Scholarship Name: Carbonation Behaviour of Low-Clinker Cements
Closing Date: 2nd March 2012
Degree Level: PhD
Scholarship Type: UK/EU or International
Number available: 1
Tuition fees: Yes
Maintenance: £13,590
This 3 ½ year studentship is part of a larger Nanocem (www.nanocem.org) funded programme based at the University of Leeds, in collaboration with IFSTTAR (The French Institute of Science and Technology for Transport, Development and Networks) in Paris. Other partners are ZAG (the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute) in Ljubljana, the University of Lund and CSIC Eduardo Torroja in Madrid, together with industrial support. A complementary PhD will commence next year, based in Paris.
With a keen eye on reducing their carbon footprint, cement manufacturers are continually looking to reduce the clinker contents in cements. However, the speed of change is such that it presents problems with regards to our understanding of material performance. Furthermore, construction paradigms applicable to conventional CEM I systems, e.g. removal of formwork after one day, may not be applicable for binders containing large quantities of cement replacement materials, e.g. pfa of ggbs.
In such instances hydration will be far from complete and the microstructure will not be dense and impervious, but rather open, with a resultant loss of performance and allowing the ingress of aggressive species – affecting durability. Thus, there will be a complex interplay of continuing hydration, drying of the sample surface and phase carbonation.
Consequently, this project will investigate the phase assemblages, carbonation kinetics, micro- and macrostructure and transport properties of cement systems containing less than 50% clinker. As such, the student will be based in Leeds, concentrating on electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), NMR and XRD investigations. These studies will be complemented by use of the spectroscopic facilities at ZAG, i.e. Raman and ATR-FTIR to investigate early age carbonation products. The work will further be complemented by a prolonged visit to IFSTTAR probing sample pore structures and transport properties.
The project will suit students with backgrounds in chemistry, materials science, civil engineering or any similar discipline.
The studentship will fund tuition fees at either UK/EU level, or overseas rate for International students, and a tax free maintenance grant of £13,590 p/a for 3.5 years (subject to satisfactory performance).
How to Apply:
Formal applications for research degree study should be made on-line through the http://www.leeds.ac.uk/students/apply_research.htm. Please state clearly on the funding section of the application form that you wish to be considered for the ‘Carbonation Behaviour of Low-Clinker Cements’ studentship. In the research information section please state the name Dr Leon Black.
Minimum Academic Requirements (if English is not your first language, then candidates must also meet the University’s English language requirements):
A first or good upper second class honours degree (or equivalent from an overseas University) or a good performance in a Masters level course.
Any Additional Requirements: Note that the project will involve considerable European travel. Also, whilst not essential, knowledge of French (or willingness to learn) would be useful.
Name of School Contact: Dr Leon Black
Address: School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT
Tel: +44 (0)113 343 2283
Email: l.black@leeds.ac.uk
Web: www.engineering.leeds.ac.uk/civil/