College of Engineering and Built Environment
PhD Scholarship 2015 Project
Lead supervisor name &
contact details:
Name Dr. Niall Holmes
Tel 01 402 2914
Email niall.holmes@dit.ie
Research Centre / Institute
Name and Website (if
applicable)
Dublin Energy Lab (DEL)
Scholarship Details
The stipend is €10,000 per annum. The cost of EU academic
fee will be covered for the duration of the scholarship. NonEU applicants are eligible to take up the scholarships, but
they will be required to fund the fee differential. Schools will
make available a desk space, PC along with a modest bursary
for travel, conferences and some limited materials.
Subject Area
Concrete Technology
Title of the Project
Improving the efficiency of electrochemical chloride
extraction from concrete using photovoltaics
http://www.dit.ie/dublinenergylab/
Project Abstract (max 300 words)
Of the 330 marine based concrete bridges in Ireland, up to 20% are significantly damaged
and require some form of immediate repair due to chloride induced steel reinforcement
corrosion. In the United States, around 173,000 concrete bridges are either structurally
deficient or functionally obsolete due to chloride corrosion with an annual maintenance
budget of $17 billion.
Current electrochemical chloride (ECE) methods to repair corroded steel in concrete use
diesel generated electricity due to a lack of a sustainable power source with approximate
current densities applied. This is expensive, unreliable and not optimised for the particular
concrete type, ambient temperature or degree of chloride present in the concrete. As a result,
ECE is currently only 50% effective.
This research will employ photovoltaics (PV) to improve ECE efficiency, proposing an
appropriate repair strategy and increasing its environmental benefit. These findings will
increase the life span of vital infrastructure and reduce expensive ongoing repairs with
decreased traffic congestion and inconvenience associated with bridge repairs.
Please indicate the student requirements for this project
Minimum 2:1 honours degree in Civil or Structural Engineering
Deadline to submit
applications (only for funded
projects)
14th August 2015