About the project
This project investigates how urban environments influence injury risk during explosions. Using advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling, analytical methods, and small-scale blast experiments, it will reconstruct the 2020 Beirut explosion and extend findings to generic urban settings to develop validated models and guidance that enhance human protection and urban resilience.
Explosive events in cities expose civilians to complex, multi-mechanism hazards, yet current protective design and sheltering guidance in civilian contexts remains limited. This project addresses that critical gap by combining CFD blast modelling, analytical methods, and experimental validation to examine how urban layouts, distance, glazing, and occupant posture influence blast-related injury risk.
Building on recently published research that analysed injury distributions from the 2020 Beirut explosion, you will use these empirical data to calibrate high-fidelity CFD models of blast propagation and interaction within urban geometries. The Beirut case study provides a robust evidence base for model validation, while subsequent simulations and reduced-scale blast experiments will explore idealised urban configurations to verify and generalise predictive methods. Through this integrated approach, this research will establish a validated framework linking urban blast loads to civilian injury risk and will generate practical, evidence-based recommendations for occupant sheltering and risk mitigation.
You will join the Infrastructure Group within the Civil Engineering Department, with access to high-performance computing facilities and interdisciplinary collaboration through the . This project offers comprehensive training in CFD simulation, experimental techniques, and injury modelling approaches, providing an excellent foundation for a career in blast engineering, safety science, and disaster resilience research.
