Centre for Civil and Building Services Engineering (CCiBSE)

Engineering the built environment of the 21st century through innovative, interdisciplinary and practical research, based on world leading expertise

LSBU's Centre for Civil and Building Services Engineering Research (CCiBSE) is a truly integrated research centre within the School of Built Environment and Architecture. The centre draws on over 70 years of academic and applied research experience in Energy, Civil and Building Services Engineering , Built Environment, Modelling and LSBU’s solid and long-standing professional reputation in the construction and property industry.

This unique nexus of expertise positions CCiBSE to provide sustainable solutions for the interdisciplinary challenges facing the Built Environment and to deliver positive impact on strategy, policy and practice within the Built Environment.

The centre is committed to developing research that could minimise the environmental impact and carbon emissions associated with the built environment and energy, as well as developing the industry’s skills and providing pathways between fundamental research, applied research, knowledge transfer and enterprise.

CCiBSE has world leading expertise in Civil and Building services engineering. These disciplines have been brought together collaboratively and constructively with the aim of delivering for society on climate change and sustainability.

The research ethos of the centre are to:

Bring cross sectorial research themes together to innovate distinctive and beneficial collaboration with industrial & other partners
Develop research and engineering solutions that benefit Society and the Built Environment
Disseminate and impact policy and practice

Investigated topics

Integrated Design and Modelling in the Energy and Built Environment
Building Physics, Comfort & Building Performance
Advanced Building and Acoustics Materials
Acoustics, Vibration and Noise Control
Energy/Heat Recovery, Heat Networks and Thermal Storage
Energy Management, Power Systems and Quality
Energy Conversion Technologies - Heat Pumps and/or other novel Low-Carbon Technologies
Hydrogen Energy Technologies
Decarbonised Heating, Cooling and Power Generation
Data Management
Computational Fluid Dynamics and Geomechanics
Coastal and Ocean Engineering
Structural Fire Safety and Fire Design
Structural Design and Reliability
Highways and Transportation Infrastructure Engineering
Structural Mechanics and Analysis
Waste Management and Circular Economy
Water and Environmental Engineering
Policy Implementation

Current projects

We have had significant success in securing funding for a number of energy and applied research projects, and host a number of match-funded research projects and Green Tech A2I projects funded by the European Union.

Balanced Energy Network (BEN)

The Balanced Energy Network (BEN) is a £4 million project part-funded by Innovate UK. The BEN consortium brings together cross-sector supply chains to deliver integrated energy solutions at different scales to meet the energy systems challenges of achieving a low-carbon economy: secure, affordable, sustainable energy.

This project is the first investigative pilot study in the world that is delivering both physical and digital network knowledge to integrate systems that will enable the balancing of heating, cooling, electricity and carbon to minimise costs – and help combat global warming.

Home Energy 4 Tomorrow (HE4T)

The Home Energy 4 Tomorrow (HE4T) project is an academic and industry collaborative research project funded by innovate UK to develop a dual source heat pump (DSHP), capable of linking with both air and water heat sinks.

Project partner ICAX Ltd. has created a prototype proving the flexibility and efficiency benefits of a DSHP. This research project will take this starting point and develop a heat pump for mass application in both new build and retrofit markets. This solution will offer a more efficient pathway to the electrification of domestic heat. The development work will take place at the laboratories of London South Bank University.

An exciting strand of this project is the development of the potential for water utilities to play a role in accelerating the uptake of electrified heat. HE4T will be looking at how water systems can be connected to the DSHPs to boost efficiency – turning the water utilities into energy carriers. This work is supported by Thames Water and Anglian Water, as part of their ongoing energy innovation work.

Decarbonised Heating and Cooling with Advanced Technologies

A novel research project has been launched to develop a new way of recovering waste heat from industry and decarbonise heating and cooling through new technologies. This research project is led by London South Bank University (LSBU) and CCiBSE and funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The research team in this EPSRC project will investigate new ways of providing heating and cooling from energy intensive industries including steel, glass, paper, food and cement etc.

The new technologies which will be studied include waste heat recovery at various grades, long-distance transport networks to transfer recovered energy more efficiently and advanced heating and cooling systems.

