The end of year event aimed at showcasing postgraduate research currently carried out at the School of Built Environment and Architecture (BEA). Part-time PhD student Suzana Zekic of the Civil and Building Services Engineering division won the best poster competition award. Suzana’s industry supported PhD research is entitled : “Characterisation of the acoustic properties of alternative ventilation ducts” and is supervised by its director of studies Dr Luis Gomez-Agustina and co-supervisors Dr Haydar Aygun and Prof Issa Chaer. Many congratulations to Suzana and the supervisory team.

The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) has recently approved a research funding application to support a part time PhD research program being undertaken at the BEA Acoustics Research Group.

The research aims to characterise the acoustics properties of alternative residential ventilation ducts.

The funding application written by PhD student Suzana Zekic and PhD director of studies Dr Luis Gomez-Agustina requested financial support to facilitate innovation in the research methods, ensure quality and wide applicability of the project outcomes. This grant further confirms the perceived value of the project and strengthens the link between CIBSE and the School of BEA.

A ventilation test rig designed to measure the acoustic characteristics of alternative ducts has arrived at the School of BEA Acoustics Lab. It has been kindly supplied by Imtech, the main partner and the sponsor company  of an ongoing industry collaborative PhD research with LSBU.

The rig will become the test bed for the development of innovative test procedures and the production of novel acoustic data for plastic and polystyrene ventilation ducts.

PhD director of studies Dr Luis Gomez-Agustina and PhD student Suzana Zekic inspected the rig and were very satisfied with the quality of components and final assembly.

The design, provision and installation of the rig marks the achievement of a fundamental milestone in the progress of this successful PhD research and reflects well on the high-quality research activities of our Centre.  

A new working group has been formed to assist the development of new test methods to determine acoustic properties of ventilation ducts. The first meeting took place in December 2019 at the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) Headquarters. 
The working group has been created by Dr Luis Gomez-Agustina, LSBU PhD candidate and Imtech engineer Suzana Zekic and the CIBSE head of research Dr Anastasia Mylona. 
The group is formed at present by ten industry experts in building services noise and mechanical ventilation senior engineers. Some additional prominent consultants have also expressed interest in joining the group. 
The first meeting was very well attended and was led by Luis and Suzana to a highly productive consultative session. It set the clear basis for a sustained and well-coordinated effort. It was encouraging to see the level of interest and engagement in the research work at hand. Our thanks go to all the group members who attended, those who have recently