A number of MPhil/PhD studentships have become available in the Faculty
of Technology, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, High
Wycombe, UK. Interested individuals should contact the appropriate
project supervisor(s) for further details, or for an application form
please e-mail the Faculty Research Officer Mike Ibbitson
(mibbit01@bcuc.ac.uk). If you feel you have a strong case to make for a
research project, you should contact the Faculty Research Officer with a
written proposal. We will evaluate the proposal and, should it prove
suitable, endeavour to find appropriate supervision amongst our existing
staff.
The Rheological Properties of Hot-pressed Wood Particles
Supervisor - Dr Mark Irle (mirle01@bcuc.ac.uk)
Densified wood-based panel products made from particles or fibres have a
number of advantages over solid wood, but tend to swell on exposure to
high relative humidity. Most of this dimensional change and subsequent
reduction in mechanical properties is due to recovery of the compressive
strain applied during manufacture. New equipment will be developed for
this project so that the compression behaviour of wood particles at
specific moisture contents and temperatures can be determined.
Electroforming of EDM Electrodes
Supervisors - Dr Chris Bocking (cbocki01@bcuc.ac.uk), Dr Tim Coole
(tcoole01@bcuc.ac.uk)
CRDM Research is currently investigating the use of electroforming as a
means to producing injection mould tools using the latest in rapid
prototyping technologies. A need has arisen for a self-motivated
chemistry graduate to become involved in this work, leading to a PhD or
MPhil. Some knowledge or experience of electroplating or electroforming
would be a great advantage as would an interest in engineering.
Modelling of Sonic Vibration in Cutting Tools to Improve Performance
Parameters
Supervisor - Dr David Osypiw (dosypi01@bcuc.ac.uk)
Vibration and acoustic measurements give precise and detailed
information on the dynamic condition of machines and can be used as a
reliable diagnostic indicator. There are correlations between generated
acoustic emission (AE) signals, cutting forces and machined surface
roughness, and they have been used for tool wear prediction. However, it
has been found that noise is normally difficult to interpret unless
measured in a good acoustic environment. Otherwise, certain corrections
must be applied to account for changing environmental factors,
reflections, and interference. Nevertheless, acoustic measurements at
appropriate locations has been shown to present a reliable diagnostic
tool by means of observing the overall signal or by processing the
signal using certain techniques. It is the development of these
signal-processing techniques, which forms the basis of this new
research.
-- Allan E W Rennie Research Engineer Centre for Rapid Design and Manufacture Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College Queen Alexandra Road High Wycombe Bucks HP11 2JZ -------------------------------------------- Tel: +44 (0)1494 605085 Fax: +44 (0)1494 538593 Mob: +44 (0)7930 431469 Email: allan.rennie@bcuc.ac.uk --------------------------------------------For more information about the rp-ml, see http://rapid.lpt.fi/rp-ml/
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