Academic Year 2009/10 FYR Project Titles
Project selection procedure: (general procedure, most relevant to Civils and AEDM/CEM) To aid in your project selection please consider the following steps as a typical example: 1. Consider which areas of your course/experience you find interesting, stimulating and think that pursuing further knowledge is of interest to you. 2. READ the notes for guidance on the departmental web page under “Final Year Projects” carefully note the need to consider a project as “research” requiring the key aspect of “methodology” which requires planning and collecting relevant data. 3. Review the list of projects that academic staff offer, and look for a “match” to their interests with yours. This may flag up several staff. Alternatively, look through the list of project titles for the coming year and target several that you think are of interest to you. 4. Make an appointment to talk to the staff, one to one or by telephone. Where possible try to view a previous year’s project report to help give you an overview of the scope and detail. 5. Make sure you communicate further with the member of staff so that you are BOTH comfortable with the proposed title and then submit your form to the relevant administrator to register your selection. NOTE: Some staff fill their quota quickly, go to a meeting prepared to explain your interests and ideally try to make sure you understand how projects are assessed and thus how your ideas may fit into the “guidance” that must be followed. Available (Yes) (No) Academics Name/Title Austin, Simon. S.A.Austin@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2608 Design processes, modelling, integrated working and management techniques, information management, process re-engineering, value management and structural materials and their design. No Adaptable buildings – design and optimisation of flexible building geometries and customisable systems. Linked to EPSRC research project. See www.adaptablebuildings.com (Reserved for Tony Greenhill) Freeform construction – assessment of potential materials for 3D printing of construction products. Linked to current EPSRC research project. See www.freeformconstruction.co.uk Freeform construction – laboratory study of cementitious materials for novel deposition using a 3D extrusion machine. Linked to current EPSRC research project. See www.freeformconstruction.co.uk The conundrum of multidisciplinary working – an investigation of the realities of practice in multidisciplinary teams and how to enable more effective outcomes. Linked to new EPSRC research project. No Egan – what has he achieved? - Analysis of what the Egan reports have achieved in last 10 years and the implications for the future. Linked to Constructing Excellence Task Force work www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/aboutus/ and www.thebigideas.org.uk research project. (Reserved for Sunil Mistry: AEDM) Retrofitting Solid-wall Housing – investigation of techniques to improve the energy performance this critical category of the “hard to treat” building stock to reduce national CO2 emissions and associated economics. (Reserved for Simon Faulkner)
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Baldwin, Andrew. A.N.Baldwin@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2813 Building Information Modelling (Reserved for Daniel Russell AEDM)
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Bouchlaghem, Dino. N.M.Bouchlaghem@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 3775 Building Design; Computer Aided Design; Environmental Design; Energy Conservation; Procurement Methods; Design Management; Buildability; Building Defects; Refurbishment of Buildings. No Design Management within the Design and Build method of Procurement (Reserved for Michael Bradley: AEDM) Energy Conservation in Building Design (Reserved for Marina Ryan: AEDM) Building Design for Safety and Security (Reserved for Alex Friend: AEDM) Barriers to Sustainable Urban Assessment (Reserved for Masut Pala: AEDM) Air Leakage in Building Design (Reserved for Thomas Baker: AEDM) Sustainability in Renovation and Refurbishment projects (Reserved for Aimee Parkinson: AEDM)
No No No No No
Carrillo, Pat. P.M.Carrillo@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2634 Knowledge Management, Strategic Management, Mergers and Acquisition, Improving Business Performance, IT in Construction, and Construction Project Planning No No No No Women in Construction (Reserved for Natalie Curd) Building Information Modelling (Reserved for Oliver Small) Building Information Modelling: Issues for Construction (Reserved for Andrew Fisher) Learning from Exemplar Projects Investigating what makes construction projects have a successful outcome (Reserved for Omar ElBaroudy) Design and Construction of major Sports Stadia (Reserved for Owen Wilson: AEDM)
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Chandler, Jim. J.H.Chandler@lboro.ac.uk (01509) 22 2624 Mapping methods using photogrammetry; accuracy and application of automated digital photogrammetric methods to derive digital elevation models in Civil Engineering; 3D measurement using cheap digital cameras; ‘Windows’ programming (Visual Basic) to tackle various surveying problems; Surveying; photogrammetry; measurement; distortion; image processing; deformation monitoring; automated DEM acquisition; terrain modelling; survey computations. No Terrestrial Laser Scanner Using practical tests, assess the potential and limitations of a reflectorless terrestrial laser scanner. (Reserved for Tom Davis) Effectiveness of resection methods for providing control - engineers are increasingly using resections for setting out. Are there any dangers? (Reserved for Steven Butler)
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Continued/… Chandler, Jim. J.H.Chandler@lboro.ac.uk (01509) 22 2624 Surveying techniques for measuring terrain surfaces The distribution of datapoints is critical when creating digital elevation models (DEMs). Explore these issues and identify the constraints Photographic methods of measuring strain during concrete testing Develop image processing methods (Matlab) to measure crack formation experience during structural tests. Remotely sensed imagery and Civil Engineering A literature based study that identifies the role that remotely sensed imagery (aerial photography/satellite imagery) could have for the civil engineering and construction industries No “Windows” programming (Visual Basic) for land surveying (Reserved for Tony Barberis) Use of object oriented programming tools to solve a simple surveying problem Develop tools to assist the production of an accurate set of references from online reference sources Google Scholar and Web of Science provide easy access to online sources of academic literature. Can these be used to help academics/prospective authors to generate an accurate set of references?
