Funded Studentship: Characterisation of Flocculated Waste Suspensions with Acoustic Backscatter

Description

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This PhD proposal explores the use of an acoustic backscatter system as a remote in situ device to analyse the separation of nuclear wastes undergoing transfer to safe interim storage at Sellafield. The instrumentation has previously been developed as part of a collaboration funded by Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board), and this project will fundamentally improve our understanding of how we use measurements of acoustic backscatter strength and speed-of-sound, to determine key suspension properties such as concentration and size. The research will include significant developments to analytical methods currently based upon scattering theory for hard spheres (such as glass or sand) to complex non-spherical particles found in legacy sites. In particular, it will look at analysing flocculated particulates, where fine dispersions are aggregated with charged polymers. These systems will be used as realistic non-active simulant for nuclear wastes, but are also commonly found in water treatment and minerals processing environments.

Contents

This project is part of an ongoing industrial partnership with Sellafield Ltd, and will include a number of onsite engineering trials of the acoustic instrument. Additionally, as part of the DISTINCTIVE University Consortium (compromising Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Imperial, UCL, Lancaster, Liverpool, Sheffield, Strathclyde), considerable academic collaboration will also be highly encouraged.

Funding

Value: This studentship, which is open to UK/EU students in the first instance, will pay the academic fees at the UK/EU rate (£3,975), as well as providing an annual stipend of £15,500 per year.