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PhD: Designing structural power composites for energy storage and curved components

Project 2686 · Imperial College London · Department of Aeronautics

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Save this opportunity and prepare around its actual requirements. Confirm deadlines and eligibility at the original source.

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Country or region
United Kingdom
Application deadline
2027-01-04 (confirm the exact time with the source)
Funding
Full tuition and £23,805 annual tax-free stipend for 3.5 years; Home, EU and international applicants may apply.

The research opportunity

This PhD will study structural power composites (SPCs), which combine energy storage with load-bearing capability. The project aims to move SPC design from material- and device-scale samples towards component-level manufacturing, while tracking reliability.

Research aims and methods

The student will connect manufacturing parameters and defects with mechanical and electrochemical performance using physics-informed surrogate models, process simulation and Bayesian optimisation. Mechanical measures include stiffness and damage tolerance; electrochemical measures include capacity, impedance and cycle life. Manufacturing routes include the partners' existing manual lay-up, automated fibre placement (AFP) and continuous-fibre 3D printing. Mechanical and electrical tests and materials-characterisation data will be used to check the models; the project also draws on data shared by collaborators at Bristol and Durham.

The early work will use flat or near-flat specimens before progressing to curved and cylindrical geometries. A central question is when models trained on flat specimens transfer to curved designs, when they fail and how much new data adaptation requires. Active learning will help select informative, costly physical builds and tests. The project belongs to the five-year EPSRC Programme Grant EleComp, involving Imperial, Bristol and Durham, and includes industrial partners. The research aims to develop a design-to-manufacture workflow that can transfer across geometries; this is a research goal, not a guaranteed outcome.

Supervisors are Dr Ajit Panesar and Prof Emile Greenhalgh. The project description mentions collaboration with the SPC and IDEA lab teams and wider academic contacts, including Chalmers and KTH; it does not specify a particular placement or access arrangement.

Eligibility and funding

The stated requirement is a first-class MEng/MSci degree or higher, or an international equivalent, in aerospace or mechanical engineering. Home, EU and international applicants may apply. The award covers full tuition and a tax-free stipend of £23,805 per year for 3.5 years.

Application dates

The deadline is 4 January 2027 at 23:59 UK time. The start date may fall between 1 August 2027 and 1 July 2028. Apply through the project page for Electric Composites and confirm the current application checklist, project-specific materials and any details not included in the saved application information.

Research and application brief

Report generated: . This date does not confirm that recruitment remains open.

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Show report contents

PhD: Designing structural power composites for energy storage and curved components

Research snapshot: 6 November 2026

Quick Decision

Strong but verify fit. This 3.5-year Imperial Aeronautics studentship addresses structural power composites. Structural power composites (SPCs) aim to combine load-bearing structure with energy storage, potentially reducing component mass in aircraft, vehicles or other systems. The advertised research sits within a five-year EPSRC EleComp programme involving Imperial, Bristol and Durham. Its central problem is moving from material or flat coupon demonstrations toward manufacturable components while understanding how process choices and defects affect both mechanical and electrochemical performance. The advert does not guarantee a specific device, application or performance gain. The advert offers full tuition and a £23,805 annual tax-free stipend to Home, EU and international applicants, with a 4 January 2027 deadline and an August 2027–July 2028 start window. Before applying, confirm the formal entry-equivalence and ask the supervisor how the central technical question will be evaluated against available data and facilities. Electric Composites (AE0093) — official Imperial project page Aeronautics PhD opportunities and funding Aeronautics studentships frequently asked questions

Research Problem and Doctoral Work

What Is Unsolved and Why It Matters

Structural power composites (SPCs) aim to combine load-bearing structure with energy storage, potentially reducing component mass in aircraft, vehicles or other systems. The advertised research sits within a five-year EPSRC EleComp programme involving Imperial, Bristol and Durham. Its central problem is moving from material or flat coupon demonstrations toward manufacturable components while understanding how process choices and defects affect both mechanical and electrochemical performance. The advert does not guarantee a specific device, application or performance gain. This is a concrete research opportunity rather than a guaranteed engineering product: the work must show where the proposed method or evidence changes understanding or design decisions, and where uncertainty remains.

Work, Methods, and Potential Outputs

The computational work is to develop physics-informed surrogates and process simulations within Bayesian optimisation and active-learning loops. The models should connect manufacturing settings to defect formation, stiffness and damage tolerance, as well as capacity, impedance and cycle life. Routes in scope include hand lay-up, automated fibre placement and continuous-fibre 3D printing. The plan begins with flat or near-flat coupons and may progress to curved and cylindrical geometries; transfer from flat to curved forms is a research question, not an assumed capability. A useful thesis would quantify where data-efficient optimisation saves experiments and where geometry, defects or coupled objectives require new measurements. Partner data and physical test access should be confirmed. Potential outputs are defensible models, measurements or design insights. No particular discovery, prototype performance, publication, commercial outcome or job is promised by the available evidence. Electric Composites (AE0093) — official Imperial project page Structural power composites: retrospective and outlook Reporting and characterisation protocols for structural power composites Modelling lithium-ion cathode architecture

