EPSRC FIBE3 CDT PhD Studentship with Tracey Concrete: Next Generation Low-carbon Crack-resistant Precast Shaft and Tunnel Segments

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). Further details can be found at https://www.net-zero-fibe-cdt.eng.cam.ac.uk/

This project is funded in collaboration with Tracey Concrete, a leading precast manufacturer extending its tunnelling range from jacking pipes and cover slabs into shaft segments and seeking to introduce lower-carbon materials while improving the performance and durability of its products. Precast manufacturing is a key modern method of construction that enables efficient and low-carbon fabrication under factory-controlled conditions that optimise material mix designs, energy use and curing conditions.

Tunnels and shafts, typically 5-25m in diameter, are commonly constructed from a series of interconnected segments. Such shaft segments undergo a demanding manufacturing process as well as aggressive application environments. They are cast in low-workability mixes, demoulded, lifted and handled at an early age, and assembled into rings that must meet millimetre-level dimensional tolerances and remain watertight in aggressive ground and groundwater conditions throughout the service life of the asset. Reducing embodied carbon requires greater use of alternative binder blends and alternatives to steel fibre reinforcement, but neither can be adopted if it leads to increased cracking, length change or surface defects.

The project will investigate a range of commercially available and emerging low-carbon binder blends together with sustainable fibres and advanced additives and admixtures to explore the potential for developing low-carbon crack-resistant concrete mixes for the prefabrication of shaft and tunnel segments. Control of early-age volume change is central. The additives and admixtures will be investigated for their potential to compensate for these changes and reduce the risk of cracking without adversely affecting strength, watertightness or long-term durability.

The project will combine advanced material characterisation, mix development, kinetic and thermodynamic modelling, fibre dispersion, compatibility, workability and surface finish, cracking potential, restrained shrinkage and dimensional stability alongside strength, permeability and durability. Laboratory work will be combined with industrial trials at Tracey Concrete to identify solutions that are both technically effective and suitable for precast manufacture.

For project-specific enquiries, please e-mail Professor Abir Al-Tabbaa at aa22@cam.ac.uk or Dr Rami Alghamri at rja75@cam.ac.uk. For general enquiries, please email cdtcivil-courseadmin@eng.cam.ac.uk.

Applicants should have (or expect to obtain by the start date) at least a high 2.1 degree preferably at Masters level in Civil Engineering and with strong interest in cementitious materials and experimental work. 

Fully-funded studentships (fees and maintenance) are only 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:

https://www.ukri.org/councils/esrc/career-and-skills-development/funding-for-postgraduate-training/eligibility-for-studentship-funding/

https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/finance/fees

https://www.cambridgetrust.org/scholarships/

To apply online for this vacancy and to view further information about the role, please click 'Apply' above. 

Applications should be made online via the University of Cambridge Applicant Portal 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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