a novel mapping approach to directly link grinding parameters to rail surface quality.
How to apply
Interested candidates are strongly encouraged to contact the project supervisors to discuss your interest in and suitability for the project prior to submitting your application.
Please refer to the EPSRC DLA webpage for detailed information about the EPSRC DLA and how to apply.
Applicants must ensure that they use the correct application form linked to the EPSRC DLA webpage and must submit an application for October 2027 entry. The form is unique to the EPSRC DLA. It contains the list of advertised projects from which to select, and three questions specific to the DLA.
The application deadline is 17:00 GMT 13 January 2027.
The majority of our DLA studentships will be allocated to candidates who qualify for Home fee status, in accordance with EPSRC funding regulations which place strict limits on international recruitment.
Funding Notes
The award will fund the full tuition fee and a maintenance stipend at the UKRI rate (currently £21,805 per annum) plus an industry-funded stipend enhancement for 3.5 years, as well as a research grant to support costs associated with the project.