School, Programme and Field Context

The host is Imperial College London’s Department of Aeronautics. Its official page reports a joint 9th-place global position in the 2026 QS Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering subject ranking and summarizes strong REF 2021 research outputs, environment and impact. These are school/subject signals, not project-level quality measures. The PhD is advertised for 3.5 years; the department provides a general research timeline, but project-specific taught training and registration conditions are not specified. Imperial is the stated host and degree-awarding university; no joint award is advertised. Imperial Department of Aeronautics Imperial league tables QS Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering 2026 Aeronautics PhD timeline

SPCs sit at the intersection of multifunctional composites, electrochemistry and structural engineering. The field is promising but faces trade-offs among energy density, stiffness, safety, durability, manufacturing scale and consistent test methods. Project-specific value lies in a measurable process–defect–performance map and honest transfer tests from coupon to component geometries. Potential pathways include composite materials R&D, battery and electrification supply chains, aerospace materials, process modelling and advanced manufacturing; strategic-sector evidence does not guarantee jobs in this niche. Imperial structural power composites Structural power composites: retrospective and outlook Reporting and characterisation protocols for structural power composites Modelling lithium-ion cathode architecture Critical review of structural supercapacitors

Supervisor and Lab Assessment

The advertised supervisors are Ajit Panesar and Emile Greenhalgh. The EleComp programme and structural-power-composites group provide a direct topic setting, while the Composites Centre documents relevant facilities and expertise. Greenhalgh’s recent field review and characterisation work are closely aligned with the project; Panesar’s battery-architecture modelling is adjacent computational design experience. Bristol, Durham and industrial partners are collaborators in the programme; the public project information does not establish a joint degree or guarantee that a particular partner will co-supervise this student.

Recent Important Publications

  • Structural power composites: retrospective and outlook (2025) — Reviews the development, performance measures and remaining challenges of structural power composites. Provides a near-direct map of the field and motivates rigorous comparison between load-bearing and energy-storage functions. Limitation: Review evidence does not guarantee manufacturable component-scale performance. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures
  • Reporting and characterisation protocols for structural power composites (2025) — Sets out characterisation and reporting concerns for comparable structural power composite studies. Reinforces that this PhD’s value depends on connecting process, defects, mechanical and electrochemical metrics reproducibly. Limitation: Protocol work is not itself proof that every route in the advert has matured. Advanced Energy Materials
  • Modelling lithium-ion cathode architecture (2024) — Models the relation of cathode architecture and thickness to performance. Adjacent Panesar-group expertise in computational materials design and manufacturability. Limitation: Conventional battery cathodes are not structural power composites. Imperial Spiral repository

Funding, Application, and Living Cost

The project advert states 3.5 years, full tuition coverage and a £23,805 annual tax-free stipend for Home, EU and international students. Applications close at 23:59 UK time on 4 January 2027; start dates are between 1 August 2027 and 1 July 2028. UKRI lists £23,805 as the 2026–27 London-weighted minimum; confirm later-year uprating and your fee category in the offer. Imperial estimates London living costs at about £1,821–£1,893 per month, excluding tuition and study materials. The stipend is therefore close to the published monthly budget before some academic and one-off costs. The department FAQ limits applicants to two projects in one academic year; if applying to two, they must have different entry terms. Electric Composites (AE0093) — official Imperial project page UKRI studentship stipend guidance Imperial London living costs 2026 Imperial tuition fee status guidance Aeronautics studentships frequently asked questions

Applicant Fit and Preparation

Required Background and Skills

The listed formal requirement is a first-class MEng/MSci or higher equivalent in Aeronautics or Mechanical Engineering. Materials-related fields are not listed as formal entry fields in the saved project page.

Preferred Experience and Suggested Preparation

Helpful preparation includes composite manufacturing, electrochemistry, mechanics, Bayesian optimisation, uncertainty analysis and scientific computing; these are not additional formal requirements. Applicants can show careful experimental design, reproducible modelling or work connecting process settings to material properties. Prepare one example and explain how uncertainty was assessed. Aeronautics studentships frequently asked questions

Next Actions and Questions to Verify

Before Applying

Check subject equivalency, reference requirements, English-language evidence and the two-project entry-term rule on the current admissions pages.

At Interview

  • Which SPC chemistry, test standards and partner datasets will anchor the first-year work?
  • How are responsibilities and data access divided across Imperial, Bristol, Durham and industrial partners?
  • Which curved or cylindrical geometries and physical test facilities are funded and available?
  • How will mechanical and electrochemical objectives be combined or prioritised in the optimisation loop?
  • How much hands-on fabrication and testing is expected, and who provides training and technician support?

Before Accepting an Offer

Request written confirmation of fee status coverage, stipend uprating, award duration, registration/degree-awarding arrangements, computing or facility access, and the expected balance of research methods.

Evidence and Sources

Sources

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