Postgraduate studentship: Mathematical modelling of overflow fusion and other glass manufacturing processes

Applications are invited for a postgraduate studentship to work on the mathematical modelling of overflow fusion and other glass manufacturing processes under the supervision of Dr Chris Breward and Dr Peter Howell. This DPhil studentship will start on 1 October 2012, and will be based at the Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics (OCCAM).

OCCAM, established with substantial funding from KAUST GRP, is part of the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford. OCCAM is engaged in a wide range of applied and computational mathematics projects in collaboration with scientists from other disciplines. The portfolio is organised under the broad headings of Methodologies (M), Resources, Energy and Environment (REE), Biosciences and Bioengineering (BB), and Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). For more information about OCCAM, see http://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/occam.

In the overflow fusion process, used to make sheet glass for LCD displays, two films of molten glass flow down the sides of a trough and fuse together into a single curtain which falls from the bottom of the trough, cooling and solidifying as it does so. The process results in optically superior sheet glass but is susceptible to free-surface instabilities that may cause non-uniformities in the final glass sheet. This project will use a combination of modelling, asymptotic analysis, PDE methods and scientific computation to predict how key control parameters affect the desired sheet properties, and how instabilities may be avoided. The process has many novel fluid dynamical features, and the techniques developed to describe them will be generalised to other important problems in glass processing. There will be annual meetings with the glass manufacturer Corning Inc.

This studentship is attached to University College.

This project is one of three on offer from OCCAM. The funding situation is complex because the studentships come from two sources. One studentship is funded by the University of Oxford, is open to students of all nationalities, and covers full stipend (currently £13,590) and College and University fees at the international rate. The remaining two studentships are fully funded by the EPSRC and are restricted to UK/EU students only (eligible non UK students will receive a fees-only award). We will allocate the studentships to the projects after the interviews, with the aim of providing full funding for all three of the students, if this is possible.

These studentships fall outside the University’s Gathered Field process. Applications should be made online at www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate_courses and should include a CV, covering letter, three references and a transcript of your undergraduate degree. If you are unable to apply online, you can request a paper form from https://uni-of-oxford.custhelp.com/app/ask/.

Applications must arrive by the end of the day on Thursday 9 February 2012. Please quote the correct reference BK/11/20 in your covering letter. References can also be sent directly to Margaret Sloper (email graduate [dot] studies [-at-] maths [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk) by the closing date. For further details of the projects, including the application process, please see: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/notices/vacancies

Email: graduate [dot] studies [-at-] maths [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk

Committed to equality and valuing diversity