PhD Studentship (CAE18-SEND01)

Staffordshire University is pleased to announce 1 new PHD scholarship in the Development of Methods for Measuring Particulate Emissions from Small/Medium Combustion Plant Processes.  This scholarship is a partnership with Staffordshire University and is sponsored by DM Technic and funded via ERDF. The successful candidate will receive £18,000 per year with EU/UK PhD tuition fees paid for three years. There is also a small budget for research related costs. This project is supported by the Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND).

Duration: December 2018 – December 2021

General entry requirements:

The successful candidate will have or expect to have a UK Honours engineering degree at 1st or 2nd upper class and a Master's degree, or equivalent qualifications in a relevant subject area. Having relevant work experience would be beneficial.  This position is open to UK/EU candidates only.

Further details:

Development of Method for Measuring Particulate Emissions from Small Combustion Plant Processes

Particulate (dust) measurements of industrial processes in the ducts/stacks have been undertaken for many years and are a mandatory requirement under European regulations. These processes tend to be industrial process plants with large ducts and stacks between 1 to 12 metres in diameter or larger. In Dec 2017 a new piece of legislation came into force called the Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD) that will add approximately 15,000 processes in the UK to the regulatory burden and about 140,000 across Europe.

This 3 year PhD programme will study full range of dust measurement techniques (e.g., Isokinetic sampling, Probe electrification instruments, Cross-duct ratiometric opacity, Light scatter technology, Cross stackopacity instruments, etc.) which have proven to be reliable, accurate and traceable instruments for continuous particulate emission measurement. Completion of techno-economic analysis of different measurement techniques and site surveys help to capture the essential application and process conditions required to select the optimum measurement technique for small/medium industrial processes. Based on the nominated technology and Process/CFD simulations a sampling head will be designed and built for the small ducts (<300 mm diameter) to monitor velocity and temperature of the combustion products and to make the sampling in the designed filter assembly. The laboratory testing of the new sample head and consequently field testing on various processes at different conditions using a manual control system will be the next phase of the project. The PhD research project will also include design of a complete operational manual and then an extensive field evaluation of this measurement system. The final stage of the project would then be design, develop and test a smart control system to computerise the system, making it easier to use for less experienced personnel. Ensuring that the output of the smart system would be exportable into excel spreadsheet, allowing the user to generate a full report of the sampling in the minimum time possible.

In this project, Staffordshire University will be working closely with the industrial partner (DRM Technic Ltd.) on delivering of the above listed activities. A strong PhD candidate recruited to work on the project with close supervisions from both academic and industrial supervisors. Regular technical and progress meetings will take place and results of the research will be publicised by publishing in prestigious conference proceedings and high rank journal papers. 

To Apply 

To apply please submit a two Page Project Proposal on 'How you plan to complete this PhD project', together with attaching the following documentation/information

Please submit all information/documentation outlined above to Professor Hamidreza G. Darabkhani on h.g.darabkhani@staffs.ac.uk by 16 November 2018

Please make sure to use the Reference: CAE18-SEND01 in your application.

For informal enquiries please communicate with Prof Hamidreza G. Darabkhani by email.

For information interviews will be held: 23 November 2018.

Closing Date: 16 Nov 2018
Type: PhD Studentship