Civil Engineering research and PhD programmes

Research activities within the civil engineering degree programmes at Brunel cover a wide ranging and diverse field of topics. Academic staff involved within these programmes investigate the management of urban waste, bio-based building products, and natural fibre composites in construction. They also develop an understanding of the behaviour of structures under extreme conditions such as fire, impact and seismic loadings and find solutions to coastal engineering problems such as coastal wave dynamics and coastal resilience against natural hazards such as storm surges, tsunamis, earthquakes, landslides.

Research opportunities for students 

Research students are welcomed to Brunel as valued members of our thriving, research-intensive community. Browse PhD opportunities below and find out about the funding available for students.

Doctoral research information

How to apply for a PhD

View list of PhDs in this area

Research in Civil Engineering

Find people, projects, groups and publications in Civil Engineering and read more about related research to this area.  

Browse research projects

Meet our experts

Our latest publications

Modelling thermal conductivity of porous core systems for vacuum insulation panels - Fu, Ziyan

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Early-age GGBS concrete hydration temperature development and modelling - Tan, Yaowen

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Exploring the viability of various waste materials as aggregates in low-carbon two-part alkali-activated cementitious composites - El Seidy, Eslam

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The influence of particle morphology and breakage on the strength of sandy soil - Zhang, Shuodong

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Independent assessment of our research quality (REF 2021)

View REF 2021 details for Engineering (UoA 12)

Wrexham firm decked out with Brunel research

REF 2021

Research groups and centres

Assessment of Structures and Materials under Extreme Conditions

Thermo-mechanical modelling of metallic, non-metallic and composite structural materials; numerical methods development for solid and structural mechanics applications; experimental methods to support the development and application of advanced material and structural models.

Circular Metals

An interdisciplinary academic team (including macroeconomics, industrial sustainability, business management, artificial intelligence, product design, metallurgical science and materials engineering) and a strong industrial consortium involving the full range of the metals supply chain delivering the transformation of the metals industry.

Design and Manufacturing

Developing products, services and manufacturing processes that will deliver economically and environmentally sustainable solutions, based on design principles derived from an understanding of human capabilities and limitations.

Experimental Techniques Centre

A highly regarded cross-disciplinary characterisation facility, with specialist staff that have expertise from various scientific disciplines, e.g. biology, metallurgy, geology and engineering.

Flood Risk and Resilience

Our flood risk and resilience research brings together a diverse team of colleagues with various discipline expertise and a wide range of research networks as well as industry and policy partners, focussed on addressing the multifaceted challenges of flood risk and resilience in the UK and globally.

Flood, Coastal and Water Engineering

The Flood, Coastal and Water Engineering Group addresses the challenges of water scarcity, aging water infrastructures and flood management in the UK and worldwide. The group also concentrates on providing research solutions for recycling water and offering sustainable water resources for domestic and industrial uses.

Geotechnical and Environmental Engineering

Delivering a new understanding of our geo-environment and critical infrastructure in diverse ecosystems, for predicting and preventing catastrophic failure and responding to the need for decarbonisation and energy security.

Institute of Materials and Manufacturing

Aims to improve the performance of materials and structures and become the leading international provider of materials and manufacturing research.

Mechanics of Solids and Structures

Internationally leading research in the areas of experimental testing and computational modelling of solids and structures.

Resilient Structures and Construction Materials

RIMS research group brings together material scientists and structural engineers to deliver resilient infrastructure (buildings, bridges etc.) made of sustainable, advanced materials to perform under harsh natural environment and human-induced hazards.

Resource Efficient Future Cities

Urban energy; Sustainable advanced materials; Energy efficiency in buildings; System integration of energy and infrastructure planning at community/district/city scales.

Sustainable Energy Use in Food Chains

Energy demand and GHG emissions reduction in all stages of the food chain; optimal ways the food chain can utilise different energy sources and interact with the energy supply system; resource efficiency through intensification of food processing.

Systems and Environmental Engineering

Water Engineering; Machine Learning and AI; Micro-Electronics and Electronics Security and Provenance; Digital Economy;· Circular Economy; Advance Process Monitoring and Control.

Courses

Advanced Powertrain and Fuels PhD

Civil Engineering PhD

Energy Efficient and Sustainable Technologies PhD

Manufacturing and Enterprise Engineering PhD

Materials Characterisation and Processing PhD

Materials Engineering PhD

Resource Efficient Future Cities PhD

Structural Integrity PhD

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