About the Project
Number of awards:
1
Start date and duration:
October 2018 for 3.5 years.
Overview:
By comparison with natural catchment research, urban hydrology and water management has been starved of real time and historical data until recent years, thereby holding back the development and validation of urban water modelling technology. The advent of new technology for measurement and monitoring, and the resources afforded by the Urban Observatory at Newcastle (http://uoweb1.ncl.ac.uk/), herald a new era in analysis and modelling. This project proposes to develop and exploit new systems for obtaining and using water data, and exploiting them within a water company environment, for both real time and long term estimation of system (water supply and drainage) performance and risk.
The main research challenges are how to harness a diverse range of new and existing sources of data (Urban Observatory, rain gauges, rainfall radar, in-pipe, social media) to drive and validate models and understanding of various water systems, with the ultimate aim of a "whole system" water model - i.e. from sky-reservoir-tap-toilet-treatment works - river….
Two main coupled components are required to be developed and applied:
- new and existing, real time and historical measurements are to be collated via the Urban Observatory framework;
- selected existing and yet to be developed water models (e.g. for catchment, surface, pipe and sewer) are to be established or further integrated to exploit the new data streams.
These modelling systems will be validated against (a) observed historical data and (b) in real time predictive mode against combined sewer overflow or other flood data.
A step change in information density and quality on flows in and out of a city supply and drainage area will be targeted, alongside real time and historical quantification of flows, resources and risks at city and waste water treatment level.
Sponsor:
EPSRC (https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/) and Northumbrian Water Group (http://www.nwg.co.uk/)
Name of supervisor(s):
Professor Chris Kilsby (http://bit.ly/2G0Akx6) and Dr Claire Walsh (http://bit.ly/2DJsPbX), School of Engineering (http://bit.ly/2HUUTeJ).
Eligibility Criteria:
A first or upper second class honours and/or masters degree in civil or environmental engineering, computing science, geomatics, environmental sciences, or physical geography.
The full award is dependent on EPSRC eligibility (http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/skills/students/help/Pages/eligibility.aspx).
How to apply:
You must apply through the University’s online postgraduate application system. To do this please ‘Create a new account’ (http://bit.ly/2pB7Enx).
All relevant fields should be completed, but fields marked with a red asterisk must to be completed. The following information will help us to process your application. You will need to:
•insert the programme code 8822F in the programme of study section
•select ‘PhD Skills, Technology, Research and Management for the UK Water Sector (full time)’ as the programme of study
•insert the studentship code ENG019 in the studentship/partnership reference field
•attach a covering letter and CV. The covering letter must state the title of the studentship, quote reference code ENG019 and state how your interests and experience relate to the project
•attach degree transcripts and certificates and, if English is not your first language, a copy of your English language qualifications.
A CV and covering letter, quoting ENG019 should also be sent to: [Email Address Removed]
Contact:
For further information please contact Professor Chris Kilsby (http://bit.ly/2G0Akx6) [Email Address Removed] (Academic queries) or [Email Address Removed] (Administrative queries).
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