Graduate School

Materials and Structural Integrity research overview

The Department of Mechanical and Design Engineering (MDE) has a long established reputation for fostering and encouraging research between its students. This reputation has been achieved by sound teaching in a friendly atmosphere led by academic staff with national and international reputations in research, knowledge transfer and consultancy.

Our mission is to conduct quality research and knowledge transfer in response to practical demands in defence, healthcare, marine, manufacturing and service industries, supported by grants from the EPSRC, MRC, Royal Society, EU, MOD, US Air Force, UK charities and industries.

For more information about how to apply please contact the Faculty of Technology using the Contact us page.

If you have any questions about studying for a research degree at the University of Portsmouth, please complete our enquiry form.

Key Facts

RAE Rating: The Department is particularly proud of the outcome of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), which has recognised and placed us amongst the top research active departments in the UK. Research at MDE has been assessed as 'internationally recognised' at the level of 85%, with 45% of the research assessed as 'internationally excellent'.

The Department's entry under the UoA Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering included the work of the Materials and Structural Integrity Research Group, the Institute for Industrial Research and the Manufacturing and Systems Engineering Research Group.  This covered work in the analysis of the deformation, fatigue, fracture, impact and buckling of engineering and bio-mechanical structures and components, manufacturing techniques, artificial intelligence, control and automation.

Academic staff: 33, please see our staff list webpage.

Postgraduate research students: 17

Internal links: We have close links with the Institute for Industrial Research (IIR) and the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Portsmouth.

External links: The Department successfully attracts research funding from the Engineering and Physical Research Council, the European Community, the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships Scheme and a variety of commercial organisations including Rolls-Royce. ;

Resources

The Department is well equipped with state-of-the-art experimental and computational facilities, including laboratories for biomechanics, fatigue and fracture,manufacturing engineering and advanced polymer and composite materials.

Research Centres

Institute of Industrial Research (IIR)
The Institute uses AI techniques, which enable computational systems to adapt and learn by interacting with their environments. It is an emerging, multidisciplinary field that spans science, engineering, mathematics, psychology, computing and many more disciplines, to create systems which humans consider as being intelligent. We have been involved in many AI industrial applications. These include diagnostics and failure prediction for process machines, embedded intelligence for management systems, image processing for security and surveillance, and medical analysis. We provide first-class consultancy services combined with contract research and development work to businesses.

Regional Centre for Manufacturing Industry (RCMI) /SEKE - South East Knowledge Exchange
SEKE is a regional Centre for Knowledge Exchange within the HEFCE national programme of 22 centres that range across many skills and market sectors. It was established to work with schools, colleges, entrepreneurs, small and large companies and organisations to enhance the profile of design and manufacturing in the sustainable economic development of the south-east region.

Research Areas

Materials and Structural Integrity

Materials and Structural Integrity
Our researchers in this area offer excellent supervision in fields such as: Engineering analysis of deformation; Fatigue; Fracture; Iimpact and buckling of engineering structures and components subjected to in-service loading conditions.

Our particular strength lies in the applied research with high quality outputs, where we have received major funding from the  UK Research Councils, UK- based charities and the industry.

Advanced Polymer and Composites (APC) Research Group
If your research interests lie in this area, you are in good hands. Our researchers are working and supervising in fields including: Characterisation, analysis, identification, selection, formulation, manufacturing, design, rapid prototyping, testing, structural integrity evaluation, and applications of polymers, thermoplastics, thermosets, adhesives coatings, elastomers, polymer composites and nanocomposites and other advanced materials.

We have a very good track record in this area and have attracted funding from the European Union, the DTI, and the industry.

Mechanical Structure of Materials

Mechanical Behaviour of Materials (MBM)
Our Mechanical Behaviour of Materials researchers have an international reputation for applied research into fatigue and fracture of engineering materials and components.Our work has been carried out for over 30 years with industrial collaborators, including Rolls Royce plc, the US Air Force, the MOD, QinetiQ, GKN Westland Aerostructures, among others.