Other projects

Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) Institutional link with Institute of Technology Bandung, Indonesia on Developing Indonesian Coastal Areas as Sustainable Tourism.
Short Course IOA certiﬁcate on competence
Biomedical acoustics, Communication and Rooms (Special Interest Group of the UK Acoustic Network), UKAN, funded by EPSRC since March 2018.
Royal Opera House match-funded Scholarship.
Royal Academy of Music to design solutions to improve the environment for musicians Match-funded PhD.
Patent for Fire Cladding
Endothermic Heat project
Henry Wood Hall
Decarbonised Transport

Key facilities

Acoustic facilities

Our centre house the best academic acoustic facilities in the South-East of England, including a full-size reverberant and anechoic chambers, as well as an exceptionally well equipped laboratory, featuring the very latest instrumentation and technology. Our anechoic chamber was featured by UNILAD.

Both chambers can be used for simulating idealised acoustic conditions for researching a number of noise phenomena: sound power determination, binaural recordings, measuring source directivity, the testing of hearing protectors and the demonstration of fundamental acoustic principles.

Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Buildings (CEREB)

CEREB is unique resource supporting policy engagement, teaching, research and demonstration of low carbon energy technologies in the built environment.

Environmental chamber

The environmental chamber is a flexible Climate Simulator used for controlled testing and developing new techniques and systems. It allows us to construct full-scale and scaled environments to better understand climatic influence and be capable of controlling strict environmental conditions.

BIM

Building Information Modelling (BIM) Centre

BIM is an approach to managing and planning every aspect of design and operation in the construction process in a better, more efficient way to improve the basis upon which the construction industry and its clients operate. The BIM Centre acts as a hub for innovation, professional training and networking amongst practice experts in the built environmental sector.

Strengths of Materials laboratory

The Strengths of Materials laboratory at London South Bank University offers state-of-the-art testing facilities, capable of performing product qualification testing and aiding knowledge development for structural assemblies and structural and mechanical components.

The apparatus available allow for testing of a wide range of components, including slabs, beams, floor joists, roof trusses, wall panels, floor system components, connection details, compression members and struts, both at room temperature and at temperatures up to 1200°C.

Our mechanical loading rigs can test up to 100 kN, 250 kN and 500 kN, respectively, and are adaptable to accommodate a wide range of structural systems in tension, compression, bending and shear. We have previously conducted product qualification and knowledge development testing for modular construction contractors, chipboard manufacturers and CLT manufacturers.

Other facilities

Lighting Laboratory
Building Services Laboratory
DARLAB (Digital Architecture and Robotic Lab)

The Centre also has access to other general engineering facilities within the University, including the Engineering and Welding Workshops, the Machine Shop, the Modelling Workshop, plus many other design and soft facilities.

Contact us

To enquire about our research and facilities, please contact:

Professor Yunting Ge (Centre Director) E: yunting.ge@lsbu.ac.uk T: 020 7815 7177
Aleya Islam E: islama18@lsbu.ac.uk T: 020 7815 7652

Our centre members have an established track record of impactful applied research, working with a wide variety of industrial and academic partners to achieve significant environmental, social and economic benefits to the field. We also have a number of early carrier researchers who have the passion and enthusiasm to link with industry and deliver impactful research.

Staff directory

To view the full staff list available for CCIBSE

Associate members

Shazia Ali
Mahmood Datoo
Carlos Gonzalo
Mike Gunn
Ivana Kraincanic
Simon Leung
Luis Pinho Santos
Bridget Shield

Current PhD students

Faisal Abdulle
Fadhel Alasadi
Eric Ballestero
Syed Faisal Ali
Mugdad Alkhateeb
Imad Ezzat Dagher
Shirin Ghanei
Fouad Ghoussayni
Robert Kovacs
Muhammad Safdar
Rodrigo Sanchez-Pizani
Haddowe Shatha
Douglas Shearer
Majed Al Shimari
Xinyu Zhang
Pingyuan Lang

Recently completed PhDs

Alexander Cowan David
Nicholas David Durup
Ben Dymock
Samson Ezekiel
Christina Johanna Francis
Amber Khuram
Peter Mapp
Alex Mayes
Pegah Mirzania
Ehsan Mohammadzadeh Miri
Lorenzo Morales
Joseph Ndjana Levodo
Gizem Okten
Oluremi Olufunmilayo Kayode
Uzonna Onyia
Akos Revesz
Khan Riaz
Samuel Tade Oluwagbenga
Elizabeth Whelan
Metkel Yebiyo

We have a number of strong research collaborations and partnerships as well as established links with governmental and professional bodies.