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Demian, Peter. Email: P.Damien@lboro.ac.uk . Tel: (01509) 22 8541 Knowledge management and human-computer interaction in construction. Design-construction integration. Design management. Information technology for design collaboration and design management. All project titles open to AEDM/BEng & MEng Yes Part L of the Building Regulations This project would study Part L of the Building Regulations, which regulates building design so that buildings conserve fuel and power. Can information technology support the process of checking compliance with Part L? Can design tools be developed to design compliant buildings? No The use of project extranets for Project Management How can project extranets such as http://www.4projects.com/ be used to help manage the design and construction process? (Reserved for Robert Martin) Knowledge Management in Building Design This project would study the best ways to store, index and retrieve content produced during the design and construction process Information retrieval for managing construction documents Information retrieval is the study of search engines such as Google. How can such tools be developed or used to improve the finding and retrieval of construction documents from large project repositories Technology-rich Workspaces for Supporting Building Designers The project would explore how multiple desktop computers, display devices and hand-held mobile PDAs can all be networked together to create a technology-rich workspace where building designers can collaborate Managing Briefing and the Client’s Requirements This project would survey literature and IT tools to manage the briefing process during design and to track the evolution of the client’s requirements. No Co-ordination of design changes during constructions (Reserved for Reece Hollingsworth)
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Dickens, John. J.G.Dickens@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2614 Structural design; Structural analysis; Computers in design and analysis of structures; Computer Aided Learning; Lightweight structures; Design of concrete, masonry, timber, steel and aluminium structures; Laboratory testing of structural materials/components.
Dixon, Neil. N.Dixon@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 8542 Geotechnical engineering of landfill facilities, including the stability and integrity of lining systems and mechanical properties of municipal solid waste; and Slope instability, including the development of acoustic emission instrumentation, landslide failure mechanisms. Other research interests include performance of synthetic sports surfaces, leak detection and location in plastic pipes, design and performance of rotary displacement piles. No Acoustic Emission Monitoring of Soil Behaviour/Rail Alarms When soil is deformed it produces noise (acoustic emission). This can be related to the rate of strain of soil and the mechanism of deformation. A research project has recently been completed to develop an acoustic emission monitoring system to detect soil slope failure. This project is to apply the existing monitoring equipment to investigate soil behaviour in common laboratory tests (i.e. shear box, consolidation, CBR). The potential use of the technique for providing additional information on soil behaviour will be investigated. (Reserved for Tom Fuller) Measurement of MSW Shear Behaviour Design of landfill facilities requires knowledge of waste shear strength. Following on from the work of previous project students on shear behaviour of MSW, a novel rotary device will be developed for measuring shear strength. Experiments will use clean synthetic wastes that have been developed in previous studies. A test procedure will be developed and tests conducted. Performance of the device (i.e. measured shear strengths) will be compared to previous tests on the same materials carried out using conventional devices. (Reserved for Luke Clarke) Efficiency of Piles (Reserved for Ben Gilson)
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Dijkstra, Tom T.A.Dijkstra@lboro.ac.uk. Tel: (01509) 22 8737 The development of plausible narratives describing slope stability responses to climate change (Reserved for A Baker) Global Warming and its effects on the Subsidence of Structures (Reserved for Dan Drake) The potential use of UKCP09 forecasts for the computer-based modelling of slope failures (Reserved for Michael Dalton) Electrical resistivity responses to mineralogical variations in soil Electrical resistivity responses to soil water chemistry variations Electrical resistivity variations in triaxial tests – characterisation of shear zones Electrical resistivity and soil density variations using modified Proctor moulds 3D Grid Veneer Reinforcements
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Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Coastal slopes stability and possible effects of Climate Change (Reserved for Matt Wearmouth)
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Edwards, David. D.J.Edwards@lboro.ac.uk. Tel: (01509) 22 2630 Plant and equipment management (including: operator training, finance, production studies, maintenance management, health and safety, electronic document management, computational intelligence, etc). Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Excavators used as cranes Excavator quick hitch safety Reducing dust at work Reducing noise at work Mapping the changing trends in the use of mechanical plant and equipment Managing hand-arm vibration The safe use of chemicals on construction projects
Edum-Fotwe, Francis. F.T.Edum-Fotwe@lboro.ac.uk. Tel: (01509) 22 3776 Re-work , projects, bench-marking, performance improvement and quality
El-Hamalawi, Ashraf A.El-hamalawi@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 3206 -Numerical modelling of static and dynamic soil-structure interaction and wave propagation. -Modelling of contamination within the ground. -Incorporating Internet/web-based technology into the construction industry. - Looking at various security measures taken to secure buildings and protect against attacks -.The Development and use of Computer-Aided Learning (CAL) Software in undergraduate geotechnics teaching. -Looking at IT technologies such as wireless networking and VoIP to improve communication and collaboration in the construction industry. Development of a sustainable, container-based temporary shelter system for the army in forward operating bases (in conjunction with the Royal Engineers) (Reserved for Charlotte Robinson) Development of an interactive finite element educational program using Matlab Script, Java or Vbasic The finite element method is one of the most popular methods used by the engineering community. A basic subset of the finite element method is taught in structures (the stiffness method), and then the general finite element method is taught in more detail during the final year. This project aims to produce a program, whether written to run under matlab, or java/Vbasic, which would demonstrate graphically the various stages of the finite element method, in a step-by-step manner, in order to improve the understanding of the method by both undergraduates and practising engineers. A basic form of the method has been written in matlab and this can be adapted, or another programming language used to write it. Several problems will then be used to validate and test the code.(Reserved for Developing either Matlab or pda applications for engineering Various engineering calculations and processes exist in engineering where automation would speed things up, whether on site or in an office. This project involves investigating what engineering processes/tasks on site or in a construction office could be made more efficient by having on a pc, or being portable on site, and then writing engineering applications to run under matlab or on a pda. You will need some prior knowledge of matlab, or a pda programming language (e.g. java), or the willingness to learn. Two previous projects have been done in this area. (Reserved for
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Continued/… El-Hamalawi, Ashraf A.El-hamalawi@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 3206 Investigating the risk of terrorism against structures and methods of reducing this risk Three final year projects have been done in the past to model the risks against various structures due to attacks, using the finite element methods. This project aims to identify which structures are at risk and the degree of risk against them. Typical scenarios will be modelled, followed by modelling protective measures in order to find out their effectiveness. (Reserved for Use of Geotechnical-structural numerical modelling software in the construction industry Several commercial and in-house numerical packages are used in the construction industry to model geotechnical/structural engineering problems. The decision-making process that a company undergoes in order to procure the right software is usually dependent on a lot of factors, and is a very important part of any company’s strategy to solve complex geotechnical problems not solvable by traditional analysis/design methods. This project will involve identifying these factors, followed by a survey of the various software packages used in the industry. The factors will then be statistically analysed in depth, and conclusions drawn in order to optimise the selection process for companies. (Reserved for Any computer-related geotechnical or structural engineering project Any computer-related geotechnical or structural project. Alternatively, a project involving numerically modelling (e.g. using the finite element method) the geotechnical/structural behaviour of a problem you have encountered during your industrial year that has interested you. (Reserved for Security measures for buildings A project has been done in conjunction with the police on measures to be taken in securing residential buildings. This can be extended to other types of buildings, looking at the cost aspects of the latter, ways of incorporating the findings into buildings, etc. (Reserved for N Hardy) Use of wireless networks and/or VoIP in improving collaboration and communication in the construction industry A research project has been done on the use of VoIP and wireless networks to improve communication in construction projects. Several avenues of extending this work are available. (Reserved for Use of IT technologies in automating houses Several technologies exist to automate the basic functions of a house. This project will look at these technologies, and look at ways of practically implementing them, incorporating them from a construction point of view, and problems associated with the latter. (Reserved for Design of improved street furniture and vehicle parapets during impact Current street furniture and parapets, whether on local roads or motorways, tend to cause major damage to vehicles and occupants in a crash, with little effect on bringing the car to a halt in some cases. The aim of this project is to investigate ways of improving the design of one or more items of street furniture/vehicle parapets, and then model it using the finite element method and investigating any improvement on safety. (Reserved for Ian Frost)
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El-Rimawi Jamal J.A.El-Rimawi@lboro.ac.uk Tel : (01509) 22 2609 Computing; Structural Analysis; CAL Software development, Stiffness Matrix method, Moment Distribution method; Semi-rigid structures; Effect of fire on steel frames; F.E. Analysis of Composite Floors; Engineering data structures. No No No Behaviour of New Timber Framing Systems (Reserved for Lindsey Fletcher) Behaviour of Sea Structural in Fire (Reserved for Min Qi) Title TBC (Reserved for Ashley Briggs)
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Continued/… El-Rimawi Jamal J.A.El-Rimawi@lboro.ac.uk Tel : (01509) 22 2609 Emmitt, Stephen. S.Emmitt@lboro.ac.uk. Tel: (01509) 222815 Design management in AEC, communication and integrated working, architectural detailing, specification decisions, client briefing lean design management, values/people-based approaches to integration, management of architectural practices, diffusion of innovations. No No Design for Manufacture and Assembly (Reserved for Crystal Gray: AEDM) Young development plan for construction design managers (Reserved for Joseph Salazar: AEDM) The Sustainable Design Manager (Reserved for Stuart Robertson: AEDM) Co-ordination of design changes during construction (Reserved for Hamzah Al-saket: AEDM) Sustainable Design (Reserved for Noreen Shihab: AEDM) Integrated approaches to Design Management (Reserved for Giles Prior: AEDM) Design Management and Sustainable Strategies (Reserved for Haman Muhmood: AEDM)
No No No No No
Fleming, Paul. P.R.Fleming@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2616 Pavements: (Foundation) Design and performance; in situ testing methods/assessment; elastic stiffness; rutting; sub-surface drainage; granular material behaviour; use of recycled materials, bituminous behaviour; compliance testing. Tunnelling in soft ground: ground movements and stability. Artificial sports pitch engineering No Geotechnical aspects of Highway Foundation Design and Field/Laboratory Testing This project looks at performance of materials, granular, clays and other lightly bound through the use dynamic plate devices, such as the Light Weight Deflectometer for measuring the insitu stiffness. The testing requirements may include the use of buried pressure cells, mapping stress and strain distribution in the laboratory, comparing devices and fieldwork if allowable. This could be split into two projects. (Reserved for Richard Scrivener) Engineering behaviour of the (rubber) infill in long-pile synthetic football and rugby pitches To use a variety of test methods, lab and field, to help determine the consistency, spatial variability and influences on pitch system behaviour of the rubber infill properties and their packing (density) and effects of ageing and water and maintenance. Instrumentation of the carpets or substrate may be included. This could be split into two projects (Reserved for Ian Murray(Rugby))(Reserved for Dean Shelley (Football)) To investigate the behaviour of recycled rubber and other infill materials such as thermoplastics, utilised in artificial sports pitch systems (recycled truck and car tyres) Laboratory based project, possibly limited fieldwork also. Evaluate the combined effect of carpet and shockpad samples in their ability to absorb energy, compression behaviour and energy recovery, and the influences of aspects relating to wear. A simple mathematical model may be developed to explain the behaviour. (2 separate projects are possible) To investigate the player perception of synthetic sport surfaces for hockey, football or rugby and contrast to other surfaces and/or natural turf. To primarily include interviews and questionnaires This project will help establish a suitable routine method for feedback from training or competition on artificial and natural turf sport surfaces To investigate the management of water, drainage and water quality for artificial sports fields, and – based on fieldwork on campus – assess risks associated with flooding contamination or infection. Page 7
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Continued/… Fleming, Paul. P.R.Fleming@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2616 Investigation of IMPACT Test Devices for sport surfaces (and similar systems). Several standard tests exist for assessing the impact response of sport surfaces for football, rugby, tennis, running and sports hall floors. This project will look at the structural behaviour of the systems in response to dynamic loads. The standard test apparatus is available and the use of force plates, pressure pads and other transducers is envisaged to evaluate the test methods. The modification of one simple method is also envisaged to provide a simpler portable alternative to the sports industry standard cumbersome test method.) Test devices Berlin artificial athlete and Clegg Hammer). Could be divided into two projects. No Sustainable alternative materials for pavement construction (Reserved for James Hodgson)
Frost, Matthew. M.W.Frost@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 8306 Pavement Engineering/Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS)/Railway Engineering, and Trackbed Behaviour No Transport Related Noise Intrusion One of main issues with transport is noise pollution, this project is to evaluate various sources of transport noise to compare them and look at there cause and mitigation measures, linking this back to perceived intrusiveness of the sources. The project will include field work to measure and evaluate noise from various sources (Reserved for Olivia Perkins) Looking at GPR Evaluation of Pavements (Reserved for Phil Ewins) Urban Transport (Reserved for Richard Smith) Railway Tracks (Reserved for Tom Nicolson) Sustainable Drainage of Sports Pitches (Reserved for Nick Danes) Triaxial Testing for Road Pavement Design No Opposition to Infrastructure Schemes (Reserved for Lorissa Rosam)
No No No No Yes
Glass, Jacqui. J.Glass@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 8738 Process mapping & management/procurement systems for construction. Knowledge capture from construction projects. Environmental & sustainability issues associated with materials specification, building design, construction and occupancy. Innovation & best practice in structural frames (reinforced concrete, precast concrete & hybrid construction & architectural cladding). Attitudes towards innovation, best practice & sustainability in construction. No No No No Zero carbon building (Reserved for Benjamin Adams, AEDM) Off-site prefabrication for Railway Platforms (Reserved for Thomas Beeby, AEDM) Is natural ventilation practicable in a City Centre Environment? (Res for Helen Corkett, AEDM) Implementation of Sustainable building techniques within refurbishment projects (Reserved for Nipun Ekanayake, AEDM) Glass, Jacqui. J.Glass@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 8738 The impact of off-site construction on post-construction defects (Reserved for Ashley Garford, AEDM) An assessment of the effectiveness of site waste management plans (Reserved for Graham Thornton, AEDM) The impact of the considerate constructors scheme on the UK Construction Industry (Reserved for Rob Campbell, AEDM) Page 8
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Final Year Research Project
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Mackenzie, Julian. J.mackenzie@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 8794 The Restoration of Historic Buildings (Reserved for Richard Chambers) Building Design: How secure is student accommodation? (Reserved for Tom Goodall) Title to be confirmed (Reserved by Will Sharp)
No
Osmani, Mohamed. M.Osmani@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 8155 An investigation into innovation within sustainable construction (Reserved for Daniel Davis: AEDM) An investigation into Sustainable Housing Design: Opportunities and Challenges (Reserved for Philip Davies: AEDM) A gap analysis of Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) compliance and implementation (Reserved for Sarah-Jane Holmes: AEDM) Impact of offsite-construction on building waste reduction (Reserved for Andonis Pazourou: AEDM) Sustainable building design collaboration: current practice, opportunities and challenges (Reserved for Naomi Gordon: AEDM) An investigation into innovation in sustainable housing (Reserved for Edwin Peek: AEDM)
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Raoof, Mohammed. M.Raoof@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2610 Pipeline buckling; Dynamics of cables; Fatigue of cables; Constitutive relationships for concrete; Damaged beams; Repair and maintenance of concrete structures. No Effect of variations in the type of aggregates on the true tensile strength of high strength concrete. For determining the true uniaxial tensile strength of high strength concrete, simple correction factors have been proposed by Raoof and his associates, which should be applied to the results based on the cylinder splitting and modulus of rupture tests. However, the validity of these correction factors has only been checked for concrete mixes containing 10mm crushed granite, as coarse aggregates. The purpose of the present project is to carry out a series of cylinder splitting and modulus of rupture tests using concrete mixes containing 20mm river gravel (as coarse aggregate) in order to see whether the previously proposed correction factors are equally valid for high strength concrete mixes with other (i.e. 20mm river gravel) types of aggregate. (Reserved for William Fallon) Effect of variations in the age at testing on the true tensile strength of high strength concrete. The validity of the previously proposed correction factors of Raoof and his associates, which should be applied to results based on the cylinder splitting and modulus of rupture tests on high strength concrete, in order to determine its true tensile strength, has only been verified for cases when the tests on cylinder and modulus of rupture specimens have been carried out at an age after casting of 14 days. The purpose of the present project is to carry out a series of cylinder splitting and modulus rupture tests on high strength concrete mixes with 10mm crushed granite as coarse aggregate, at an age of 28 days, in order to check as to whether the age of specimens at the time of testing has any influence on the validity of the previously proposed correction factors. (Reserved for Edward Lea)
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Final Year Research Project
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Continued/… Raoof, Mohammed. M.Raoof@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2610 Effect of Exposed Mesh Steel within Shear Span The purpose of the present project is to measure the ultimate strength of R.C. beams with exposed main steel located within their shear span. In particular, the effect of variations in the extent of exposure of the main steel on the beam’s ultimate strength is to be investigated. To this end, in total, five beams are to be cast and tested, with one beam having no exposed steel (to be used as a control specimen) and the other four beams having different lengths of exposed main steel within their shear span. (Reserved for Ben Freeman) Effect of Exposed Mesh Steel within Shear Span The purpose of the present project is to measure the ultimate strength of R.C. beams with exposed main steel located within their shear span. In particular, the effect of variations in the extent of exposure of the main steel on the beam’s ultimate strength is to be investigated. To this end, in total, five beams are to be cast and tested, with one beam having no exposed steel (to be used as a control specimen) and the other four beams having different lengths of exposed main steel within their shear span. (Reserved for Stuart Bale) Determination of the restrained bending fatigue life of spiral strands. Spiral strands are used extensively in cable supported bridges and guyed masts. Due to aerodynamic loading and/or traffic movements, these cables undergo cyclic bending and suffer from bending fatigue at their terminations. Raoof has developed a simple method for predicting the bending fatigue life of spiral strands at their terminations. The purpose of the present project is to investigate the effect of variations in the geometrical properties of spiral strands on their bending fatigue life. (Reserved for Adrian Milne) Restrained bending fatigue prediction of spiral strands (Reserved for Maia Stride) Simple correction factors for the Traditional Concrete Cylinder splitting Test Formula (Reserved for Farhan H Hisham)
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Ruikar, Kirti K.D.Ruikar@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 223774 ICT’s in Construction, KM, E-commerce and E-business, E-readiness, Business Process Reengineering, Collaboration, Technology Strategies No The Psychological effect of the Working Environment on Productivity (Reserved for Greg Wood) Strategies for effective Refurbishment of Grade 1 Listed Buildings (Reserved for Keiron Williams) Utilisation of BIM (Building Information Modelling) in Construction Organisations (Jointly supervised with Andrew Baldwin & Kirti Ruikar (Reserved for Dickson Pang)
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Graham Sander. G.Sander@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 3777 Mathematical modelling of soil erosion, Unsaturated flow of water through soils, Contaminant transport through an unsaturated flow field, Mathematics of nonlinear diffusion-convection equations No Determining potential risks from virus migration across agricultural fields (Reserved for Natacha Keng Pu Chong) Scott, Cecil. C.F.Scott@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2629 Tidal mixing; tidal trapping, shear dispersion; pollutant discharges; estuary classification; vertical mixing; stratification; estuarine circulation; tidal estuaries; numerical hydrodynamic models; chaotic stirring; mixing processes; water quality modelling; particle tracking; reservoir dynamics; coastal dynamics; sediment transport modelling; air-sea interaction; environmental fluid dynamics, water quality instrumentation, field and laboratory investigations.
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Continued/… Scott, Cecil. C.F.Scott@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2629 Circulation Modelling/Contaminant Dispersion
Modern shock-capturing methods for the numerical solution of hyperbolic systems including the St. Venant or shallow water equations has been the subject of intensive research over the past decade. The evolutionary process has meant that well-established commercial and public domain packages, such as ISIS, MIKE 3, etc, are unable to compete with these newer methods. I have available a shallow water solver written in JAVA, a modern object-oriented programming language, which solves the shallow water equations on a triangular mesh. There are a number of possibilities: (1) it could be used to model the circulation in estuaries and/or coastal seas including the fate of contaminants from an outfall, given the tidal signals at the open boundaries; alternately, (2) it could be used to model the dynamics of hydraulic jumps and thus could be combined with a suitable laboratory experiment. You will gain an in-depth knowledge of Java, understand how object-oriented programming works and gain familiarity with software engineering practice. You will lean how to apply boundary conditions, generate the output, interpret the results and verify model output with observations. This area is the subject of active research among a number of PhD students I supervise.
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Air-lift Pump Compressed gas is sometimes used for transferring liquid from one position to another in a chemical plant, but more particularly for emptying vessels. It is frequently more convenient to apply pressure by means of compressed gas rather than to install a pump, particularly when the liquid is corrosive or contains solids in suspension. Several devices have been developed to eliminate the necessity for manual operation of valves, and the automatic acid elevator is an example of equipment incorporating such a device. The air-lift pump makes more efficient use of the compressed air and is used for pumping corrosive liquids. Although it is not extensively used in the chemical industry, it is used for pumping oil from wells. There are a number of important applications of the air-lift pump in the process industry due to its simplicity. It is particularly useful for handling radioactive materials as there are no mechanical parts in contact with the fluid, and the pump will operate virtually indefinitely without the need for maintenance which can prove very difficult when handling radioactive liquids. This laboratorybased project will look at the mechanics and design of such pumps. Coastal Engineering Wave Refraction (multiple availability) One way of assessing the impact of waves impinging along a coastline is to trace the path taken by orthogonals to a deep-water wave front as it propagates shoreward. In shallower waters, waves are refracted by the bathymetry which can lead to a focussing of waves in high energy areas. In addition, the angle of incidence at the shoreline can provide some indication of beach stability. Choose a coastal holiday destination (in the UK preferably), generate a bathymetric grid from a hydrographic chart, obtain information on the typical water wave amplitudes and directions (aerial photos may be useful here) and analyse the results using a ray tracing computer program. The software can be used in conjunction with coastal erosion/reclamation studies that the student already may have in mind. (Current takers: Alex Graff & Nick Bunford) Reservoir Dynamics There are many cases of fluid bodies in the environment that exhibit vertical stratification. The oceanic thermocline, the estuarine salt wedge and water stored in reservoirs are some examples. How do they become stratified? How are they mixed? This project looks at deriving an energy budget for the water column by considering the potential energy locked in the stratification and how for example wind and bottom stirring drives the mixing process. A laboratory experiment will be designed and performed whereby vertical mixing induced by an oscillating grid at the surface of a two-layer stratified tank is observed. The aim will be to show how the turbulence generated by the oscillating grid at the surface erodes the halocline and to quantify the process using energy arguments. The laboratory experiment will be supplemented with java computer code that simulates the process using a number of established turbulence models. This will allow you to compare theory with experiment.
