Contact Professor Gareth Appleby-Thomas
Areas of expertise
- Armour systems
- Defence manufacturing
- Test and Evaluation
- Vehicle Engineering & Mobility
- Weapons Engineering
Background
1999 - 2003: MSci in Physics and Astronomy, Durham University
2003 - 2007: D.Phil in Materials Science, Department of Materials, University of Oxford. Thesis title: Advanced Materials for Plasma Facing Components in Fusion Devices. Graduated 7th of November 2009. Thesis available at: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f8ba1ae1-f303-4c32-877e-dca421a3cb5c
2007 - 2012: Research Fellow, Dynamic Response Group, Cranfield University
2012 - 2015: Lecturer and Head of the Dynamic Response Group
2015 - 2017: Senior Lecturer and Head of the Dynamic Response Group
2017 - 2018: Senior Lecturer and Head of Survivability and Advanced Materials (CDE)
2018 - 2019: Reader and Head of Survivability and Advanced Materials (CDE)
2019 - 2021: Reader and Head of the Centre for Defence Engineering (CDE)
2021 - 2025: Professor of High Strain-Rate Material Response for Defence Applications and Head of the Centre for Defence Engineering (CDE)
2025 - present: Professor of High Strain-Rate Material Response for Defence Applications and Director of Consultancy (CDS)
Married on 22nd March 2008; new surname of Appleby-Thomas (previously Thomas) adopted.
Research opportunities
Materials (armour / high strain-rate behaviour)
Applications are invited from self-funded PhD students interested in the development of novel material solutions for defence applications
Current activities
As Director of Consultancy for CDS, I am responsible for helping expand our specalist Defence and Security offering - covering both direct consultancy, wider project support and tailored educational products - amongst other aras - with the overarching aim of ensuring that we translate our world-leading knoweldge into useful and effective support to underpin our industrial and research partners.
My research in understanding the dynamic behaviour of materials provides a unique underpinning for this role and is particularly helpful when designing structures that are subjected to ballistic impact or shock-wave loading.
This element of my work is based around the fields of Survivability, Lethality and Materials - bridging across several of the groups within the Centre and more widely. A particular focus of my own research is an interest in the dynamic behaviour of materials used in armour systems, vehicular and aerospace structures, and munitions.
Further, I have a background in the shock behaviour of biological structures which has led to a substantial body of research including two PhDs, an MSc by Research and several publications to-date.
These interests, collectively encompassing material behaviour under extreme conditions, has led to an emerging focus on material behaviour under hypervelocity impact (2-8 km/s) - and has led to the opportunity to co-found a 'Consortium for Organotypic Research on Ageing and Microgravity' (https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/chemical-engineering/healthcare/consortium-organotypic-research-ageing-microgravity.aspx) alongside Dr Alexandra Iordachescu from Birmingham.
I'm currently involved with the ShockWaves and Extreme Conditions (SWEC) group of the IoP (a founding member of the Committee, I served as Chair from 2018-2022) and am directly involved in the promotion of physics and engineering to the wider community: https://www.iop.org/physics-community/special-interest-groups/shock-waves-extreme-conditions-group#gref
As part of the above, I have successfully stood up a series of SWEC research talks / seminars. Details are available at the following link (all are welcome to attend): https://www.iopconferences.org/iop/frontend/reg/tOtherPage.csp?pageID=1044688&eventID=1689&traceRedir=2
Recordings of the some of the recent talks include:
- 4th webinar - 'Modelling the bone response to extreme environments using organotypic cultures', Alexandra Iordachescu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89QVmPvgTGo
- 5th webinar - 'Tissue analogue selection for ballistic applications', Gareth Appleby-Thomas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr5m8iYUy0g
Publications
Articles In Journals
- Iordachescu A, Eisenstein N & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2023). Space habitats for bioengineering and surgical repair: addressing the requirement for reconstructive and research tissues during deep-space missions. npj Microgravity, 9(1)
- Hes RAG, Painter J & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2023). Optimal skin simulant for ballistic testing. Forensic Science International, 346(May)
- Vignjevic R, Djordjevic N, Galka A, Appleby-Thomas GJ & Hughes K. (2022). Constitutive model for fibre reinforced composites with progressive damage based on the spectral decomposition of material stiffness tensor. Composite Structures, 292(July)
- Marchante Rodriguez V, Grasso M, Zhao Y, Liu H, Deng K, .... (2022). Surface damage in woven carbon composite panels under orthogonal and inclined high-velocity impacts. Journal of Composites Science, 6(10)
- Powell D, Appleby-Thomas G, Painter J & Thirulogasingam T. (2022). The importance of considering both DoP and VoP in forwards-ballistic penetrative experiments.
