PhD Studentship: Computational modelling of microstructure fibre draws

Engineering & the Environment

Location: Highfield Campus

Closing Date:  Thursday 29 March 2018

Reference: 857517F2

Project Reference: NGCM-0111

Microstructured optical fibres offer many new opportunities in the fields of photonics and data transmission, however, they are extremely difficult to manufacture. The Microstructured Optical Fibres group at the Optoelectronics Research Centre is a world leading research team in the fabrication of several types of microstructured fibre and have made some of the best fibres in the world. However, theory predicts that there is much more to gain.

Effective modelling of the fabrication of these fibres will shorten the development cycle and point the way to improved fabrication designs and methods through performance of the design or improvements to the fabrication process.

Conventional optical fibres are made by heating a glass rod and drawing it into down into fibre. These fibres are made from a stack of tubes, drawn down to make the microstructure.

The extremely high viscosities of molten glass, coupled with the small features of the microstructure, mean that using traditional computational fluid dynamics methods is not an option.

This project will require the development of novel computational methods to predict the changes in the glass microstructure as it is heated and drawn. This will lead to new approaches and fibre designs which will then be fabricated and characterised by other members of the Microsctuctured Optical Fibre Group.

The candidate should have a suitable background, for example engineering or physics, and strong computational skills.

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact John Shrimpton, Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics research group, Email: john.shrimpton@soton.c.uk, Tel: +44 (0) 2380 59 24894.

This project is run through participation in the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Next Generation Computational Modelling (http://ngcm.soton.ac.uk). For details of our 4 Year PhD programme, please see http://www.findaphd.com/search/PhDDetails.aspx?CAID=331&LID;=2652

For a details of available projects click here http://www.ngcm.soton.ac.uk/projects/index.html

Further details:

• Job Description and Person Specification