This project will explore granular slides observed in nature as landslides and (dry snow) avalanches and in industrial processing and storage applications (chutes, hoppers, blenders, rotating drums, heap formation). The landslide database of the British Geological Survey BGS documents 17,000 landslides across Great Britain alone which resulted in several fatalities and socio-economic losses and thousands of people perish annually in landslide hazard hotspots around the world. A sound understanding of landslides and their runout behaviour is thus essential for the UK and many other countries and regions. You will investigate granular slides in the laboratory and numerically to understand why experiments at reduced size underestimate the runout distances of landslides in nature. You will develop a method enabling the reliable prediction of the runout distances and velocities of granular slides in nature based on costefficient laboratory experiments.
You will be part of the NERC ENVISION Doctoral Training programme, where you will have the opportunity to interact with a wide range of environmental scientists, geographers and natural scientists. This programme will provide training in interdisciplinary research skills and provide access to over 40 partner businesses to open your future career opportunities. You will be based at the University of Nottingham within the interdisciplinary Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Geoprocesses Research Group with the opportunity to visit BGS for some months.
Applicants should hold a minimum of a UK Honours Degree at 2:1 level (or equivalent) in Natural Sciences, Physics, Engineering or closely related disciplines.
For further details please contact Dr Valentin Heller, Valentin.heller@nottingham.ac.uk.