PhD Studentship: Rapid Production of Hollow Spheres using Coaxial Nozzles: Multiphase CFD

3 months ago


Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

PhD Supervisor: Ivo Peters

Supervisory Team: Ivo Peters, John Shrimpton

Project description

When a gas surrounded by a liquid film flows out of a coaxial nozzle, the stream can spontaneously deform into liquid shells: bubbles of air trapped in a layer of liquid. Under the right circumstances, these liquid shells are highly reproducible and can form at a very high rate, up to thousands of liquid shells per second. This makes them highly desirable for industrial applications where hollow spherical objects need to be produced. Example application areas are encapsulation for pharmaceuticals, 3D printing of foam structures, shells for inertial confinement fusion, and even novel shower systems.

Despite this vast range of applications, how these liquid shells are formed, and what conditions are required, is not fully understood. A better understanding is needed in order to address specific application requirements. For example, the cost of a pharmaceutical product could be reduced by increasing the production rate, but this should be balanced by the potential negative impact on the reproducibility. Addressing this balance requires a thorough understanding of how the production rate influences reproducibility, and which nozzle geometry would be best suited for such a specific application.

In this project you will use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate the formation of liquid shells from coaxial nozzles. The primary CFD tool will be Basilisk, which is very effective at solving two-phase fluid problems and has a large user base. An optional addition to the project is to complement the simulations by running experiments of the system using state-of-the-art high-speed cameras.

The candidate should have a degree in physical sciences or engineering and have an interest in fluid dynamics. You will join an enthusiastic, friendly, and supportive team of PhD students and postdocs that all work on different experimental and numerical fluids projects within the Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics Research Group. You will further be interacting with an industrial partner that will support the research.

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Dr Ivo Peters.
Email: , Tel:

Entry Requirements

A very good undergraduate degree (at least a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent).

Closing date:

Applications should be received no later than 31 August 2024 for standard admissions, but later applications may be considered depending on the funds remaining in place.

Funding: Funding for tuition fees and a living stipend are available on a competitive basis. Funding will be awarded on a rolling basis, so apply early for the best opportunity to be considered.

How To Apply

Apply online: Search for a Postgraduate Programme of Study ). Select programme type (Research), 2024/25, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, next page select "PhD Engineering & Environment (Full time)". In Section 2 of the application form you should insert the name of the supervisor Ivo Peters

Applications should include:

  • Research Proposal
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Two reference letters
  • Degree Transcripts/Certificates to date

For further information please contact: feps-pgr-

Funding for tuition fees and a living stipend are available on a competitive basis



  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    PhD Supervisor: Ivo PetersSupervisory Team: Ivo Peters, John ShrimptonProject descriptionWhen a gas surrounded by a liquid film flows out of a coaxial nozzle, the stream can spontaneously deform into liquid shells: bubbles of air trapped in a layer of liquid. Under the right circumstances, these liquid shells are highly reproducible and can form at a very...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Supervisory Team: Dr Pier Sazio, Dr Ioannis Zeimpekis Project Description:Hollow core optical fibre waveguide geometries are becoming increasingly relevant to modern telecommunications systems, an exemplar of which is the anti-resonant fibre (ARF) structure, which can guide light in the air core using a variety of cladding architectures. Intriguingly, the...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    PhD Supervisor: Radan SlavikSupervisory Team: Radan Slavik, Francesco Poletti, Meng DingProject descriptionAt the Optoelectronics Research Centre, we are leading the world in developing a new generation of optical fibres that promise a revolution in applications ranging from optical communications to ultraprecise optical sensors. Our hollow-core optical...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Supervisory Team: David AnglandProject description:A PhD studentship is now available in the area of aircraft aerodynamics and aeroacoustics (aerodynamically generated noise). The studentship provides a unique opportunity to work on a relevant engineering problem at the Airbus Noise Technology Centre (ANTC), part of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    PhD Supervisor: Prof Radan Slavik, Dr Yongmin Jung, Prof Francesco PolettiSupervisory Team: Prof Radan Slavik, Dr Yongmin Jung, Prof Francesco PolettiProject description: The University of Southampton is expanding its PhD research in the area of Quantum Technology Engineering. In addition to the research project outlined below you will receive substantial...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Supervisory Team: Nicholas Evans, Jeremy Webb, Janos Kanczler, Eleanor Stride, Dario Carugo (University of Oxford)PhD Supervisor: Nicholas EvansProject description:Bone disease has a cost to the UK economy of £5 billion/year. Surgeons attempt to repair bones and joints by conducting invasive surgery, including for example the implantation of prosthetics....


