About the Project
Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences (ACES)
Materials Engineering Research Institute (MERI)
Closing date 12 noon on 7th May 2018
Sheffield Hallam University is offering this challenging and exciting PhD project in radioactive waste immobilisation. The project is co-funded by Sheffield Hallam University and the US Department of Energy. The project is also supported by a consortium of US National Laboratories and Universities, and will take a unique cohort approach along with two other related radioactive waste immobilisation projects. The project will directly support decommissioning and clean-up of the US nuclear site at Hanford in Washington State, generating world-leading science that provides innovative solutions to real-world problems.
The student will spend up to 3 months working at US partner laboratories, learning from multidisciplinary experts and undertaking Hanford nuclear site visits. Further interactions with the nuclear community will be enabled through the team’s collaborations (UK, US, France, India, Japan). The student will receive professional development, media training and public engagement experience at SHU through schools outreach, Science Week and undergraduate teaching opportunities, and will engage with the University Alliance Energy Doctoral Training Alliance. The international nature of this project, its aims and its opportunities, and the unique cohort approach taken, will equip the student with the skills and knowledge to maximise their potential to become a future leader in their field.
At the US Hanford nuclear site, two Waste Treatment Plants (WTPs) currently under construction will process radioactive waste by vitrification. Baseline melters are Joule-Heated Ceramic Melters, JHCM. They contain a pool of molten glass and the waste is fed onto it. This material on top of the melt is the “cold cap”. Foaming during melting can cause major processing issues, as it effectively insulates the melt pool. Previous work has developed an understanding of cold cap and melt dynamics. However, oxidation states of key elements, including Fe, Cr, Mn, Ni, Mo and Zr has not yet been considered, and these can affect glass and cold cap behaviour and performance and foaming behaviour. This interdisciplinary PhD project will study the behaviour and oxidation state of these key elements in simulated Hanford WTP glasses and cold caps, and the interfaces between them, to inform process parameters for the WTP's when operational. Advanced spectroscopic techniques including 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XPDF) will be used to study these materials as they probe redox and local structural environments of individual elements in materials; and provide detailed understanding of glass and ceramic structures. The student will conduct literature reviews and will prepare simulated inactive radioactive waste glasses and cold caps under different redox conditions, and will also study simulated glass and cold cap materials from inactive trials that have been undertaken by the US partners and affiliated organisations. The student will conduct thorough characterisation using lab-based techniques including 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, XRF, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM/EDX and thermal analysis techniques. Further study using synchrotron-based bulk and microfocus XAS and XPDF will also be undertaken at Diamond (UK), ESRF (France) and / or Argonne (US). Further studies using complementary techniques will be undertaken during US laboratory visits. The project is timely and will support optimisation of US WTP vitrification processes, directly supporting Hanford decommissioning. The outputs will also support global research in radioactive waste glasses and advanced melter technologies, as other countries also use JHCM or related technologies for waste vitrification.
Applicants must email a postgraduate application form found here (https://www.shu.ac.uk/study-here/how-to-apply/postgraduate/application-form) and a copy of their CV, to Dr. Paul Bingham ([Email Address Removed]) before 12 noon on 7th May 2018. Please also direct all informal enquiries to Dr. Paul Bingham.
The application form asks for a 1500-word research proposal. You should use this space to outline:
a) why you are interested in doing PhD research on this topic
b) how your skills and experience to date (including your undergraduate and/or masters dissertation, if relevant) prepare you to embark on the project
c) any challenges that you foresee in conducting the research and how you might approach or solve them
Fully-funded scholarships cover tuition fees (at UK/EU levels) and provide a maintenance stipend at Research Council UK levels (£14,553 for 2017/18), for three years of full-time study commencing in September 2018.
• All applicants should hold a strong undergraduate degree (2.1 or above) and/or a relevant masters qualification (or expectation of the same)
• Open to UK / EU and international applicants. However, scholarships pay fees at UK / EU levels only, and international students will be expected to provide the difference between the UK / EU and international fees from another funding source
• Candidates who already hold a PhD offer from Sheffield Hallam University (to start in September 2018) are eligible to apply for a scholarship
• International students must provide evidence that they meet the minimum IELTS score of 7.0 or above, with at least 6.5 in each component or equivalent (dated within last 2 years).
Please direct all informal enquiries to Dr. Paul Bingham, [Email Address Removed]