IDLA studentship: Dust deposition and separation in aero-engines
This fully-funded project is focused on the development of high efficiency cooling strategies to maintain competitive gas turbine efficiency. These components require carefully metered cooling through very small holes which are prone to blockage.
Key facts
Application deadline
12:00 midday UK time on Tuesday 3rd March 2026
Applications may remain open after this deadline if places are still available.
Places available
1
Academic supervisor
Professor David Gillespie
Funding (fully-funded scholarship)
This project will be offered as a fully-funded scholarship, which will include:
- all course fees for the duration of your course; and
- a living stipend.
This project is funded by an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Industrial Doctoral Landscape Award (IDLA).
The industrial partner for this project is Rolls-Royce Plc (UK).
Expected start date
Expected duration
Full time: 3-4 years
Part time: 6-8 years
About this project
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.
Course details
Unless stated otherwise, this project information is subject to the more detailed information provided on the page of the offering course.
Course offering this project
You should familiarise yourself with the details of this course before applying for this project.
Entry requirements
In addition to the entry requirements for the main course, prospective candidates for this project 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; and
- ability to analyse complex experimental data.
It is desirable that candidates possess expertise in some of the following areas:
- computational fluid dynamics codes (eg ANSYS, STARCCM, OpenFoam); and
- experience in working with industrial partners,
Please refer to the DPhil in Engineering Science course page for all other entry requirements, including the required level of English language proficiency.
College preference
If you have the option of stating a college preference for this project, the available colleges will be confirmed within the application form.
For some projects, including all of those offered after the standard course has closed to applications, the department will assign your application to a college.
How to apply
The guidance for this project may differ from the standard course - please read it carefully.
Application fee waivers (for all applications via this page)
Applications to this project should be made only via this page and not the related course page.
The application fee will be waived for all applications made via this page.
Contacting the department before making an application
Informal enquiries may be addressed to Professor David Gillespie ([email protected]) .
Guidance for completing the application form
After you have started an application via this page, please refer to the application instructions on the main course page.