Loughborough University is a top-ten rated university in England for research intensity (REF2014) and an outstanding 66% of the work of Loughborough’s academic staff who were eligible to be submitted to the REF was judged as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, compared to a national average figure of 43%. In choosing Loughborough for your research, you’ll work alongside academics who are leaders in their field. You will benefit from comprehensive support and guidance from our Doctoral College, including tailored careers advice, to help you succeed in your research and future career. Structural materials used in modern engineering applications are more than ever today subjected to extreme loading and environmental conditions. The development of large strains either during manufacturing or in operational conditions often leads to non-trivial deformation modes, such as localisations and microfractures, which are precursors to catastrophic failure. Besides geometrical factors, these events have their roots to the material microstructure. The accurate description and modelling of the mechanical behaviour in these settings is still a challenge for the understanding of materials’ failure and the design of structural components that operate under extreme conditions. The proposed research project aims at investigating the role of microstructure in the development of localised deformation modes in a class of lightweight metal alloys. The workplan consists of experimentation using state-of-the art monitoring techniques (micro-CT, Digital Image Correlation) that intends to quantify specific microstructural features that drive deformation at the microscale. In parallel, numerical codes at the crystalline level will be developed to incorporate the experimental information and predict the mechanical behaviour under different loading scenarios.