About the Project
PhD projects in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Engineering, Water & Environmental Engineering and Environmental Engineering in association with the International Water Security Network IWSN and the Department of Civil Engineering, Aston University Birmingham.
Contaminants released in wet weather conditions from diffuse sources are transported hydraulically in urban drainage systems from various modes, depending on their fractionation between liquid and solid phases. Specifically, contaminants can be transported in the form of dissolved or suspended load, or bedload. The hydraulic transport phenomena are not continuous, because the transport capacity varies along the flow path depending on flow characteristics. Contaminants transported in the particulate phase may deposit within drainage system sections with low velocities or storage, or during low-flow phase of runoff. The settling of particulates will be reflected in an improved quality of stormwater, but such improvements may be just temporary, as rising flows will result in solids scouring and wash out from sewers. On the other hand, the dissolved phase transport is unimpeded by such conditions, but would be subject to potential dilution by less contaminated stormwater. Besides the hydraulics and mixing aspects, the transport is also influenced by the substance chemodynamics, determining its water/sediment partitioning.
This PhD project develops modelling concepts of contaminant transports within various transport modes and evaluating the dynamics of contaminants within Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). The research project will contribute to new areas of knowledge on the transport processes which contributes to the characterisations of stormwater flows and treatability with SuDS. The successful candidate for this PhD position will focus on hydraulics, fluid flow and transport mechanisms of emerging contaminants within SuDS.
Entry Requirements
Applicants should have a minimum of a 2.1 degree in Engineering (Agricultural, Biosystems, Chemical, Civil, Environmental, Mechanical, Industrial, Process, Utilities Engineering) or Natural Sciences (Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Science) and a Masters degree in a relevant subject area (Chemical and Process Engineering, Civil Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Environmental Science and Management, Water and Environmental Management, Renewable Energy Technology). Typical Duration of PhD (3 years)
Funding Notes
These PhD projects are offered on a self-funding basis with the possibility of 50 % tuition feed scholarships for exceptional candidates. It is open to International applicants with funding or those applying to funding sources.