- David A, Morris S & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2021). Social Media User Relationship Framework (SMURF). The Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law
- Lesmana D, Arifurrahman F, Hameed A, Appleby-Thomas GJ & Santosa SP. (2020). On the importance of the bullet jacket during the penetration process: reversed-ballistic experimental and numerical study. Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, 34(5)
- Fitzmaurice BC, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Painter J, Wood DC & Hazael R. (2020). The effects of quasi-one-dimensional shock on Escherichia coli while controlling pressure and temperature. Icarus, 359
- Rao P, Painter J, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Critchley R, Wood DC, .... (2020). Fragmentation studies by non-explosive cylinder expansion technique. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 146
- David A, Morris S & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2020). A two-stage model for social network investigations in digital forensics. The Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law, 15
- Agu H, Hameed A & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2019). Comparison of the microstructure of machined and laser sintered shaped charge liner in the hydrodynamic regime. Journal of Dynamic Behavior of Materials, 5(4)
- Agu H, Hameed A, Appleby-Thomas GJ & Wood DC. (2019). The dynamic response of dense 3 dimensionally printed polylactic acid. Journal of Dynamic Behavior of Materials, 5(4)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Jaansalu K, Hameed A, Painter J & Shackel J. (2019). A comparison of the ballistic behaviour of conventionally sintered and additively manufactured alumina. Defence Technology, 16(2)
- Muster M, Amer H, Wood DC, Appleby-Thomas GJ & Wasmer K. (2019). Damping of post-impact vibrations. Applied Acoustics, 156
- Henwood BJ & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2019). The suitability of Synbone® as a tissue analogue in ballistic impacts. Journal of Materials Science, 55(7)
- Millett JCF, Whiteman G, Park NT, Case S & Appleby-Thomas G. (2019). The effects of heat treatment upon the shock response of a copper-beryllium alloy. Acta Materialia, 165
- Agu H, Hameed A & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2018). Application of shell jetting analysis to determine the location of the virtual origin in shaped charges. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 122
- Wood DC, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Hameed A, Barnes NR, Hughes A, .... (2018). The variance on the shock response of a carbon fibre composite due to the orientation of the weave. Journal of Materials Science, 53(16)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Fitzmaurice BC, Hameed A, Painter J, Gibson MC, .... (2017). On differences in the equation-of-state for a selection of seven representative mammalian tissue analogue materials. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 77
- Hazael R, Fitzmaurice BC, Foglia F, Appleby-Thomas GJ & McMillan PF. (2017). Bacterial survival following shock compression in the GigaPascal range. Icarus, 293
- Millett JCF, Taylor P, Roberts A & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2017). The Strength of two HMX based plastic bonded explosives during one dimensional shock loading. Journal of Dynamic Behavior of Materials, 3(1)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Wood DC, Hameed A, Painter J & Fitzmaurice BC. (2016). On the effects of powder morphology on the post-comminution ballistic strength of ceramics. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 100
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Wood DC, Hameed A, Painter J, Le-Seelleur V, .... (2016). Investigation of the high-strain rate (shock and ballistic) response of the elastomeric tissue simulant Perma-Gel®. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 94
- Kader MA, Islam MA, Hazell PJ, Escobedo JP, Saadatfar M, .... (2016). Modelling and characterization of cell collapse in aluminium foams during dynamic loading. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 96
- Petel OE, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Wood DC, Capozzi A, Nabavi SA, .... (2016). Lateral stress evolution in chromium sulfide cermets with varying excess chromium. Journal of Applied Physics, 119(13)
- Millett JCF, Brown EN, Gray III GT, Bourne NK, Wood DC, .... (2016). The effects of changing chemistry on the shock response of basic polymers. Journal of Dynamic Behavior of Materials, 2(3)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Wood DC, Hameed A & Leighs JA. (2015). On the ballistic response of an aerospace-grade composite panel to non-spheroidised fragment simulants. Composite Structures, 119
- Goff MJ, Hazell PJ, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Wood DC & Stennett C. (2015). Gas gun ramp loading of Kel-F 81 targets using a ceramic graded areal density flyer system. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 80
- Crouch IG, Appleby-Thomas GJ & Hazell PJ. (2015). A study of the penetration behaviour of mild-steel-cored ammunition against boron carbide ceramic armours. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 80
- Millett JCF, Lowe MR, Appleby-Thomas GJ & Roberts A. (2015). The mechanical and optical response of Polychlorotrifluoroethylene to one-dimensional shock loading. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 47(2)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Hazell PJ, Sheldon RP, Stennett C, Hameed A, .... (2014). The high strain-rate behaviour of selected tissue analogues. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 33(1)
- Hazell PJ, Appleby-Thomas GJ & Toone S. (2014). Ballistic compaction of a confined ceramic powder by a non-deforming projectile: Experiments and simulations. Materials & Design (1980-2015), 56
- Hazell PJ, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Wielewski E & Escobedo JP. (2014). The shock and spall response of three industrially important hexagonal close-packed metals: magnesium, titanium and zirconium. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 372(2023)
