Risk-Aware Tolerance Stack-up & Assembly Philosophies
University of Nottingham - STAND-UP DFA
Dr Jack Chaplin
Applications accepted all year round. Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only).
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About the Project
A new approach for defining assembly philosophies for nuclear assemblies, accommodating feature safety significance and producing a robotic process plan with integrated metrology.
- Lead Supervisor: TBC (JC Chaplin) University of Nottingham
- Second Supervisor: To be confirmed
- Industry Partner: Sought
- Project Start: October 2026
- Target Background: Mechanical Engineering, Digital Manufacturing, possibly Computer Science
- Industrial Funding: Sought
- Advert Close Date: TBC
- Programme: 4 year Engineering Doctorate (EngD) with industry placement
From aerospace philosophy to nuclear practice.
Large high-value assemblies in safety critical sectors such as aerospace or nuclear must be manufactured to a high quality, in adherence with extensive regulatory requirements, while remaining commercially viable. Automation and robotics are increasingly used, but require careful planning and understanding of the variabilities in component parts.
There is extensive research in "build philosophies" for aerospace, focused on building large structures in a way that prevents tolerance stack-up and results in an accurate, quality product. Can these lessons transfer to nuclear manufacturing, and what aspects of nuclear engineering need to be accommodated?
A key issue in nuclear is that not all features in an assembly are equally safety-significant. The IAEA has a three-level grading process for quality assurance, which this project explores integrating into the approach.
Aims and objectives
Aim: create a new approach for defining assembly philosophies for nuclear assemblies which accommodates feature safety significance, predicts the risk of features being out of tolerance, and produces a robotic process plan with integrated metrology.
Objectives:
- Feature risk grading: can IAEA-style risk grading be implemented at the level of assembly features in design?
- Assembly risk prediction: can we predict that functional requirements of high-risk features could be violated, using tolerance and uncertainty propagation analysis?
- Metrology strategy: what level of metrology and quality assurance is necessary for each level of risk?
- Robotic assembly philosophies and planning: can predicted tolerance and safety risk be integrated into a robotic assembly plan?
- Demonstration and validation: how do we test and validate the build philosophy on a real robotic assembly system with integrated metrology?
Alignment to STAND-UP impact targets
- >50% reduction in overall build or decommissioning process time
- >40% reduction in maintenance time (not applicable)
- >30% reduction in person hours on builds
Apply for this project
Contact the lead supervisor or programme team to discuss your interest. Full application instructions are on the How to Apply page.
Funding Notes
£26,000 per year, plus a significant project, travel and training budget. Open to UK home students.
Where will I study?
University of Nottingham
Ranked among the UK’s top 20 universities and in the world’s top 100 (QS World University Rankings 2026), Nottingham offers a PhD experience that combines research excellence with real-world impact. You’ll be taught by academics who are experts in their field, at a university known for its pioneering research – from the birthplace of the MRI scanner to Nobel Prize-winning discoveries.
For the fifth year running, more of our graduates are in highly skilled employment than any other UK university (HESA Graduate Outcomes 2021–2025). With careers support for life and strong employer links, we’ll help you build a future without limits.
Nottingham is the third most targeted UK university by leading graduate employers (High Fliers 2024), with global connections to companies like JP Morgan, ASOS, Unilever, GSK, and Deloitte.
Ranked in the top 10 for student life (UniCompare 2026), our award-winning campuses are home to students from over 150 countries. With an amazing range of sports clubs and societies, plus the vibrant city of Nottingham on your doorstep, you’ll find plenty of ways to connect and thrive.
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