CCiBSE partners

The centre through its members has strong links with the various subjects area professional bodies including:

The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineering
Energy Institute
The Institute of Refrigeration
The Institute of Acoustics
The Institution of Civil Engineers
The Institution of Structural Engineers

The centre also has reach portfolio of working with industrial partners in research and consultancy. These include:

ICAX
Minus7 Ltd
TopHat Labs Limited
Wandsworth Borough Council Heliport Noise Monitoring
Royal Opera House match-funded Scholarship
Foster & Partners- Listening to London
Henry Wood Hall - Knowledge Exchange Voucher
Royal Academy of Music Match-funded PhD
BSRIA
Ricardo PLC

Past collaborations have also included multidisciplinary research networks and knowledge transfer partnerships. In line with LSBU’s fundamental believes, the centre welcome new academic/industrial collaborations.

Academic collaborators

Institute of Technology Bandung, Indonesia
Applied Science University- Bahrain
British University in Egypt
University of Dar-es-Salaam
Dr Ham of the Korea National Rural Research Institute. Dr Timothy Hong is working with Dr Ham on an international collaboration project on water quality modelling and management affected by the rainfall-runoff process in the rural catchment
University College London
Imperial College
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) - University of Lisbon
Lancaster University
University of Sheffield
Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering Department, Brunel University London, UK
Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, Italy
ERAMUS Scholarship related to air quality modelling in May, 2018.

Other partnerships

We are involved in a range of outreach activities with the aim of promoting, enhancing and enriching research and students’ experience. These include:

The Teambuild construction challenge which has been supported by CCiBSE members since 2014. This is a training competition for young people in the construction industry, and a chance for young engineers, architects, construction/design managers, consultants, and contractors to prove and improve their skills.
UK Passivhaus Events

The Balanced Energy Network (BEN) innovative industry and academia collaborative research project shortlisted for the Engineer: Collaborate to Innovate Awards, 2018.
Collaboration with the Royal Opera House and the Royal Academy of Music, complimented through a matched funded PhD to design solutions to improve the environment for musicians
Established strong academic collaborations with the British University, Egypt and Applied Science University, Bahrain. We also hold strong research links with the Institute of Technology in Bandung, Indonesia through two RAE projects looking at plastics waste and developing Indonesian Coastal Areas for Sustainable Tourism.

Collaborative team building events

Teambuild construction challenge supported since 2014. Young engineers, architects, construction/design managers, consultants, and contractors collaborate to improve their skills
The CIBSE Technical Symposium 2018
35^th anniversary CIBSE Patrons 2018
EPSRC UK Acoustics Network

