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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/K50323X/1
Title: Industrial Doctorate Centre in Composites Manufacture
Principal Investigator: Partridge, Professor IK
Other Investigators:
Potter, Professor K
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Aerospace Engineering
Organisation: University of Bristol
Scheme: CDT - NR1
Starts: 01 October 2012 Ends: 31 March 2019 Value (£): 3,926,972
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Manufacturing Machine & Plant Materials Processing
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Manufacturing
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Panel DatePanel NameOutcome
28 Mar 2012 Manufacturing the Future-Centres for Doctoral Training Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
The theme area is manufacturing of engineering composites structures, specifically those which comprise continuous high

performance fibres held together with a polymeric matrix. The relevant industry areas include aerospace, automotive,

marine, wind energy and construction.

The proposal demonstrates urgent and growing need in the UK polymer composites manufacturing sector for suitably

technically qualified individuals, able to make positive and rapid impact on its international manufacturing competitiveness.

The new IDC fills an existing gap in provision of industrially focussed higher level education in the UK, in the specialist

discipline of polymer composites manufacturing. It will have its centre of gravity in Bristol, with the new National

Composites Centre (NCC) the natural home-base for the cohort of composites manufacturing Research Engineers,

embedded in the composites manufacturing industry. This new applied research activity focussed at TRL 3-5 will be

different from but highly complementary to the outputs of EPSRC Centre's composites manufacturing PhD students and

those in the Bristol ACCIS DTC working on more fundamental research topics in composites at TRL 1-3. Achieving a

clearer definition of the industrial composites manufacturing challenges and of new knowledge base requirements will

provide direction for the industrially relevant accompanying fundamental research.

The EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Composites will establish and maintain a close synergistic connection

between the new IDC, the Systems IDC at the University of Bristol and the Manufacturing Engineering EngD Centre lead

from the University of Nottingham. This will establish a critical mass of industrially focussed composites manufacturing

research activity in the UK, raising the national and international status of the EngD brand in the composites industry, in academia and in professional institutions by targeted dissemination through the EPSRC Centre, in conjunction with the NCC.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Impacts
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Summary
Date Materialised
Sectors submitted by the Researcher
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Project URL:  
Further Information:  
Organisation Website: http://www.bris.ac.uk