Projects and Publications

Investigating respirator fit to inform face mask protocols - a new Sorby Lab Suite Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, School of Earth & Environment and School of Engineering collaboration at the University of Leeds.

A medium wave infrared camera (MWIR) was used to capture images of a human subject wearing various face masks. By using a special filter the MWIR camera becomes highly sensitive to optical adsorption of CO2 and allows visualization of CO2 at room temperature.

Georgina Williams undertook her PhD lab project in the Fluid Dynamics Laboratory looking at Segregation in High Concentration Particulate Flows. Her lab work was funded by the EPSRC CDT Fluid Dynamics at University of Leeds. This video compares grain size mixes and flow speeds.

Caroline Marshall completed the experimental work for her PhD in the Fluid Dynamics Laboratory which utilised the Tomo PIV to investigate turbulence in density currents. Her lab work was funded by the EPSRC CDT Fluid Dynamics at University of Leeds.

The Sorby Lab Suite has also completed consultancy projects for external partners.

The Fluid Dynamics Laboratory completed the COOLTRANS project which was funded by the National Grid and utilised the LDA to visualise the output from high pressure CO2 exhaust.

Charlie Lloyd completed the experimental work for his PhD in the Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. His project utilised the LDA to measure the turbulence created by different types of shark scales. His lab work was funded by the EPSRC CDT Fluid Dynamics at University of Leeds in collaboration with Speedo.

Lauren Swan completed her MGeol dissertation project in the Density Current Laboratory which investigated the internal dynamics of lofting hyperpycnal flows and their impact on subsequent deposits.

Luan Ho completed the experimental work for his PhD in the Density Current Laboratory which investigated multi-pulsed turbidity: current dynamics and geological implications. His lab work was funded by the Turbidites Research Group at University of Leeds.

Isabel de Cala completed the experimental work for her PhD in the Density Current Laboratory, and the grain size analysis of the cores from her experiment in SSPAL. She investigated the effects of grain size distribution on bedform development. Her lab work was funded by the Turbidites Research Group at University of Leeds.

Isabel de Cala completed the experimental work for her PhD in the Density Current Laboratory, and the grain size analysis of the cores from her experiment in SSPAL. She investigated the effects of grain size distribution on bedform development. Her lab work was funded by the Turbidites Research Group at University of Leeds.

The Sorby Lab Suite has also completed consultancy projects for external partners.

We undertook sampling and analysis of Crimple Beck in SSPAL for Nidderdale National Landscape to report on the distribution of suspended and bedload sediment across the catchment. This was used to inform erosion risk and sediment fingerprinting in the catchment.

Wang, R., Peakall, J., Hodgson, D.M., Keavney, E., Brown, H.C., Keevil, G.M.,Unconfined turbidity current interactions with oblique slopes: deflection, reflection and combined-flow behaviours.     pre-print

Keavney, E., Peakall, J., Wang, R., Hodgson, D.M., Kane, I.A., Keevil, G.M., Brown, H.C., Clare, M.A. and Hughes, M.J. (2025) Unconfined gravity current interactions with orthogonal topography: Implications for combined-flow processes and the depositional record. Sedimentology Vol: 72, Issue: 1, Page: 67-99.

Marshall, C., Dorrell, R., Keevil, G. , Peakall, J. and Tobias, S. 2023. On the role of transverse motion in pseudo-steady gravity currents. Experiments in Fluids (2023) 64:63 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-023-03599-7

Tagliavini, Giorgia ; Khan, Majid H. ; McCorquodale, Mark ; Westbrook, Chris ; Holzner, Markus 2022 Wake characteristics of complex-shaped snow particles: Comparison of numerical simulations with fixed snowflakes to time-resolved particle tracking velocimetry experiments with free-falling analogs Physics of fluids (1994), 2022-05, Vol.34 (5), p.055112, Article 055112

Marshall, C., Dorrell, R., Dutta, S., Keevil, G. , Peakall, J. and Tobias, S. 2021. The effect of Schmidt number on gravity current flows: The formation of large-scale three-dimensional structures.

Marshall, C.R., Dorrell, R.M., Keevil, G.M., Peakall, J. and Tobias, S.M. 2021. Observations of large-scale coherent structures in gravity currents: implications for flow dynamics. Experiments in fluids. 62(6).

