Dr Kevin Hughes
Senior Lecturer in Structural Integrity

Research area(s)

• Non Linear Transient Finite Element Method
• Crashworthiness and Impact Response of Materials and Structures
• Analysis Led Design and Optimisation

Research Interests

Kevin’s research started with improving the level of crashworthiness for helicopters impacting onto hard and water surfaces through his PhD, which led to his interest in applying non-linear transient numerical simulation methods (mesh based and mesh free) to understand the response of structures and materials to a range of dynamic loading.

Applications include the use of optimisation approaches to develop robust design solutions (by taking into account sources of uncertainty) for industrially sponsored research / EU collaborative projects. This led to Kevin’s involvement with a number of companies with challenging engineering problems, including Jaguar Landrover and Aston Martin related to car crashworthiness, failure assessment for Network Rail and led to a product to market by developing protection concepts for electronic devices in conjunction with Logitech (resulting in a US Patent).

Project details

• Impact Protection Case for an electronic device, Logitech, Principal Investigator
• HISAC – Environmentally Friendly High-Speed Aircraft, Contract No.: AIP4-516132, EU FP6, Co-PI
• ALCAS – Advanced Low-Cost Aircraft Structures, Contract No.: AIP4-CT-2005-516092, EU FP6, Co-PI

Research clients and partners include:

• Aston Martin
• Jaguar Landrover
• Network Rail
• Logitech