Repurposing Decommissioned Electro-Mechanical Composite Technical Systems

All good things come to an end, but should they? Wind Turbines and commercial aircraft are complex systems which are difficult to decommission sustainably at the end of their “useful” life. While some critical parts (engines, generators, landing gear, avionics etc.) are salvaged and recirculated in the industry, there is a significant number of components (composite structures, wings, blades) which are classified as waste then burned or landfilled. This cannot continue given the quantity of aircraft and wind turbines waiting to be decommissioned. There are currently advances in recycling processes which enable composites to be ground down and chemically returned to a useful state, however this hasn’t been proven at scale, requires a lot of energy and removes all the value embedded within the existing components. A more sustainable approach is found in the waste hierarchy, which prioritises reusing or repurposing components to retain as much value as possible before shredding and recycling as a last resort. Through repurposing, the One PhD project on “Repurposing Decommissioned Electro-Mechanical Composite Technical Systems” is ready to accept applications as its funding status will be confirmed imminently. This joint PhD project will be primarily based at the University of Birmingham with a minimum 12-month stay at the University of Melbourne.

The research will focus on solving the two key challenges facing increased circularity for wind turbines and aircraft; that of identifying viable alternative applications for parts and ensuring that value is retained thus satisfying the economic, environment, and societal associated with sustainability. This will be achieved through the development of a knowledge base of assets and their respective sub-assembles and the use of LLM and generative AI to match components with potential new applications. Due to the geographical distribution of decommissioning in the UK and Australia, this project will also have a specific focus on generating value for local communities marginalised by the green transition including indigenous groups in Australia and displaced oil and gas workers in the UK.

This PhD will help you develop expert knowledge in renewable energy, sustainability and the circular economy, the creation of AI tools for complex engineering tasks, the research and policy landscape, and business case analysis. This research will give you the opportunity to reshape industry to improve the environmental impact of two major sectors, while developing a robust skillset to prepare you for a career in academia, industry or AI.

Supervision Team

The project will be led by a pair of academics at each institution,

Dr Garrick is a manufacturing engineering with a focus on applying both the technical and operational aspects of manufacturing resource efficiency and lifecycle engineering. His expertise includes a deep knowledge of current plans for the energy transition, and he will contribute to the evaluation of demand and viability for proposed repurposing pathways.

Dr Das at the University of Melbourne has a track record of exploring how ethics, equity, and justice can be integrated into engineering design processes. Her expertise will shape the portions of this project that involve working with local communities to develop solutions that are socially conscious in addition to generating economic value from repurposing.

Professor David Butler is an expert within circular economy research and MTC Chair of sustainable manufacturing at the University of Birmingham. He spent 18 years in Singapore as an academic and co-founder of the Advanced Remanufacturing & Technology Centre. His previous work includes serving as Scotland’s Aircraft Decommissioning Champion in 2021, overseeing the disassembly of real aircraft and subsequent cataloguing and handling of components.

Professor Kevin Otto at the University of Melbourne brings mechanical design and manufacturing expertise necessary to enable cost effective repurposing, including means to disassemble, inspect and repair, and repurpose parts and systems. He has active on-going collaborations with Boeing and other composites manufacturers in Australia that will be relevant to this project.