Davarpanah Jazi, S., Wells, M.G., Peakall, J., Dorrell, R.M., Thomas, R.E., Keevil, G.M., Darby, S.E., Sommeria, J., Viboud, S., Valran, T., 2020. Influence of Coriolis force upon bottom boundary layers in a large-scale gravity current experiment: Implications for evolution of sinuous deep-water channel systems. Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans, 125, e2019JC015284, doi: 10.1029/

Chalk C, Pastor M, Peakall J, Borman D, Sleigh PA, Murphy W, Fuentes R. 2020. Stress-Particle Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics: an application to the failure and post-failure behaviour of slopes. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering.

Hugh P. Rice, Jamie L. Pilgrim,  Michael Fairweather, Jeff Peakall, David Harbottle, Timothy N. Hunter (2020) Extending acoustic in-line pipe rheometry and friction factor modeling to low-Reynolds-number, non-Newtonian slurries. AIChE J. 2020; e16268.

Hunter, T.N., Peakall, J., Egarr, D., Cowell, D.M.J., Freear, S., Tonge, A.S., Horton, L., Rice, H.P., Smith, I., Malone, K., Burt, D., Barnes, M., Randall, G., Biggs, S., Fairweather, M., 2020 Concentration profiling of a horizontal sedimentation tank utilising a bespoke acoustic backscatter array and CFD simulations. Chemical Engineering Science, 218.

Lloyd, C. J., Peakall, J, Burns, A. D., Keevil G. M. & Dorrell, R. M. (2020) Numerical errors at walls: on the sensitivity of RANS models to near-wall cell size, International Journal of Computational Fluid Dynamics.

Rice, H.P., Peakall, J., Fairweather, M., Hunter, T.N., 2020. Extending estimation of the critical deposition velocity in solid-liquid pipe flow to ideal and non-ideal particles at low and intermediate solid volume fractions. Chemical Engineering Science, 211, 115308.

Ho, V. L., Dorrell, R. M., Keevil, G. M., Thomas, R. E., Burns, A. D., Baas, J. H., & McCaffrey, W. D. (2019). Dynamics and Deposition of Sediment-Bearing Multi- Pulsed Flows and Geological Implication. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 8(11), 1127-1139.

Kelly, R. W., Dorrell, R. M., Burns, A. D., & McCaffrey, W. D. (2019). The structure and entrainment characteristics of partially-confined gravity currents. Journal of geophysical research. C, Oceans, 124(3), 2110-2125.

Ho, VL, Dorrell, RM, Keevil, GM et al. (2018) Pulse propagation in turbidity currents. Sedimentology, 65 (2). pp. 620-637.

Hugh P. Rice et al. (2015) Particle concentration measurement and flow regime identification in multiphase pipe flow using a generalised dual-frequency inversion method Procedia Engineering 102, pp. 986 – 995.

Rice, H.P., Fairweather, M., Peakall, J., Hunter, T.N., Mahmoud, B.H., and Biggs, S.R., Constraining the Functional Form of the Critical Flow Velocity at Low Concentrations in Multiphase Pipe Flow, Turbulence, Heat and Mass Transfer 8, Proceedings of the Eighth International Symposium on Turbulence, Heat and Mass Transfer, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 15th-18th September 2015.

Fletcher T, Altringham J, Peakall J, Wignall P, Dorrell R. (2014) Hydrodynamics of fossil fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 281(1788).

Rice, H.P., Fairweather, M., Hunter, T.N., Mahmoud, B.H., Biggs, S.R., and Peakall, J., Measurement of Particle Concentration in Settling Multiphase Pipe Flow Using Acoustic Methods, Proceedings of the 10thInternational ERCOFTAC Symposium on Engineering Turbulence Modelling and Measurements – ETMM10, Marbella, Spain, 17th-19th September 2014.

Keevil, C.E., Chanson, H, and Reungoat, D. 2025 Fluid flow and sediment entrainment in the Garonne River bore and tidal bore collision. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. Vol 40 No 12.

Wimpenny, S., Watson, S., Brown, H. et al.(2024) Progressing towards safe, inclusive and equitable field research. Nat. Geosci. 10.1038/s41561-024-01462-w

Fisher, Q., Kaminskaite, I. and del Pino Sanchez, A. 2023. Shale barrier performance in petroleum systems: implications for CO 2 storage and nuclear waste disposal. Geoenergy. 1(1).

