Engineering: Fully Funded M2A MSc by Research Scholarship: Computational Modelling of Fracture in a Food Can Opening
Start date: October 2019
Supervisors: Dr W Harrison and TBC
Sponsoring company: Crown
This post will remain open until a suitable candidate is found and we recommend you apply as soon as possible.
Crown Packaging Manufacturing UK Limited is a world-wide metal packaging technology company with operations in over 40 countries.
An important product for Crown is their food cans with full aperture easy-open ends. These cans are manufactured with a score which allows the can to be opened without the need for a separate opener.
An improved numerical model of the damage in material around the score, will help efforts to optimise the performance of these openings. This would provide designers a valuable tool when evaluating the behaviour of new ends, with different materials and grades, offer the potential for reduced material use and lighter weight products.
This project aims to develop a model for the accumulation of damage during the scoring process. The Research Engineer will:
- Compare predictions of deformation and damage with experimentally obtained metallurgical observations.
- Predict rupture of the score using different failure modes, chosen to represent available experimental data.
It is anticipated the model, once validated, will be used to predict and optimise the performance of a food can easy-open end during ‘pop and tear’ opening.
The candidate will work collaboratively with Crown’s Research Centre in Wantage and should have knowledge of finite element analysis and some experience of Materials Science. Experience of using Abaqus or Elfen software would be an advantage although no essential.