Key publications

Gillich, A., Icon, O., Sunikka-Blank M., and Ford, A., (2017), Designing an ‘optimal’ domestic retrofit programme, Journal of Building Research & Information, Volume 46, 2018 - Issue 7, Pages 767-778.
Averill, A., Ingram, J., Gomez-Augustina, L., Holborn, P., Battersby, P., and Benson, C. (2018). Potential hazard consequences to personnel exposed to the ignition of small volumes of weakly confined stoichiometric hydrogen/air mixture. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.
Chaer, I., Pope, I., Yebyio, M., Paurine, A., (2018), Smart cities – Thermal networks for London, Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 1-9 (9 pages) 26 Jul 2018.
Dance, S., Morales, L., Backus, B., (2018), A methodology to objectively assess the performance of sound field amplification systems demonstrated using fifty physical simulations of classroom conditions, Noise and Health, 20 (94), 77-82,.
Ye, Z., Lawner, H., Chaer, I., Ross, M., (2018), Feasibility Study of Pumping Cycle Kite Power System Implication in Scotland UK. 2018 3rd International Conference on Renewable Energy and Conservation, 15 – 17 June 2018, Sydney, Australia
Aygün, H. and Barlow, C., (2015) “Ultrasonic wave propagation in porous rigid ceramics at oblique incidence”, Applied Acoustics. Vol.88, 6-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2014.07.011
Limbachiya, V. , Ganjian, E. and Claisse, P. (2016), Strength, durability and leaching properties of concrete paving blocks incorporating GGBS and SF, construction and Building Materials, volume 113: 273-279
Mavroulidou, M. (2018). Use of paper sludge ash as a calcium-based stabiliser for clay soils. Waste Management and Research doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X18804043,
https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X18801196.
McCann, F., Fang, C., Gardner, L. and Silvestre, N., (2016) Local buckling and ultimate strength of slender elliptical hollow sections in compression. Journal of Engineering Structures, 111, 104–118.
Levatti H. U., Prat, P.C., and Ledesma. A., (2018) Numerical and experimental study of initiation and propagation of desiccation cracks in clayey soils. Computers & Geotechnics (doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2018.09.015). https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1XtsP,63b~kRN4
McGovern DJ, Robinson T, Chandler ID, Allsop W, Rossetto T, (2018), Pneumatic long-wave generation of tsunami-length waveforms and their runup, Coastal Engineering 138, 80-9
Saber, EM and Iyengar, R and Mast, M and Meggers, F and Tham, KW and Leibundgut, H (2014) Thermal comfort and IAQ analysis of a decentralized DOAS system coupled with radiant cooling for the tropics. Building and Environment, 82. pp. 361-370. DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.09.001.
Shamass, R., and Cashell, K.A. (2018). Analysis of Stainless Steel-Concrete Composite Beams. Journal of Constructional Steel Research doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2018.05.032
Levatti, H.U. ;Pere C. Prat & Alberto Ledesma. (2019) Numerical and experimental study of initiation and propagation of desiccation cracks in clayey soils. Computers & Geotechnics. Vol 105 (155-167). (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2018.09.015)
Levatti, H.U.; Prat, P.C.; Ledesma, A.; Cuadrado, A. & Cordero, J. (2017). Experimental analysis of 3D cracking in drying soils using Ground Penetrating Radar. Geotechnical Testing Journal Vol 40 Issue 2 23 pages (DOI: 10.1520/GTJ20160066)
F. McCann, L. Gardner. 2019. Numerical analysis and design of slender elliptical hollow sections in bending. Thin-Walled Structures, 139:196–208.
W. Qiu, F. McCann, A. Espinos, M. Romero, L. Gardner. 2017. Numerical analysis and design of concrete-filled elliptical section columns and beam-columns, Engineering Structures, 131:90–100.
Y.T. Ge, L. Li, X. Luo, S.A. Tassou. Performance Evaluation of a Low-grade Power Generation System with CO₂ Transcritical Power Cycles. Applied Energy,227(2018) 220-230.
W. Youssef, Y.T. Ge, S.A. Tassou. Effects of latent heat storage and controls on stability and performance of a solar assisted heat pump system for domestic hot water production. Solar Energy 150 (2017) 394–407.
McGovern, D. J., Todd, D., Rossetto, T., Whitehouse, R. J. S., Monaghan, J. and Gomes, E., (2019). “Experimental observations of tsunami induced scour at onshore structures.” Coast. Eng.Volume 152, 10.1016/j.coastaleng.2019.103505.
McGovern, D. J., Chandler, I. D., Allsop, N. W. H., Robinson, T. and Rossetto, T. (2018). “Pneumatic long-wave generation of tsunami-length waveforms and their runup.” Coast. Eng. 138 80–97. DOI: 10.1016/j.coastaleng.2018.04.006
L. Barbierato, A. Estebsari, L. Bottaccioli, E. Macii and E. Patti, “A Distributed Multi-Models Co-Simulation Platform to Assess General Purpose Services in Smart Grids,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, 2020.
A. Estebsari and R. Rajabi, “Single Residential Load Forecasting Using Deep Learning and Image Encoding Techniques,” MDPI Electronics, 2020.
L. Bottaccioli, A. Estebsari, E. Patti, E. Pons, A. Acquaviva, "Planning and real-time management of smart grids with high PV penetration in Italy," Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability, 2019.
I. Khajenasiri, A. Estebsari, M. Verhelst, G. Gielen, “A Review on Internet of Things Solutions for Intelligent Energy Control in Buildings for Smart City Applications,” Energy Procedia, Volume 111, March 2017, Pages 770-779, ISSN 1876-6102, 2017.
Safdar M. U., Mavroulidou, M., Gunn M. J., Garelick J, Payne I., Purchase D., (2021) “Innovative methods of ground improvement for railway embankment Peat Fens foundation soil”, Géotechnique, https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.19.SiP.030
Mengasini, L. Mavroulidou, M. Gunn M.J. (2021)Alkali-activated concrete mixes with ground granulated blast furnace slag and paper sludge ash in seawater environments, Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy 20(2):100380 DOI: 10.1016/j.scp.2021.100380
Haydar Aygün and Finian McCann, 2020. “Structural and acoustical performance of recycled glass bead panels”. Journal of Construction and Building Materials. Volume 258, 119581. (Impact factor, 4.419) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119581
Haydar Aygün, and A. Apolskis, 2020. The quality and reliability of the mechanical stethoscopes and Laser Doppler Vibrometer”. Journal of Applied Acoustics. Volume 161, 107159. (Impact factor, 2.44) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2019.107159
Haydar Aygün, 2019. ‘A viscoelastic system for determining acoustical and mechanical parameters of the bone’. Journal of Applied Acoustics. Volume 150, Pages 70-75. (Impact factor, 2.44) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2019.01.034.
Ballestero E., Aygün H., Jiménez N., Groby J. P., Dance S., and Romero-García V., 2019, “Experimental validation of deep-subwavelength diffusion by acoustics meta-diffusers”. Journal of Applied Physics Letters. Vol 115. (Impact factor, 3.597) https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5114877.

