Name of School Contact: Professor Muhammed Basheer
Address: School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT
Tel: 0113 343 2272
Email: P.A.M.Basheer<στο>leeds.ac.uk
Web: www.engineering.leeds.ac.uk/civil/      

Degree Level: Research Postgraduate                

Scholarship Type: Home/EU           

Number available: 1             

Fees: £3,975  

Maintenance: £13,863

Funding Type: School/Faculty 

Further Information:

Steel reinforcement corrosion, particularly owing to chloride infestation, is one of the major deterioration mechanisms of reinforced concrete structures. Much success has been achieved in maintaining such structures which had suffered from reinforcement corrosion over the last three decades by the use of cathodic protection, one of the available electrochemical remediation techniques. This requires the continued application of a very small cathodic current to the steel reinforcement and a continuous and rather costly maintenance programme. Recently, the industry has started to seek alternative remediation techniques that are easier to maintain and more cost effective as aged cathodic protection systems have become more difficult and costlier to maintain. The main aim of this project is to develop a new temporary electrochemical technique that can offer long-term protection to steel reinforced concrete structures, by working closely with the industrial partner, Vector Corrosion Technologies Limited.

The primary deliverable is the identification of parameters and limits for the new electrochemical technique that encompass all of the beneficial effects as they are identified to ensure that corrosion of the steel reinforcement is arrested, to extend the residual service life of the structure or structural component, to limit or avoid any of the detrimental effects, and to identify the timescale(s) at which a further intervention may be required. Progress will also be made in designing the technique, with guidance for the production of the equipment and procedures to be followed for on-site use.

The three year scholarships are available on a competition basis to students who are commencing PhD study from October 2015.

How to Apply:

1. Applicants MUST first submit a PhD application form and be in receipt of a University BANNER ID Number: www.leeds.ac.uk/rsa/prospective_students/apply/I_want_to_apply.html Please state clearly on the funding section of the application form that you wish to be considered for the University of Leeds 110 Anniversary Research Scholarship 2015 entry - Long-term protection to steel reinforced concrete structures. In the research information section please state the name Professor Muhammed Basheer.
2. Once applicants have a banner ID, they can then complete the University Postgraduate Research Scholarship Application Form for the University of Leeds 110 Anniversary Research Scholarships (UoLARS) for Session 2015/16 available from http://scholarships.leeds.ac.uk/ and return it by email to pg_scholarships<στο>leeds.ac.uk by 18 February 2015.

Minimum Academic Requirements (if English is not your first language, then candidates must also meet the University's English language requirements):

UK 2(1) Honours or equivalent degree in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics or Chemistry.      

Any Additional Requirements:

In addition, they should be able to travel to application sites and carry out both laboratory-based and site-based experimental investigations.