Philip Shackleton

Biography

After graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) in 2004 with a First Class Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering, Philip went on to complete his PhD at MMU – entitled An Optimised Wheel-Rail Contact Model for Vehicle Dynamics Simulation. In 2009 Philip Joined the Rail Technology Unit at MMU where he worked primarily on industry focussed research which covered topics such as: the prediction of rolling contact fatigue and vertical track damage for Network Rail, the measurement of cyclic wear patterns for Docklands Light Railway, constructing a case for the revision of a Railway Group Standard for Rail Safety and Standards Board. In 2012 Philip moved to the University of Huddersfield along with the rest of the Rail Technology Unit staff, which formed the new Institute of Railway Research. He currently engages in a variety of work including: undergraduate and postgraduate student supervision; European funded research projects; and commercial research, consultancy and innovation activities.

Research Interest

Philip has developed his expertise in the area of vehicle dynamics and vehicle-track interaction which he applies in topics such as: derailment investigation; supporting standards revisions; and damage predictions for assets management. Philip’s research career started with his PhD entitled An Optimised Wheel-Rail Contact Model for Vehicle Dynamics Simulation. In which he developed a novel wheel-rail contact model and investigated the possibilities for measuring the contact stress at the wheel-rail interface using ultrasonics. Philip has contributed to a number of recent European Union Framework 7 (FP7) and Horizon 2020 (H2020) research projects, including DRail, SUSTRAIL and In2Rail. He led the university’s contribution to the EU FP7 SPECTRUM project and continues to lead the IRR’s engagement in the H2020 WRIST project.