- Lancaster University – Engineering Department
- Academic Supervisors: David Cheneler, Stephen Monk, James Taylor
- Industrial Supervisor: Jonathan Dodds
- Project timeline: Oct 2017 to Mar 2021
- Research areas of interest: Sludge rheology, rapid prototyping, remote analysis
- Academic Qualifications: Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering – Brno University of Technology
- University profile, LinkedIn page
In situ analysis of sludge in hazardous environments
On the Sellafield site there are a number of legacy storage tanks and silos containing sludge of uncertain properties. While there are efforts to determine the chemical and radiological properties of the sludge, in order to clean out and decommission these vessels the physical properties need to be ascertained as well. This project concerns the development of a novel, cheap, robust and compact device capable of remotely analysing the shear behaviour, density and temperature of highly radioactive sludge in situ. Development of the device is being made with commercial off the shelf components and modern rapid prototyping techniques. The current prototype that has been developed can fit through 75 mm opening and contains only robust, inherently radiation tolerant components. Being based with the industry is a great opportunity to develop solutions effectively and see the results of my work applied and working alongside other researchers dealing with diverse challenges is also an amazing learning opportunity.
Outputs
Journal article: Fried, T., Cheneler, D., Monk, S. D., Taylor, C. J., & Dodds, J. (2019). Compact viscometer prototype for remote in-situ analysis of sludge. Sensors, 19(15), [3299]. https://doi.org/10.3390/s19153299