Funded PhD Studentship: Tidal Renewable Energy: Fatigue Study of Floating Tidal Turbines: developing computational tools to predict fatigue loads and design life of a floating platform tidal energy converter

Swansea University is a UK top 30 institution for research excellence (Research Excellence Framework 2014), and has been named Welsh University of the Year 2017 by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide.

Project start date: September 2017

This PhD is linked to the EPSRC SUPERGEN Marine 2015 funded project “SURFTEC: Survivability and Reliability of Floating Tidal Energy Converters” (ref. no. EP/N509826/1), working with the European Marine Energy Centre and Black and Veatch. The primary purpose is to develop computational tools to predict fatigue loads and design life of a floating platform tidal energy converter (FTEC). The postgraduate scholar will be working closely with the project team and industrial partners to develop an engineering tool and to analyse test data related to the operation of FTECs.

Within the wider project, this studentship will focus on development of the floating rigid body analysis and to concentrate on the structural side of the computational modelling tool. For example, the project will convert sea states into waves and determine the loads, accelerations, stresses and movement of the structure. One goal will be to design this computational system so that the required parameters to enable fatigue analysis are easily obtained. This will be implemented in C++.

Working with the project researcher, the rigid body analysis will be coupled to an existing Blade Element Momentum Theory model to exchange data between the turbine hydrodynamics and the structure. There is also a requirement to validate the coupled model against field data. Finally, it should be possible to extract parameters most relevant to a fatigue study.

The project is industrially focused and outputs will be actively used by industry. Consequently, the project will contribute to a best practice guide for design of FTECs that is an output of the project.

The student will be expected to write a thesis, produce academic papers, present their work at conferences and attend industrial meetings. Some overnight and international travel is expected. There may also be opportunities for fieldwork at sea.

Swansea University continues to maintain its position as one of the top universities in the UK for Engineering.

The College of Engineering has recently moved to Swansea University’s brand new Bay Campus, which has 4 buildings dedicated to engineering, holding 30,000m2 of laboratory and office space and over £10 million of new research and teaching equipment.

It is currently ranked 10th in the UK according to the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2014, with 94% of research produced by academic staff classified as World-Leading (4*) or of Internationally Excellent (3*) quality.

Engineers at Swansea pioneered the development of numerical techniques such as the revolutionary finite element method, recognised as one of the top 100 discoveries and developments in UK universities to have changed the world.

A strong multidisciplinary ethic is reflected in the research activities of the College’s internationally recognised research centres, together with collaborative work with industry that has led to breakthrough technologies. These include an artificial lung, a hi-tech diabetes blood glucose monitor, turning buildings into ‘power stations’ through the use of functional coatings, and a low cost biosensor capable of diagnosing a range of health conditions.

As a postgraduate student you will have access to research-enabling facilities housed in each of the College’s internationally recognised research centres, including state-of-the-art laboratories, multimedia suites, advanced computing technology and excellent postgraduate study rooms.

The College has developed some of the University’s strongest links with industry at a Wales, UK, and International level, and has established itself as a leader in engineering development, working in partnership with such blue chip companies as TATA, Rolls-Royce, Airbus, BAE Systems and HP. As a student you can expect to benefit from close working relationships with industry experts and in many cases, gain valuable experience through industrial placements.