Moore, O.W., Curti, L., Woulds, C. et al. (2023) Long-term organic carbon preservation enhanced by iron and manganese. Nature 621, 312–317. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06325-9

Osman, S., Thomas, M., Crummy, J. et al (2023) Laboratory tests to understand tephra sliding behaviour on roofs. J Appl. Volcanol. 12, 11.

Ghuloum, Fatmah I ; Johnson, Colin A ; Riobo-Del Galdo, Natalia A ; Amer, Mahetab H 2022 From mesenchymal niches to engineered  Materials today bio, 2022-09, Vol.17

Ghuloum, F.I., Johnson, C.A., Riobo-Del Galdo, N.A. and Amer, M.H. 2022. From mesenchymal niches to engineered in vitro model systems: Exploring and exploiting biomechanical regulation of vertebrate hedgehog signalling. Materials today bio. 17, pp.100502–100502.

Amer, Mahetab H. ; Alvarez-Paino, Marta ; McLaren, Jane ; Pappalardo, Francesco ; Trujillo, Sara ; Wong, Jing Qian ; Shrestha, Sumana ; Abdelrazig, Salah ; Stevens, Lee A. ; Lee, Jong Bong ; Kim, Dong-Hyun ; González-García, Cristina ; Needham, David ; Salmerón-Sánchez, Manuel ; Shakesheff, Kevin M. ; Alexander, Morgan R. ; Alexander, Cameron ; Rose, Felicity RAJ 2021 Designing topographically textured microparticles for induction and modulation of osteogenesis in mesenchymal stem cell engineering Biomaterials, 2021-01, Vol.266, p.120450-120450, Article 120450

Hussain, Serish T. ; Barnes, Martyn ; Peakall, Jeffrey ; Hunter, Timothy 2021 Simultaneous velocity and concentration profiling of nuclear waste suspensions in pipe flow, using ultrasonic Doppler and backscatter analysis The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2021-10, Vol.150 (4), p.A158-A158

Ben J. Fisher, Oliver W. Moore, Johan C. Faust, Caroline L. Peacock, Christian März (2020) Experimental evaluation of the extractability of iron bound organic carbon in sediments as a function of carboxyl content. Chemical Geology, Volume 556, 5 December 2020, 119853.

Faust Johan C., Stevenson Mark A., Abbott Geoffrey D., Knies Jochen, Tessin Allyson, Mannion Isobel, Ford Ailbe, Hilton Robert, Peakall Jeffrey and März Christian. (2020) Does Arctic warming reduce preservation of organic matter in Barents Sea sediments?Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.37820190364.

Stevenson Mark A., Faust Johan C., Andrade Luiza L., Freitas Felipe S., Gray Neil D., Tait Karen, Hendry Katharine R., Hilton Robert G., Henley Sian F., Tessin Allyson, Leary Peter, Papadaki Sonia, Ford Ailbe, März Christian and Abbott Geoffrey D. 2020Transformation of organic matter in a Barents Sea sediment profile: coupled geochemical and microbiological processes. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.37820200223.

Cosgrove GIE, Hodgson DM, Mountney NP, McCaffrey WD. 2019. High-resolution correlations of strata within a sand-rich clinothem using grain fabric data, offshore New Jersey, USA. Geosphere. 15(4), pp. 1291-1322.

Andrea Vidal-Durà, Ian T. Burkea, Douglas I. Stewartb, Robert J.G. Mortimerc., 2018, Reoxidation of estuarine sediments during simulated resuspension events: Effects on nutrient and trace metal mobilisation Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 207 40–55.

Cosgrove, GIE, Hodgson, DM., Poyatos-Moré, M et al. (2018) Filter Or Conveyor? Establishing Relationships Between Clinoform Rollover Trajectory, Sedimentary Process Regime, and Grain Character Within Intrashelf Clinothems, Offshore New Jersey, U.S.A. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 88 (8). pp.917-941.

Laura N.Elliott, Richard A.Bourne, Ali Hassanpour, John L.Edwards, Stephen Sutcliffe, Timothy N.Hunter (2018) Salt enhanced solvent relaxation and particle surface area determination via rapid spin-lattice NMR Powder Technology, Volume 333, 15 June 2018, Pages 458-467.

Mariona Chicón Bosch, Elizabeth A. Roundhill, Alastair P. Droop, Michael Parry, Lee Jeys, Susan A. Burchill. RNAseq of patient-derived cancer stem-like cells and exosomes provides new insights into Ewing's sarcoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3696.

O’Sullivan, B. J. Murray, T. L. Malkin, T. F. Whale, N. S. Umo, J. D. Atkinson, H. C. Price, K. J. Baustian, J. Browse, and M. E. Webb (2014) Ice nucleation by fertile soil dusts: relative importance of mineral and biogenic components Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1853–1867, 2014.

James D. Atkinson, Benjamin J. Murray, Matthew T.Woodhouse, Thomas F. Whale, Kelly J. Baustian, Kenneth S. Carslaw, Steven Dobbie, Daniel O’Sullivan & Tamsin L. Malkin (2013) The importance of feldspar for ice nucleation by mineral dust inmixed-phase clouds, Nature, 498, pp355-358.

Helena Brown won a placement as part of the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture Demo Team, below is a report covering her experience.

When the Royal Institute announced the topic for this year’s Christmas Lectures was Earth Science, I was immediately excited. I knew that they collaborated with ‘Technicians Make It Happen’ to allow two technicians to join the Christmas Lecture demo-building team and knew I had the ideal set of skills to help from my time working in the Sorby Environmental Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in the School of Earth and Environment.

Photo of the script backstage at the recording of Lecture 2.

When I applied for the position I didn’t really think much would come of it. I had an interview over Zoom with Fran Scott and David Porter, who were so lovely it seemed like more of a chat. A few days later I was offered the position.

I arrived in London on Friday 13^th November, and due to lockdown 2 everything was eerily quiet. You could say it was ultimate 2020 experience to have the opportunity to spend two weeks in London but not be able to enjoy any of the museums, galleries, food or drink, or see any of my colleagues outside of work.

Photo of deserted streets, Pall Mall and Piccadilly Circus

Photo of deserted streets, Pall Mall and Piccadilly Circus

On my first day I was given a tour of the Royal Institute building by the front-of-house team, then met the rest of the demo team who I would be working with for the duration of my placement. The team consisted of RI staff who worked on the Christmas Lectures each year, some who had been borrowed due to their skills and two further technicians. Everyone was so welcoming, kind and interesting - I felt immediately like I was part of the team.

My ‘induction’ was a bizarre but simple task: make a plastic bucket look like an old leather bucket using papier mache and paint.  This set the bar for the rest of my placement, being asked to make demos and props to explain a complex scientific principle in a really visual and fun way.

Each day we would be given tasks to complete, usually to create a proof-of-concept for a demo, and then later in the day we would test the demo, filming it to show the lecturers and production team as the building was mostly empty due to COVID restrictions.

The demo would then be adjusted to ensure it worked well and looked good on camera.

Corridor in the RI

Adapting play pit balls for a demo

The demo team had a great mix of skills and we helped each other overcome problems and utilise the materials they already had. Some of us were good at making things work, and others made them look good enough to be on camera. For me the joy of making demos is that they don’t have to be robust and perfect, as long as they visualise the concept then they’re done - and you can move onto the next task. After months of working from home it was so enjoyable to be able to be productive and creative again.

There were a lot of long days, but the fact that we were having so much fun, and there was such a great atmosphere, made it one of the highlights of my career (I would say a highlight of 2020, but we know that isn’t saying very much!).

The final three days were for the rehearsals and filming of lecture 2, for which I would be a runner. When I applied, I didn’t really know what I was letting myself in for – it turns out that a runner sets up the demos for filming (no problem) but then has to wheel them on and off the set (oh jeez). I was given a timetable of when the demos needed to be on by the excellent demo stage manager Jemma and worked with Fran and Jemma to seamlessly prep and bring out the demos as they were needed.

The filming required a lot of standing around while camera angles and lighting levels were discussed, and it was difficult to remain alert enough to pick up changes to the demo timing and placements while prepping the next demo or tidying up the previous one. Luckily the team I was working with were brilliant, and I just followed their lead.

Backstage for Helen’s lecture, all the demos waiting to be set up

Jemma waiting for the next demo cue

All in all, the placement was fantastic, and I would recommend it to anyone. The entire demo team was really grateful for the expertise each of us technicians brought, and they managed to make the process fun despite social distancing, constant mask wearing and very long hours.

To everyone who works at the RI, thank you for inviting me and making it such a great experience, if you ever need my help again you know where I am…..

The demo team with Helen Czerski after the filming for her lecture had finished