Subject areas:
Engineering.
Funding type:
Research Training & Support Grant.
Tuition fee.
3.5-year, fully-funded PhD Studentship on the mechanics of creases in thin sheets. Open to both UK and international applicants to start in June or October 2025.
Award details
The research group of Dr Michael Gomez is seeking to appoint a highly motivated PhD candidate for the project ‘Mechanics of creases in thin sheets’.
Creases are localised regions of high curvature formed by irreversible (plastic) deformation when a thin sheet, such as paper, is folded and compressed. Due to their highly anisotropic bending stiffness, the presence of creases significantly modifies the large-scale mechanical behaviour of a sheet. The soft, hinge-like response of creases under planar bending (i.e., with the bending axis parallel to the crease line) provides predictable loading pathways for thin-sheet origami and deployable structures. Meanwhile, their high rigidity to out-of-plane bending means that creasing is a viable technique to create lightweight but stiff structures, similar to the corrugations seen in roof panels and packaging materials.
Despite the ubiquity of creases in natural and engineered systems, much still remains unknown about their mechanics. While creases are typically modelled as line-like defects that behave as torsional springs, in many situations it is necessary to consider the finite width of a crease and out-of-plane bending deformations; for example, when predicting the deployment failure of origami sheets due to crease buckling, or when quantifying the strength of materials patterned with many creases. During out-of-plane bending, the transverse curvature of a crease results in a complex interaction between bending and stretching deformations, which, in turn, leads to a rich variety of phenomena including torsional buckling, abrupt ‘snap-through’ transitions, propagating instabilities, bistability, and stress localisation. Previous studies indicate that these behaviours depend sensitively on the geometry of the crease region and its susceptibility to buckling, though research remains limited, particularly for elastoplastic creases created by realistic loading protocols.
In this project, you will develop fundamental understanding of how the material and geometric properties of a crease affect its out-of-plane bending behaviour and associated buckling instabilities. This will be achieved through a combination of mathematical modelling using thin shell theory and asymptotic methods; numerical simulations, either using a coarse lattice model or commercial finite element software; and laboratory experiments on thin polymeric sheets. The knowledge developed throughout this project will inform engineering applications of creased sheets across a wide variety of contexts, including origami-based materials, shape-morphing ‘groovy metasheets’ and deployable space structures.
The successful candidate will join the research group of Dr Michael Gomez within the Department of Engineering, King’s College London. Located on the Strand Campus in the heart of central London, our research centres on the ‘extreme mechanics’ of soft solids; in particular, how soft objects undergo abrupt shape changes in response to external loads or intrinsic transformations. The group combines analytical techniques, computer simulations and desktop-scale experiments to develop fundamental understanding of features that are of direct relevance to engineering applications such as soft robotics and mechanical metamaterials.
Further information on the benefits of postgraduate study within the Department of Engineering at King’s can be found at https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/areas/engineering-phd.
Award value
Funding is available for 3.5 years and covers:
- Stipend: Tax-free stipend of approximately £21,870.34 p.a. with possible inflationary increases after the first year.
- Bench Fees: PGR Research allowance from £1,000 p.a. to maximum £4,500 p.a.
- Tuition fees: UK tuition fees 25/26 £7,500 per year or International tuition fees 25/26 £32,400 per year.
These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King's terms and conditions.
Other (please outline): Note: A UKRI fully-funded studentship will only cover what is listed above. Applications should be aware there may be other costs which will not be covered by the studentship, for example, visa fees, healthcare surcharge, relocation costs and COVID-19 related quarantine costs.
Eligibility criteria
In addition to the general entry requirements for an Engineering MPhil/PhD, candidates should have a strong background in applied mathematics and continuum mechanics. Good knowledge of solid/structural mechanics, including reduced-order models for slender structures (rods, plates, shells) and elastic stability theory, is highly desirable. In addition, candidates should have experience with, or a willingness to learn, finite element simulations and desktop-scale experiments involving soft solids.
Application process
To be considered for the position candidates must apply via King’s Apply online application system. Details are available at https://www.kcl.ac.uk/engineering/postgraduate/research-degrees
Please apply for Engineering Research (MPhil/PhD) and indicate Michael Gomez as the supervisor and quote the project title in your application and all correspondence.
Please ensure to add the following code [StartUpGomez] in the Funding section of the application form.
Please select option 5 ‘I am applying for a funding award or scholarship administered by King’s College London’ and type the code into the ‘Award Scheme Code or Name’ box. Please copy and paste the code exactly.
The selection process will involve a pre-selection on documents and, if selected, will be followed by an invitation to an interview. If successful at the interview, an offer will be provided in due course.
Deadline for candidates to apply:
- June 2025 entry: 06 March 2025 (overseas), 28 March 2025 (home)
- October 2025 entry: 10 July 2025 (overseas), 11 August 2025 (home)
Interviews will take place on a rolling basis. Recruitment will continue until the position is filled. International candidates should allow at least three months for visa/ATAS processing.
Further information can be found at https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/how-to-apply.
Contact: