Overview
This is a four-year (1+3 MRes/PhD) studentship funded through the Cambridge EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Infrastructure and Built Environment: Unlocking Net Zero (FIBE3 CDT). The project is in collaboration with Network Rail, and aims to advance research and innovation in infrastructure and built environment to enhance efficiency, safety and sustainability.
The project is funded in collaboration with Network Rail, the entity responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Great Britain’s railway infrastructure, and is fully committed to advancing research and innovation in the field of infrastructure and built environment to enhance efficiency, safety and sustainability.
Responsibilities
* Investigate how continued desiccation cycles on embankments steepen embankment slopes and determine whether embankments fail by rotation, translation, or a combination of both.
* Assess the risk of catastrophic failure of embankments.
* Identify when embankments are most at risk: immediately after wetting up, or after long saturation periods over winter.
* Examine how the drying out of alluvium beneath the embankment causes deterioration of the track on top, and identify the failure mechanism through the embankment and whether cyclical desiccation risks the embankment’s ability to support the track.
* Utilise experimental facilities including beam centrifuge model testing and numerical analysis, together with analysis of field data obtained by Network Rail.
For project-specific enquiries please email Professor Stuart Haigh (skh20@cam.ac.uk). For general enquiries, please email cdtcivil-courseadmin@eng.cam.ac.uk.
Qualifications and experience
* Applicants should have (or expect to obtain by the start date) at least a high 2.1 degree, preferably at Master’s level, in Civil Engineering.
* A strong interest in Geotechnical Engineering and experimental work is desirable.
Funding and eligibility
Fully funded studentships (fees and maintenance) are available for eligible home students in the first instance. A limited number of international students can be considered for funding at a later stage in the recruitment process.
Further details about eligibility and funding can be found at: UKRI ESRC funding for postgraduate training, Cambridge postgraduate finance pages, and Cambridge Trust scholarships.
Application process
Applications should be made online via the University of Cambridge Applicant Portal: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egegpdfib, stating project title and supervisor’s name. Please note there is a £20 application fee. Early applications are strongly encouraged as an offer may be made before the stated deadline.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
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