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Biography
I attended Nottingham for my Undergraduate MEng in Civil Engineering from 2015-2019, taking on a final year project with Dr Charles Heron investigating the interface between the ground and structures.
Following this, I was offered the chance to study for my PhD within the Nottingham Center of Geomechanics/Department of Civil Engineering. The title of my thesis was "A micromechanical investigation into soil-structure interface behavior". In short, my research examined the interaction between sand and structural metals, by conducting experiments on single grains of sand, sheared against stainless steel plates. The outcome was a new understanding of how this soil-structure interface degrades over time, with continued cyclical shearing, due to abrasive wear.
I have been an Assistant Professor in Geotechnical Engineering since 2023, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students geotechnical design, experimental and numerical modelling of geotechnical problems, and an introduction to coding with python. My research expertise relates to the element testing of soils, computational analysis of geotechnical problems, soil-structure interface behaviour - including the wear of materials, and centrifuge modelling.
Teaching Summary
My core teaching is of Geotechnical Engineering, from experimental modeling to foundation design in the context of standardised Eurocodes.
In addition, I am interested in helping our students with the best practices in computing in Engineering, from processing data in python, to Finite Element Modelling of soil bodies. These skills are becoming ever more crucial in the modern day toolkit of an Engineer.
Research Summary
My research interests focus on energy security and natural resource management.
Part of the issue with the move to sustainable renewable energy sources is a lack of energy storage capacity. A popular way of combating this issue is to develop huge battery storage facilities, but lithium mining comes at considerable cost to the natural environment. Engineers need to create more renewable energy sources whilst not depleting the finite amount of natural resources available. One lesser considered natural resource is regular old sand, which the UN believes should be treated as a strategic mineral on the same level as lithium. Sand is used in every civil engineering project, and even in some of the most advanced manufacturing processes humans carry out. Whilst sand is ubiquitous, we do not have endless supplies of the most crucial sands needed to facilitate modern life. By developing greater understanding of sand behaviour and its interaction with engineered materials it is possible to better manage our use of raw materials and improve reliability leading to a more sustainable future.
Currently, I am conducting further research into soil-structure interaction, with a focus on single-grain experiments. By capturing highly detailed meshes of abrasive sand grains being sheared against a structural steel surface, we can uncover more insights about how this interaction evolves over time with continued shearing. This can then be linked back to the behaviour of macro-scopic soil-structure interaction. This has applications for a range of industries, not just limited to geotechnical engineering.
In addition, I am utilising expertise in element testing and manufacture of novel experimental platforms to begin investigation into frozen soil behaviour - specifically the migration of water in varying soil compositions. This work is part of a new collaboration with Dr. James Leak at University of Strathclyde.
Lastly, I am supervising students investigating off-shore wind turbine foundations. Using my experience in centrifuge modelling, experimental design and analysis, I am helping PhD students investigate the installation of suction caissons, and behaviour of monopiles subjected to cyclical loading.
Future Research
A soon to begin project is an investigation into the feasibility of Underground Pumped Hydraulic Storage. This is a low-cost, low resource energy storage method, similar in principle to a water tower. A sealed vessel - stored underground - has water pumped into it when excess energy is available from the grid, and consequently pressurized by a weight of soil acting upon it. When the energy is required in return, a valve is opened, reliving the pressure as the water is passed though a turbine, ultimately smoothing the energy demand and supply curves, which is a key challenge facing the renewable energy roll out. This project will use centrifuge testing to investigate the limitations and scope for utilising this energy storage technique close to renewable production sites.