Loughborough University
Leicestershire, UK
LE11 3TU
+44 (0)1509 263171

Advanced VR Research Centre

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EPSRC/Airbus iCASE fully funded PhD studentship - Agent-based Modelling

EPSRC/Airbus iCASE PhD Studentship

Agent-based Modelling and Visualizing Architectural Inter-Relationships within an Air Transport System of Systems

Wolfson School of Mechanical,Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering

(Image: AVRRC Virtual Engineering Facility - Loughborough University)

 

Start date of studentship: 1st April or 1st July 2021

Closing date of advert: As soon as someone is appointed

This research will explore the consequences of future potentially disruptive demands for more environmentally friendly passenger and freight air transport solutions. The research will involve developing novel agent-based modelling, interactive visual analytics and systems engineering techniques to help future designers undertake system design trade-off and design optimisation of next generation aircraft.

This PhD is co-sponsored by Airbus, as an iCASE there will be opportunities for the successful applicant to interact/spend time at Airbus.

Full Project Detail:

Aerospace designers need to understand the complex inter-relationships between the design factors of next generation aircraft and the potentially disruptive impacts that may exist as a result of emerging future requirements for an environmentally friendly air transport system of systems. For example, candidate solutions that may help meet the challenging emissions targets of the future could include different propulsion options and/or reconfigurable cabins (passenger/freight).

The PhD studentship will research novel agent-based modelling, interactive visual analytics and systems engineering techniques to help future designers undertake system design trade-off and design optimisation of next generation aircraft comprising many interconnected systems and stakeholders. The research will consider methods to determine the validity of techniques such as model-based systems engineering (MBSE) at different levels of granularity, especially where there is uncertainty in specific components to perform parameter trade-off/optimisation from different stakeholder perspectives. The goal is to create an interactive simulation of the air transport system of system using MBSE concepts with agent-based modelling to facilitate exploration of the trade-space along with the inter-relationships between the key stakeholders and major influencers of the air transport system.

This project has been inspired by Airbus who are sponsoring this exciting iCASE award, the successful applicant will have an opportunity to spend time at Airbus working with the industrial supervisor’s team.

Entry requirements:

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 Honours degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science or Engineering with elements of computing or a related subject. A relevant Master’s degree and/or experience in one or more of the following will be an advantage: Computer Science or Engineering with elements of computing, for example Python or Matlab programming.

Funding information:

This project is funded by EPSRC/Airbus under the iCASE award scheme. The studentship is for 4 years and provides a tax-free stipend of £15,285 plus tuition fees at the UK rate.  In addition, Airbus will provide funds which can be used for research equipment and visits to the sponsoring industry site. Airbus also provide in-kind support in the form of an Industrial Advisor.

Due to funding restrictions, the studentship is only available to UK/EU applicants who meet the EPSRC eligibility criteria including the minimum UK residency requirement.

How to apply

All applications should be made online at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/apply/research/.  Under programme name, select Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. Please quote reference number:FP-RK-190001.

Please email Prof Roy S. Kalawsky for further details

Email address: r.s.kalawsky@lboro.ac.uk

Telephone number: 01509 635678

EPSRC/Airbus iCASE fully funded PhD studentship - Digital Engineering

EPSRC/Airbus iCASE PhD Studentship

Digital Engineering Methods for Truly Collaborative Enterprise-Wide Trade Studies 

Wolfson School of Mechanical,Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering

(Image: AVRRC Virtual Engineering Facility - Loughborough University)

 

Start date of studentship: 1st April or 1st July 2021

Closing date of advert: As soon as someone is appointed

Design and development of today’s complex products requires different engineering disciplines within an organisation to come together with the supply chain to balance requirements for example: costs, product specification/performance, manufacturing processes and enabling technologies, etc. This PhD will research novel truly collaborative digital engineering concepts in which different parts of an enterprise and experts outside a given organisation can contribute to the complex product design. This exciting project has been inspired and co-sponsored by Airbus, with opportunities for the successful applicant to interact and spend periods of time based at Airbus.

Full Project Detail:

Today’s complex aerospace products requires different engineering disciplines to collaborate to balance requirements against costs, product specification and performance, manufacturing processes and enabling technologies. This involves performing trade studies to optimise product capability and functionality to arrive at an optimal product. Different elements of the enterprise will drive the optimisation from their different perspectives. Currently, this is a document centric process, research will develop model-based solutions with a view to enabling a truly collaborative environment in which these trade studies can be conducted. By allowing shared use of simulation, one of the novel features is to allow expertise (‘not-in-house’) to interact with the trade studies from different organisations (eg the supply chain) without compromising IP on either side. The solution needs to be able to accommodate links to externally hosted models and model-based simulations. The research will involve investigating solutions that facilitate linking model-based simulations into a distributed co-simulation environment with potentially significant outcomes for a globally distributed company such as Airbus to achieve either faster, cheaper or better product development through the use of geographically dispersed expertise. 