The Coastal Hazards Group in CCiBSE specialises in understanding the interaction of extreme seas with the built environment. The research develops an understanding of the forces, sediment scours and other failure modes at coastal structures, helping engineers to mitigate the effects extreme coastal inundations. This is achieved through a combination of physical and numerical modelling techniques.

The Group lead is Dr David McGovern - Academic staff : LSBU People Finder

David has expertise in physical modelling of sediment scour, and fluid structure interactions.

Members :

Dr Keith Adams -

Mrs Niki Soleimani - PhD scholar - Google Scholar

Niki is a PGR scholar Jan 2024 – 2027 researching tsunami scour at onshore structures through experimental and numerical methods.

Mr Carlos Gonzalo - Academic staff : LSBU People Finder

Carlos has expertise in fluid mechanics, and innovation development.

Collaborators:

Professor Rodney Day - Academic staff : LSBU People Finder

Rodney is PVC of Research and Enterprise at LSBU, and has a track record of hydraulic engineering and scour.

Recent Publications from the Laboratory:

Observations from the EEFIT-TDMRC mission to Banda Aceh, Indonesia to investigate the recovery from the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Baiguera, M., Raby, A., McGovern, D., Adams, K., Meilianda, E., Idris, Y. and Veriyanti, V.
Large-Scale Experiments On Tsunami Inundation And Overtopping Forces At Vertical Sea Walls McGovern, D., Allsop, W., Rossetto, T and Chandler, I. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2022.104222
Experimental observations of tsunami induced scour at onshore structures. McGovern, D, Todd, D, Rossetto, T, Whitehouse, RJS, Monaghan, J and Gomes, E https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2019.103505

Funding wins:

2023 AKT269: Tsunami Experimental Study £36k, PI Dr McGovern

2024 - 2026: KTP LSBU HR Wallingford - TsuTWin. £200k PI Dr McGovern, Co-I Mr Carlos Gonzalo

TsuTWin - Tsunami Twin Wave Generation Laboratory

TsuTWin is a £200k Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with HR Wallingford to develop the world's first physical laboratory for tsunami wave train and return flow generation.

Currently there is no method to generate the deadly return flow of tsunami - a major cause of destruction. Neither is there any method to generate repeat waves, otherwise known as tsunami wave trains. TsuTWin will change that by developing a laboratory generation system that will be able to generate incoming, returning and multiple tsunami waves. This will lead to better facilities for scientists and engineers to understand how these waves are so destructive and mitigate against them. Ultimately protecting life and property.

The project is funded by Innovate UK, PI Dr David McGovern, and administered by Nil Atmaca. For further information, please contact David McGovern or Nil Atmaca.

Tsunami Scour

Tsunami scour is a major cause of structural failure in events such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Tsunami. Scour is the removal of sediment around the foundations of structures under tsunami attack. Currently one PhD international scholar is using experimental data to develop a numerical model to understand the process fully.

For further information contact Mrs Niki Soleimani

Tsunami interactions with coastal structures

Our external Collaborators:

University College London

HR Wallingford Ltd.

University of East London

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