Weft Knitted Spacer Fabrics (WeKSFs) for High-Performance Textiles

This fully funded PhD position will reward the successful candidate with an award covering full fees, a maintenance stipend in line with UKRI rates, and a Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC) grant worth 10,000 GBP for personal development and consumables. The research focuses on investigating how Weft Knitted Spacer Fabrics can be engineered to optimize comfort, protection, and adaptability in high-performance textile applications. The project will examine novel WeKSF architectures using advanced flat-bed and WholeGarment technologies, investigating auxetic geometries and other 3D knit structures for improved flexibility, pressure distribution, and impact absorption. The research will combine experimental textile design, mechanical testing, and computational analysis to establish new principles for multifunctional fabric development. The successful applicant will join the PGR community in the School of Design and have access to training and support, working with industrial partner Shima Seiki Europe who will provide access to support, training and equipment where necessary.