- Wielewski E, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Hazell PJ & Hameed A. (2013). An experimental investigation into the micro-mechanics of spall initiation and propagation in Ti–6Al–4V during shock loading. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 578
- Hazell PJ, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Philbey D & Tolman W. (2013). The effect of gilding jacket material on the penetration mechanics of a 7.62 mm armour-piercing projectile. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 54
- Leighs JA, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Stennett C, Hameed A, Wilgeroth JM, .... (2012). A sealed capsule system for biological and liquid shock-recovery experiments. Review of Scientific Instruments, 83(11)
- Hazell PJ, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Wielewski E, Stennett C & Siviour C. (2012). The influence of microstructure on the shock and spall behaviour of the magnesium alloy, Elektron 675. Acta Materialia, 60(17)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ & Hazell PJ. (2012). The impact of structural composite materials. Part 2: hypervelocity impact and shock. The Journal of Strain Analysis for Engineering Design, 47(7)
- Hazell PJ & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2012). The impact of structural composite materials. Part 1: ballistic impact. The Journal of Strain Analysis for Engineering Design, 47(7)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Hazell PJ, Wood DC, Wilgeroth JM & Leighs JA. (2012). On the effects of lateral gauge misalignment in shocked targets. Review of Scientific Instruments, 83(6)
- Hazell PJ & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2012). More on penetration of ceramic based targets by non-deforming projectiles. Advances in Applied Ceramics, 111(3)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Hazell PJ & Cleave R. (2012). Penetration mechanisms in glass laminate/resin structures. Materials & Design, 34
- Leighs JA, Hazell PJ & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2012). The effect of shock loading on the survival of plant seeds. Icarus, 220(1)
- Wilgeroth JM, Hazell PJ & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2012). On the behaviour of porcine skeletal muscle tissue under shock compression. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 50
- Wood DC, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Hazell PJ & Barnes NR. (2012). Shock propagation in a tape wrapped carbon fibre composite. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 43(9)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Hazell PJ, Wilgeroth JM, Shepherd CJ, Wood DC, .... (2011). On the dynamic behavior of three readily available soft tissue simulants. Journal of Applied Physics, 109(8)
- Hazell PJ, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Trinquant X & Chapman DJ. (2011). In-fiber shock propagation in Dyneema®. Journal of Applied Physics, 110(4)
- Nanda H, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Wood DC & Hazell PJ. (2011). Ballistic behaviour of explosively shattered alumina and silicon carbide targets. Advances in Applied Ceramics, 110(5)
- Wood DC, Hazell PJ, Appleby-Thomas GJ & Barnes NR. (2011). Shock behaviour of a phenolic resin. Journal of Materials Science, 46(18)
- Shepherd CJ, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Wilgeroth JM, Hazell PJ & Allsop DF. (2011). On the response of ballistic soap to one-dimensional shock loading. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 38(12)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Hazell PJ & Dahini G. (2011). On the response of two commercially-important CFRP structures to multiple ice impacts. Composite Structures, 93(10)
- Hazell PJ, Appleby-Thomas GJ & Kister G. (2010). Impact, penetration, and perforation of a bonded carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic composite panel by a high-velocity steel sphere: an experimental study. The Journal of Strain Analysis for Engineering Design, 45(6)
- Wilgeroth JM, Hazell PJ & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2010). The shock response of a rendered porcine fat. Journal of Applied Physics, 108(9)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Hazell PJ, Wilgeroth JM & Wood DC. (2010). On the interpretation of lateral manganin gauge stress measurements in polymers. Journal of Applied Physics, 108(3)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ & Hazell PJ. (2010). A study on the strength of an armour-grade aluminum under high strain-rate loading. Journal of Applied Physics, 107(12)
- Millett JCF, Bourne NK, Chu MQ, Jones IP, Gray GT, .... (2010). The role of aging on the mechanical and microstructural response of aluminum 6061 to one-dimensional shock loading. Journal of Applied Physics, 108(7)
- Hazell PJ, Beveridge C, Groves KHM & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2010). The shock compression of microorganism-loaded broths and emulsions: experiments and simulations. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 37(4)
- Hazell PJ, Appleby-Thomas GJ, Herlaar K & Painter J. (2010). Inelastic deformation and failure of tungsten carbide under ballistic-loading conditions. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 527(29-30)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Hazell PJ, Wilgeroth JM & Wood DC. (2010). On the interpretation of lateral manganin gauge stress measurements in polymers.
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Hazell PJ, Stennett C, Cooper G, Helaar K, .... (2009). Shock propagation in a cemented tungsten carbide. Journal of Applied Physics, 105(6)
- Appleby-Thomas GJ, Hazell PJ & Stennett C. (2009). The variation in lateral and longitudinal stress gauge response within an RTM 6 epoxy resin under one-dimensional shock loading. Journal of Materials Science, 44(22)
- Hazell PJ & Appleby-Thomas GJ. (2009). A study on the energy dissipation of several different CFRP-based targets completely penetrated by a high velocity projectile. Composite Structures, 91(1)
