Modelling of salt crystallisation processes in porous building materials
Project ID: 2228cd1249 (You will need this ID for your application)
Research Theme: Engineering
UCL Lead department: Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources
Lead Supervisor: Scott Allan Orr
Project Summary:
WHY THIS RESEARCH IS IMPORTANT
Pressure build-up due to salt crystallisation damages porous building materials, including brick, stone, and concrete. Understanding of this phenomenon and its effects on materials is limited. As climate change progresses and we implement measures to reduce carbon emissions, salt-related degradation is expected to increase. A detailed understanding of the implications for material and structural longevity is lacking. This project aims to address these knowledge gaps with additional implications for understanding salt crystallisation in geological and industrial processes.
WHO YOU WILL BE WORKING WITH This project is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Institute for Sustainable Heritage and the Department of Chemical Engineering, combining expertise on heritage science, particularly understanding environmental impacts on the historic built environment, with multiscale modelling of crystallisation and associated processes. This project will be aligned with experimental research conducted by the Belgian Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA).
WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING This project will model salt crystallisation, exploring opportunities provided by molecular modelling to understand the behaviour of soluble salts and potentially complex mixtures in porous heritage building materials. These results will be compared with experimental work (e.g., 4D µCT), coordinated by KIK. This will inform parameterisation in physics-based models as basis for risk assessment.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR An enthusiastic individual to undertake a project that deepens our understanding of how salt crystallisation processes occur in porous media and translates this into implications for heritage management. You should meet the ISH MPhil/PhD Entry Requirements, for which a diverse range of backgrounds are suitable, including chemistry, heritage science, statistics and modelling, and engineering. The following are desirable: • Familiarity with physics-based modelling software • Ability to program in python/MATLAB or analogous • Interest in the physical-chemical fundamentals of crystallisation • Experience/demonstrable interest in traditional buildings and/or heritage