PhD Studentship - Non-invasive Damage Detection & Classification of the Bond Beneath Overlays in Pavements. A pilot study

Postgraduate Study at the University of the Year – Apply with confidence

Coventry University

Eligibility: UK/EU/International
Award Details: 15,000 Bursary, plus tuition fees
Duration: 3 years Fixed Term, Full-time; 5 years Fixed Term, Part-time (Sept 2016)
Application deadline: 30th June for Overseas Applicants / 31st August for UK/EU Applicants
Congratulations on taking your first steps toward a Research Degree with Coventry’s Faculty of Engineering and Computing. As an ambitious and innovative University, we’re investing an initial £100m into our new research strategy, ‘Excellence with Impact’. Through original approaches from world-leading experts, we’re aiming for our research to make a tangible difference to the way we live. As a research student you are an integral part of Coventry’s lively and diverse research community and contribute to our reputation for excellence. With our exceptional facilities and superb support mechanisms you are afforded every opportunity for academic success.
The Project
The project addresses the serious problem of delamination of thin surfaces and overlays and will demonstrate how the combination of two different techniques, Infrared Thermography (IRT) and Impact Hammer Test (IHT) can provide an accurate and reliable analysis of the problem and evaluate the degree of substandard bond. These two methods have never been used together for the purpose of assessing debonding. Essentially the IHT, as applied to detecting delaminations, is a relatively new but promising test procedure.
Road/pavement maintenance is critical to governments and private agencies responsible for the highway and airfield infrastructures (Infrastructure UK, 2014). The project will make a major contribution to reducing the cost of road, airport pavement and even bridge maintenance. It will have a significant impact on the current and future success of the UK/EU economies at a time when austerity measures are announced and cuts are introduced in the public sector. It should encourage the expansion, or emergence of small/medium specialist companies selling expertise to their clients, increasing competition and reducing costs.
The most common cause of delamination is water seeping into cracks below the surface of the road during wet-freezing weather. The water freezes, expands, and pushes the upper layer up from its base. Pressure and vibration from vehicle tires exacerbates the problem. Hence early detection of poor bond below thin surfacings is a priority research task, as there is no presently accepted Non-destructive Test (NDT) method.
About The Centre/Department
The Department of Civil Engineering and Building, part of the School of Energy, Construction and Environment, has excellent laboratory facilities and good technician support. It has a variety of testing machines and four trolley mounted computer interfaces that can be connected to the above allowing for complex loading scenarios and monitoring. Large scale testing is also possible on a strong-floor. The Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing has a number of high performance computers which can be available for advanced FEA work. Therefore, the Department is in a strong position to support this challenging investigation. The University has outstanding library and computing facilities and academic expertise to which the researcher will have access.
Successful Applicants
Successful applicants will have:
•A minimum of a 2:1 first degree in a relevant discipline/subject area with a minimum 60% mark in the Project element or equivalent with a minimum 60% overall module average, and/or
•A Masters Degree in a relevant subject area will be considered as an equivalent. The Masters must have been attained with overall marks at merit level (60%). In addition, the dissertation or equivalent element in the Masters must also have been attained with a mark at merit level (60%).
•The potential to engage in innovative research and to complete the PhD within a prescribed period of study
•Language proficiency (IELTS overall minimum score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each component).
In all cases the latest and highest award will be used for assessment purposes
Additionally:
•A Masters Degree in a relevant area (Numerical Methods or similar) or a dissertation based on numerical methods (Finite Element Analysis) will be considered as a distinct advantage, or
•Candidates with similar suitable qualifications (Mechanical Engineering, Applied Physics, or other) will also be considered.

Funding information

Funding applies to:

Open to applicants from a range of countries

Contacts and how to apply

Academic contact:

Informal enquiries are essential before application; contact John Karadelis John.karadelis@coventry.ac.uk to discuss this opportunity.

Administrative contact and how to apply:

Application Procedure:
Application information can be found in our how to apply section. For more information, before completing the application, please contact Dr J N Karadelis, or Dr A O Olubanwo cc’ing admissions.ec@coventry.ac.uk for an initial informal discussion about the studies.
Eligibility:
All UK/EU/International students are eligible to apply that meet the academic requirements, the eligibility criteria can be found here.

Application deadline:

30 June 2016