Shaimerden Kuanganov MEng

Shaimerden Kuanganov is a DPhil student in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford and a member of Trinity College. He graduated with a First Class MEng in Engineering Science from Oxford in 2023, having studied at St Peter’s College. Before returning to Oxford, he gained industrial engineering experience at Dyson and Alstom. He began his DPhil in January 2026 under the supervision of Prof Dong (Lilly) Liu and Prof Emilio Martínez-Pañeda. His research investigates fracture, fatigue and hydrogen embrittlement in nickel-based alloys and austenitic stainless steels, with particular emphasis on their behaviour at cryogenic temperatures.

Shaimerden’s research focuses on understanding how temperature, hydrogen and microstructure influence the mechanical behaviour of nickel-based alloys and austenitic stainless steels. His work places particular emphasis on Hastelloy X, investigating the mechanisms governing fracture resistance and fatigue crack growth at cryogenic temperatures.

His current research interests include:

• Fracture toughness and ductile crack growth at cryogenic temperatures.

• Fatigue behaviour and fatigue crack growth in nickel-based alloys and austenitic stainless steels.

• Deformation twinning, strain hardening and crack-tip plasticity.

• Hydrogen transport and its effects on fracture and fatigue.

• Neutron diffraction measurements of lattice strain and deformation mechanisms.

• Microstructural characterisation using scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction.

• Computational modelling of diffusion, fracture and fatigue.

Cryogenic fracture and fatigue of Hastelloy X:

Investigating how low temperature affects fracture resistance, fatigue crack growth and deformation mechanisms through mechanical testing, neutron diffraction and electron microscopy.

Hydrogen effects in nickel-based alloys and austenitic stainless steels:

Investigating hydrogen uptake and its influence on mechanical behaviour, with particular interest in the interaction between hydrogen exposure and cryogenic temperature.

Computational modelling of diffusion, fracture and fatigue:

Developing diffusion and phase-field models to support the interpretation of experiments and investigate the mechanisms governing damage and crack growth.

Alongside his research, Shaimerden teaches undergraduate Engineering Science tutorials at Oxford and has more than eight years of tutoring experience, including mathematics, physics and university admissions preparation.