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Continued/… Scott, Cecil. C.F.Scott@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2629 Bubble Plumes in a Stratified Water Column Most bodies of water in the natural environment are density stratified to some extent by either temperature or dissolved chemicals or a combination of both. This stratification is a function of available solar energy, wind mixing, cooling at night and inflows and outflows. A sharp thermocline forms a barrier to many physical and chemical processes. Often transfer at the surface is a slow process and oxygen produced by photosynthesis occurs only in the surface layer penetrated by the light. Any organic matter that sinks to the lower layers decomposes in a reaction that uses any available dissolved oxygen. Once the oxygen is used up the biological reactions become anaerobic. Anaerobic reactions transpire Hydrogen Sulphide and Nitrogen nutrients. If the water column remains stratified long enough for these reactions to saturate the lower layer with H 2S and nutrients and then during winter the lake mixes entirely (due to cold air at the lake surface) the water will become smelly and the nutrients combined with aerated water will enable growth of algal blooms. While this is often a natural cycle is not particularly desirable and may have dangerous consequences. Therefore a need to keep the water column well mixed exists. There are a number of methods currently being studied, one of these is the bubble plume. The aim is to study the behaviour of a bubble plume in a stratified environment with attention to the efficiency of the plume as a destratifying mechanism. Selective Withdrawal The thermocline in thermally stratified reservoirs acts as a barrier to the vertical transport of physical and biological variables and separates the sometimes anoxic bottom hypolimnetic waters from the aerobic surface epilimnetic waters. To maintain supply water quality reservoirs are usually fitted with several out-takes at different levels with the operations manager selecting the outlet that provides water of a sufficiently high quality for further treatment and ultimate distribution. However, if the withdrawal rate is too severe, depending on the degree of stratification, drawdown of the free surface can result. This leads to pump-related problems. In this laboratory-based project the task will be to investigate experimentally this drawdown phenomenon and to establish criteria which determines when drawdown will occur. The State of the Art in Climate Modelling. This project will look at the modelling and numerical modelling techniques used to model the Earth’s climate and to predict future climate change. It will look at the basic physical description of the climate system (atmosphere, ocean, sea ice and their interaction), the basic methods of solving the model equations, and examples of present-day simulations provided courtesy of the Hadley Centre. No Long-term economic viability of a Severn barrage: taking into account various climate change predictions which impact sea level changes, tidal ranges and estuary flooding. (Reserved for Paul Cook)
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Shiono, Koji. K.Shiono@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2936 Bank erosion; sediment transport rates in rivers. Flood alleviation; protection of river. Mathematical models; physical models; estimation of stage-discharge at high stage; computer modelling of river flows at high-stage. Tidal flow in harbours; investigating mixing processes in sea water and fresh waster in estuaries; experimental model to create density (sea water) stratified flow; internal waves. Pollutant transport in rivers and estuaries. No Turbulence measurement in open channel with trees Measurement of turbulence will be conducted in a laboratory flume to collect turbulence and boundary shear stress. With these data, find out the influence of drag force due to trees on boundary shear stress. The boundary shear is very important for sediment and pollutant transport. (Reserved for Hardik Dattani) Secondary flow measurement in open channel with vegetation on the bank To investigate an effect of secondry flow with and without vegetation on river banks, secondary flow measurement will be carried out using Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry )ADV) in a laboratory flume. Vegetation significantly reduces a conveyance of flow which means an increase in flow resistance, i.e. Manning coefficient increases. Find out additional flow resistance due to vegetation. (Reserved for Abdul Ghumra) Page 12
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Continued/… Shiono, Koji. K.Shiono@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2936 Flow characteristics in skewed channel with trees for flooding Flooding flow can enter a river with a skewed angle and causes intensive mixing by the floodplain flow, which increases flow resistance in the river. This changes stage-discharge rating curve substantially hence a better understanding is required for flood managements (Reserved for David Wong) Turbulence measurement in river bends Turbulence depends on bed roughness and vegetation on river banks. The magnitude of turbulence determines flow resistance and water level as well as the magnitude of secondary currents. This project is to measure turbulence with Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry (ADV). The data collected from ADV will be analysed in determining flow resistance (Reserved for Gary Gaughan) Stage and Discharge Estimation for Natural Rivers Contact with th Environment Agency to discuss their flow gauging stations in rivers and decide which gauging station to study flow measurement techniques. Large scale Particle Image Velocimetry (LSPIV) may be used to compare with EA gauging techniques and discuss accuracy of the techniques (Reserved for X Luo) Modelling of flooding rivers Collect river bathymetries and energy slopes in rivers from the environment Agency to model velocity and boundary shear stress. Calibration of flow parameters with E.A. data within a model used leads to understand flow resistance in rivers, hence accurate prediction of stage-discharge rating curves for river management (Reserved for Y Tai) Flow River Stage Discharge (Reserved for Hao Wang)
