Dr Katherine Dobson

Senior Lecturer

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Personal statement

I joined Strathclyde in 2019 as a Chancellor’s Fellow, and now hold a Senior Lectureship as a joint appointment in both Civil & Environmental Engineering and Chemical and process Engineering. I am a geologist by background, but my research routinely bridges disciplines. Having spent time in Geoscience, Materials Science and Engineering departments, I regularly bring methods across traditional subject and area boundaries, especially at the interfaces between geology, materials science, environmental science and engineering. My main research interests lie in understanding the behaviour and evolution of both natural and man-made materials. More specifically, it is questions about how the microstructure of a material evolves through time, and therefore changes the properties and behaviour of the larger system that underpin most of my work. To do this, I use x-ray computed tomography to see inside materials and objects and quantify their internal structures, and a range of experimental and analytical methods to observe the physical, chemical and biological changes within the sample overtime.

Expertise

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Prize And Awards

Athena Swan Gold Award: Recipient; 6/2022

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Publications

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Publications

The permeability of loose magma mush: Bretagne Eloïse, Wadsworth Fabian B, Vasseur Jérémie, Humphreys Madeleine CS, Dingwell Donald B, Dobson Katherine J, Mangler Martin F, Rooyakkers Shane M; Geology Vol 51, pp. 829-832 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1130/G51133.1
The evolution of paleo-porosity in basalts : reversing pore filling mechanisms using X-ray Computed Tomography: Macente A, Dobson K J, MacDonald J, Wadsworth F B, Vasseur J; Transport in Porous Media Vol 145, pp. 697-717 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-022-01869-2
The evolution of paleo-porosity in amygdale basalts : reversing pore filling mechanisms using x-ray microtomography: Macente Alice, Dobson Katherine J; ToScA UK & Europe Symposium (2022)
Experimental simulation of burial diagenesis and subsequent 2D-3D characterization of sandstone reservoir quality: Charlaftis Dimitrios, Dobson Katherine J, Jones Stuart J, Lakshtanov Dmitry, Crouch Jonathan, Cook Jennie; Frontiers in Earth Science Vol 10 (2022); https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.766145
Damage accumulation during high temperature fatigue of Ti/SiCf metal matrix composites under different stress amplitudes: Wang Ying, Xu Xu, Zhao Wenxia, Li Nan, McDonald Samuel A, Chai Yuan, Atkinson Michael, Dobson Katherine J, Michalik Stefan, Fan Yingwei, Withers Philip J, Zhou Xiaorong, Burnett Timothy L; Acta Materialia Vol 213 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2021.116976
The permeability of magma mush assembled from anisotropic tabular crystals: Bretagne Eloïse, Wadsworth Fabian B, Dobson Katherine J, Vasseur Jérémie, Coumans Jason P; EGU General Assembly 2021 (2021); https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-16010

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Research

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Research Interests

I apply x-ray tomography and other materials characterisation methods to investigate the textures and structures within natural and man-made materials. Similar to a medical CT but at higher resolution, the method is non-destructive, and can be applied to a wide range of samples and sample sizes. More importantly, it can be used on samples as they are heated, cooled, compressed, stretched, twisted, stirred or inundated by a range of different fluids.

My work focusses on the latest state-of-the-art 3D and real time 4D imaging techniques. In 4D studies, the ability to inside the sample as it undergoes a change allows us to collect a "movie", where each frame is a full 3D x-ray tomography image. In my own core research, the individual 3D images of the movie are each collected in under a second. For other studies it is enough to image every few seconds, few hours, or even every few months depending on the rate and magnitude of change you wish to observe. This allows me to track the location and interactions between particles or between bubbles, to quantify fracture propagation, to capture dissolution or precipitation as it occurs, to observe fluids passing through pore throats, or corrosion, or sintering, or root growth. The opportunities are almost endless.

Current interests include:

Multi-phase flows and rheology in complex and concentrated fluids
Understanding pore scale controls on slope stability to improve embankment and cutting resilience to climate change
Diffusion and bubble growth in silicate classes
In situ deformation of composite materials
Damage accumulation in granular and non-granular systems
Continuous manufacturing
Sustainable resource management
Environmental management and remediation
Sintering and densification processes
Permeability evolution in the subsurface
Subsurface fluid flow and fluid-rock interactions
Pore scale processes
Soil mechanics
The physical-chemical-biological interactions that control soil fertility

Current PhD Students

Rory Brittain
Fines migration in porous media
University of Strathclyde, Civil & Environmental Engineering.
Phil Salter
The use of microbially and enzyme induced carbonate precipitation for improving subsurface storage integrity
University of Strathclyde, Civil & Environmental Engineering.
Andrea Kozlowski
Development of sustainable substitutes for Pulversized Fly Ash in cement and concrete
University of Strathclyde, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Rebecca Lindsey-Halls
Effect of High temperatures on NRVB cement backfill for nuclear waste storage
University of Strathclyde, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Matthew Divers
Quantifying the mineralogical controls on precious metal enrichment in the Rum layered intrusion, NW Scotland
University of Glasgow, Geographical & Earth Sciences

Professional Activities

NERC Training Course in 3D/4D X-ray computed tomography (X-CT) Imaging 2024: Organiser; 18/3/2024
3D & 4D imaging - key skills for the Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences: Organiser; 18/3/2024
38th International Geological Congress, 2028: Organiser; 8/1/2024
GeoNetZero XCT Training course: Organiser; 5/6/2023
Leaching behaviour of concrete with Substitute Clinker Materials: Contributor; 24/4/2023
3D & 4D imaging - key skills for the Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences: Organiser; 20/3/2023

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Projects

3D and 4D imaging - key skills for the Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences: Dobson, Kate (Principal Investigator); 01-Jan-2023 - 30-Jan-2024
EPSRC Summer Internship: Dobson, Kate (Principal Investigator); 22-Jan-2023 - 08-Jan-2023
XCT Analysis for Pernot-Ricard: Dobson, Kate (Principal Investigator); 03-Jan-2023
EPSRC Core Equipment: Thermal characterisation for engineering and geological materials: Minto, James (Principal Investigator) Burnside, Neil (Principal Investigator) Dobson, Kate (Principal Investigator); EPSRC Core Equipment grant for a thermal conductivity meter and gas pycnometer to allow thermal characterisation of engineering and geological materials.
£63,919 (inc. VAT); 01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2023
X-ray tomogrphay project for Chivas: Dobson, Kate (Principal Investigator); 01-Jan-2023
X-racy tomography of weld joins (AFRC): Dobson, Kate (Principal Investigator); 16-Jan-2023