This project has been inspired by Airbus who are sponsoring this exciting iCASE award. Consequently, the successful applicant will have the opportunity to spend time at Airbus working with the industrial supervisor’s team.

Entry requirements:

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 Honours degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science or Engineering with elements of computing or a related subject. A relevant Master’s degree and/or experience in one or more of the following will be an advantage: Computer Science or Engineering with elements of computing, for example Python or Matlab programming.

Funding information:

This project is funded by EPSRC/Airbus under the iCASE award scheme. The studentship is for 4 years and provides a tax-free stipend of £15,285 plus tuition fees at the UK rate.  In addition, Airbus will provide funds which can be used for research equipment and visits to the sponsoring industry site. Airbus also provide in-kind support in the form of an Industrial Advisor.

Due to funding restrictions, the studentship is only available to UK/EU applicants who meet the EPSRC eligibility criteria including the minimum UK residency requirement.

How to apply

All applications should be made online at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/apply/research/.  Under programme name, select Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering. Please quote reference number: FP-RK-00004.

Please email Prof Roy S. Kalawsky for further details

Email address: r.s.kalawsky@lboro.ac.uk

Telephone number: 01509 635678

EPSRC/Airbus iCASE PhD Studentship - Model-based Digital-twins

EPSRC/Airbus iCASE PhD Studentship

Evolutionary Model-based Digital-twins to Overcome Functional Systems

Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering

Please note this is an early announcement for a coming studentship

Start date of studentship: Oct 2021

Closing date of advert: As soon as someone is appointed

This research involves new virtual product engineering at the very leading edge of one of the most exciting digital transformations that will change the future of engineering. Research will exploit model-based engineering concepts to express product design within an executable simulation, allowing different stakeholders to interact and optimise across functional disciplines.

This PhD is co-sponsored by Airbus, as an iCASE there will be opportunities for the successful applicant to interact/spend time at Airbus.

Full Project Detail:

Current aerospace engineering workflows rely on traditional document centric methods which are less useful from a wider functional systems perspective. Advances in digital transformation include model-based concepts such as digital-twins to express product design in an executable simulation, allowing different stakeholders to interact and optimise across functional disciplines.

This PhD studentship will research digital-twins to enable an integrated functional system workflow to overcome functional boundaries. An important feature of the digital-twin is that it enables product design, production, cost modelling and in-service functions to be based on the same fundamental data/information source. A key objective is cross-functional data sharing across organisational horizontal functions and vertical supply chains via application and tool chain agnostic processes to ensure interoperability between legacy and future solutions. Research will develop the underlying IT information architecture for enabling non-domain specialist access (local and remote collaboration) to the digital-twin and show how digital-twins will overcome current assess limitations/restrictions caused by document based engineering data standards such as AP 314, 242, etc?. The potential use of AI to perform knowledge extraction may be of relevance to aid non-domain specialists understand implications of their interactions with the wider digital-twin.

This project has been inspired by Airbus who are sponsoring this exciting iCASE award, the successful applicant will have an opportunity to spend time at Airbus working with the industrial supervisor’s team.

Entry requirements:

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 Honours degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science or Engineering with elements of computing or a related subject. A relevant Master’s degree and/or experience in one or more of the following will be an advantage: Computer Science or Engineering with elements of computing, for example Python or Matlab programming.

Funding information:

This project is funded by EPSRC/Airbus under the iCASE award scheme. The studentship is for 4 years and provides a tax-free stipend of £15,285 plus tuition fees at the UK rate and an enhanced top-up from Airbus which can be used to fund research equipment, visits to the sponsoring industry site. Airbus also provide in-kind support in the form of an Industrial Advisor.

Due to funding restrictions, the studentship is only available to UK/EU applicants who meet the EPSRC eligibility criteria including the minimum UK residency requirement.

How to apply

Full details to be announced soon.

Please email Prof Roy S. Kalawsky for further details

Email address: r.s.kalawsky@lboro.ac.uk

Telephone number: 01509 635678

Additional Funded PhD Studentships

Engineering Digitalisation

With the award of the prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering/Airbus Research Chair in Digital and Data Engineering Information Systems to Professor Roy S. Kalawsky, a number of exciting fully funded studentships are available in the field of Digitalization Transformation. This important new engineering field spans the following disciplines:

Augmented and Virtual Reality

Deep/Machine Learning

Industry 4.0

Digital twin

Visual computing

Model based engineering

Systems of Systems Engineering

 

Please email Prof Roy S. Kalawsky for further details

Email address: r.s.kalawsky@lboro.ac.uk

Telephone number: 01509 635678

 for further details in advance of the adverts being published.