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Wheatley, Andrew. A.D.Wheatley@lboro.ac.uk or c.a.barton@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2626/2637 Water treatment, hazardous wastes; solids liquid separation; highway run-off; wastewater treatment. No The Environmental Impact of Diffuse Urban Pollutants Measurements and mitigation of diffuse pollutants. Examples would be atmospheric fall out, e.g. nitrogen fall out from increased biomass burning, acid rain, traffic pollutants and construction and building materials (metals and plastics, Sick carbuilding syndromes). Tests on pollution control devices to include improvements to existing equipment, examples might be gulleys, filters, SUDS, biotreatment and sedimentation (Sponsors: Kingspan, Polypipe, Scott Wilson). (Reserved for Daniel Callear) Treatment Works Design (Priority Pollutants) Designing water treatment works, performance for the removal of priority pollutants. Adsorption and deterioration in distribution, waste water design removal of newly emergent pollutants, e.g. nanoparticles, metals, phosphorus and nitrogen. Tests on innovative design for example membrane, multiredox, e.g. Derby and Buxton. (Sponsors: Water Utilities and Pick Everard). (Reserved for Jonathan Stubley) Restoration of Contaminated Brown Field Sites for Reconstruction Identification procedures to differentiate the degree of hazard, e.g. red list, black risk. Novel treatment procedures, e.g. soil washing, molecular sieves, reactive barriers, biochemical treatment modelling (shared with Graham Sander) (Reserved for Alex Harrington-Burnett)
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Continued/… Wheatley, Andrew. A.D.Wheatley@lboro.ac.uk or c.a.barton@lboro.ac.uk Tel: (01509) 22 2626/2637 Sustainable Water Management using modern materials (Environmental impact of novel Sports Surfaces) (in conjunction with Dr Paul Fleming) Environmental performance of artificial sports surfaces. Leaching of pollutants, water balance and possible pathogen reservoirs within the surface. Environmental impact of materials used in maintaining the surfaces (Reserved for Michael Eager).
Potentially Toxic Elements in Highway Run Environmental impact of runoff from highways and track beds. Impact of brakes, tyres, hydrocarbons and pesticides. Predictions of extra problems with climate change, potential of new SUDS and materials (Sponsors: Highways Agency and Swiss Rail) (Reserved for Matthew Holland) Climate Change and Runoff (A comparison between Green, Brown and Control roofs) Aim is to determine how well roof designs, soakaways and paved areas will cope with climate change, systems for water retention such as green roofs, rainwater harvesting, hydrobrakes. Changes in water quality, analysis of meterological archive and prediction of effect of increased storm intensity (Sponsors; Environment Agency with Geography and Microdrainage). (Reserved for Nathan George)
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Renewable Energy from Waste Gasification of waste biomass, algae, weed and food processing wastes. Objective: Laboratory experiments on generating methane from these biomass waste products, optimising production by pre-treatment, physical biological comparisons and with the literature. (Reserved for Adam Hamblin) Appropriate methodologies for calculating run off from mineral extraction sites (Reserved for Katherine Wright) Projects from the Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) If you are considering any of these titles, it is advised that you plan to take (or have taken) either (or both) the modules “Civil Engineering in Developing Countries” and/ or “Emergency Water Supply and Sanitation”. If you are interested in any of these titles, please discuss them with Brian Reed (HH20a) in the first place, although eventual project supervision will be by any member of the WEDC team. These titles are only indicative – if you are travelling to a low-income country over the summer, you may want to discuss a topic to fit in with any visit.
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Appropriate procurement procedures (Supervised by Andrew Cotton & Reserved for Lewis Bridgman) Low cost sanitation and biogas (Biogas Energy Production) (Reserved for Daniel Buxton) De-sludging tanks after assisted sedimentation Environmental impact of emergency water treatment A pump with no moving parts - The Pulser Pump Evaluation of some devices used with domestic rainwater catchment systems Appropriate asset management – what can developing countries learn from the UK water industry? Assessing household water treatment
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History of water supplies in the UK – how did people get connected? (Supervised by Brian Reed & Reserved for a Clare) Design and use of water containers Attitudes to the use of temporary shared toilets in an emergency (using UK festivals as a case study) Media reporting of developing country water and sanitation Page 14
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Continued/… Projects from the Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) Alternatives to pit latrine emptying/ reducing the frequency of emptying Removing sediment from urban drains Disposal of menstrual waste Ethics in water and sanitation provision The use of natural herbs and plants for water treatment Measuring the impact of emergency water supply and sanitation interventions Supporting families cut off by floods Responding to women's personal hygiene needs in emergencies Review of the viability of ecosan in emergencies. Simplified assessment techniques for groundwater contamination from pit latrines Infrastructure constructed by unskilled builders Corruption in Engineering Corruption in Engineering Partnered procurement, public and private organizations working together Sustainability - myth or reality Project financing and credit crunch Direct subsidies for sanitation Logistics in emergency responses Comparison of travellers’ drinking water filter/ treatment systems. Handwashing materials - are they effective? Attitudes to the use of compost latrines in the UK Do we drink sufficient water? Student survey You may also find some interesting ideas on the “Engineers without Borders” website: http://ewb-uk.org/research/fullproposals This is a student run body promoting engineering in low-income countries.
Final Year Research Project
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