Research Studentship in Jet Engine Particle Deposition, University of Oxford.

4-year D.Phil. studentship

Project: Dust deposition and separation in aero-engines

Supervisor:  Prof David Gillespie, Dr. Natan Zawadzki

The development of high efficiency cooling strategies is necessary to maintain competitive gas turbine efficiency. These components require carefully metered cooling through very small holes which are prone to blockage. Your research within the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre for Heat Transfer and Aerodynamics at the Oxford Thermofluids institute will build models of particle transport and deposition representing the flow of particles through the engine to hot sites where deposition occurs.

This work will build on a decade of model development with the research group, and importantly will capture the effect of changes in chemical composition and morphology of minerals with changing temperature and pressure. You will design low loss particle separators to be housed in the jet engine, preventing the arrival of deposits at vulnerable locations. You will have access to extensive high fidelity deposition codes developed within the particle deposition group, where there is already extensive work being conducted to model ice deposition in engines. A hot deposition rig is also available for validation and testing of particle separator designs. The work is supported by the Rolls-Royce Environmental Engine Protection group.

The fundamental improvement in understanding of deposition will be applied in high and low order models of key engine components critical to maintaining the operability and longevity of jet engines with new engine architectures subject to harsh environments.

Eligibility 

This studentship is funded by Rolls-Royce and UKRI EPSRC and is open to Home students (full award – home fees plus stipend) on a full-time basis.

Award Value

Course fees are covered at the level set for UK students. The stipend (tax-free maintenance grant) is at least the UKRI Minimum Stipend for the first year, and at least this amount for a further three years.

Candidate Requirements

Candidates will be judged according to how well they meet the following criteria:

• A first class or strong upper second-class honours degree in Engineering, Physics or Applied Mathematics
• Excellent English written and spoken communication skills
• Ability to program in Matlab, Python or C++
• Strong laboratory-based skills
• Ability to analyse complex experimental data

It is desirable that candidates possess expertise in some of the following areas:

• Computational fluid dynamics codes (e.g. ANSYS, STARCCM, OpenFoam)
• Experience in working with industrial partners

Application Procedure

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Prof. David Gillespie: david.gillespie@eng.ox.ac.uk.

Candidates must submit a graduate application form and are expected to meet the graduate admissions criteria. Details are available on the course page of the University website.

Please quote 26ENGTH_DG in all correspondence and in your graduate application.

Application deadline: noon on 3 March 2026 (In line with the University admissions deadline set by the University)

Start date: October 2026