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    PhD Supervisor: Radan SlavikSupervisory Team: Prof. Radan Slavik, Dr. Mohammad Mousavi, Dr. Ali Masoudi, Prof. Francesco PolettiProject descriptionAt the Optoelectronics Research Centre, we are leading the world in developing a new generation of optical fibres that promise a revolution in applications ranging from optical communications to ultraprecise...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Project title: Challenging Deepfake Voices Supervisory Team: Dr. Jennifer Williams (primary), Prof Richard Guest (secondary)Project description:Fake and synthetic media are becoming a well-known issue in society, from AI regulation and AI safety to protecting democracy from election interference. This exciting PhD project investigates two technical aspects...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Supervisory Team: Jonathan GeorgePhD Supervisor: Jonathan GeorgeProject description:The School of Chemistry is offering a fully funded PhD studentship to a highly motivated candidate to start in September 2024. The student will carry out their doctoral research in the George Group, which has recently moved to the University of Southampton.BackgroundThe use...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Supervisory Team: Claire Clarkin, Nicholas Fuggle, Jemma Kerns (University of Lancaster),Project description:Funding for this project is offered by the Centre for Doctoral Training in Complex Integrated Systems for Defence & Security (CISDnS), which will recruit motivated and inquisitive candidates across the themes of Digital, Physical and Biological...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Supervisory Team: Dr Gustavo de Almeida; Dr Sergio MaldonadoProject description:Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD position on the investigation of novel design methods to improve the resilience of submerged infrastructure (i.e. bridge piers, wind turbines) subject to hydrodynamic action (e.g. currents and waves).Many critical submerged...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    PhD Supervisor: Dr Seung Lee Supervisory Team: Dr Seung Lee (School of Chemistry), Prof. Jeremy Webb (School of Biological Sciences and national Biofilms Innovation Centre), Prof. Paul Stoodley (University of Southampton and Ohio State University)Project description:A fully-funded 4 year PhD studentship (Institute for Life Sciences studentship) for research...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Supervisory Team: Dr Seung Lee (School of Chemistry), Prof. Jeremy Webb (School of Biological Sciences and National Biofilms Innovation Centre), Prof. Paul Stoodley (University of Southampton), Dr Rob Howlin (Haleon, industry), Dr David Bradshaw and Dr Ricarda Hawkins (Haleon, industry) Project Description:A fully-funded 4 year National Biofilms Innovation...

  • PhD Studentship

    3 months ago


    Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Supervisory Team: Benjamin CameronProject descriptionThis PhD is focussed on a new theoretical/computational method to measure material properties in places where they are really difficult to measure: e.g. in a shock wave, in a shear band, or at a crack tip. These are all of critical importance in many engineering problems such as car crashes, manufacturing...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Project title: High precision time-resolved thrust measurement and Two-dimensional plasma plume diagnostics Supervisory Team: Min Kwan Kim (80%) / Alexander Wittig (20%)Project description:This exciting PhD project offers a unique opportunity to develop a high precision time-resolved thrust balance and optical diagnostics to characterise the spatial...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Supervisory Team: Philippa ReedPhD Supervisor: Philippa ReedProject description:Ti fan blades contain complex two phase microstructures that exhibit quite strong textures (where grains show significant alignment). This can affect the process of initiation (via slip band formation) and how these slip bands interact to produce crack propagation. Different Ti...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Supervisory Team: Rand Ismaeel, Milos NedeljkovicProject descriptionThis exciting multidisciplinary PhD project aims to develop a new class of marine sensors based on cutting-edge MID-IR silicon photonics research. The ocean, which acts as an environmental buffer by absorbing heat and carbon dioxide (CO2) from human activity such as burning fossil fuels and...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Supervisory Team: Chris-Kriton Skylaris (90%) Andrea Russell (10%)Project description:Proton-exchange Membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel cells are an emerging technology for environmentally sustainable transport and other carbon-neutral energy applications. A crucial component of these devices are the metallic catalyst nanoparticles which allow the chemical...


  • Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Supervisory Team: Philippa ReedPhD Supervisor: Philippa ReedProject description:Cold spray is a repair process that can be considered an additive repair process, whereby metal powder particles are impacted at high speed in a carrier gas, at relatively low temperatures, so the repaired surface layer is formed by extreme deformation rather than melting and...

  • PhD Studentship

    3 months ago


    Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom University of Southampton Full time

    Supervisory Team: Dr N.C. Townsend, Prof D.A. Hudson and Dr J.A. Bowker (industrial)Project descriptionWave energy can be used to improve the performance of ships and boats. By exploiting hydrodynamically the available wave energy, the motions, emissions, and powering requirements of ships operating in adverse weather conditions can be significantly...