PhD scholarship in Marine Hydrodynamics and CFD - Technical University of Denmark

Location: Denmark, Lyngby

University: Technical University of Denmark - Mechanical Eng.

Type: PhD scholarships (International applications are welcome)

Closure Date: June 30, 2020

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at DTU seeks for a motivated candidate 
for a PhD project on simulating wave-induced extreme whipping responses of 
ships. This 3-year project is funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark. 

Hosted by the Maritime Engineering and the Fluid Mechanics groups at the 
department, you will work in an international environment with competent 
colleagues. Through this multidisciplinary project, you are expected to develop 
strong competences in marine hydrodynamics, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), 
stochastic analysis and structural dynamics.

The dramatic increase of ship lengths is making modern ship vulnerable to 
damage due to hull-girder vibration (see an onboard-recorded YouTube video 
here). Whipping, as transient vibration of hull girder due to impulsive wave 
loading, for example wave slamming at bow or stern, is very harmful for ship 
structural integrity. Considering the complex physics, Computational Fluid 
Dynamics (CFD) has the potential to accurately simulate wave-induced whipping 
responses, which however is impractical to generate sufficiently long time 
series to obtain useful stochastic extreme-values of whipping responses.

Responsibilities and tasks
The overall objective of this project is to develop an accurate and efficient 
simulation procedure based on First Order Reliability Method (FORM), using an 
efficient 3D seakeeping solver as a predictor and an accurate free-surface CFD 
solver as a corrector. As a result, a CFD analysis of, for instance 1 minutes, 
instead of, e.g. 3 hours, may be sufficient to achieve a given extreme response 
level.

Your overall responsibility will be to use both theoretical and numerical 
methods to address some of (but not limited to) the research topics listed 
below:  
Extend an in-house 3D potential-flow ship seakeeping code to include a slamming 
model using momentum theory;
Develop a numerical wave tank based on free-surface CFD in StarCCM+ or OpenFOAM 
to study ship seakeeping and wave-induced slamming;
Develop a ship structural response solver based on, for instance Timoshenko 
beam theory, to model ship hull-girder response;
Investigate coupling strategies between the structural solver and the two 
hydrodynamic solvers (3D potential flow and CFD);
Investigate the First Order Reliability Method (FORM) as a tool to determine 
critical wave episode for extreme whipping responses;
Validate numerical results against model test results from industrial partner.  
Qualifications
The candidate must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) in marine 
technology, fluid dynamics, or stochastics; emphasizing, however, that 
applicants with a specialization in ship motion dynamics or CFD will be 
prioritized. 

The candidate is expected to describe their previous experiences with numerical 
simulations in the cover letter. 

Moreover, the following skills will receive additional consideration:  
Familiar with StarCCM+, OpenFOAM or similar;
Experience with numerical implementation of ship/floater motion analysis;
Experience with stochastics or reliability analysis (e.g. FORM)
Approval and Enrolment
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the 
candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For 
information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the 
PhD study programme, please see the DTU PhD Guide.  

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of 
its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding 
and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic 
excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic 
freedom tempered by responsibility. 

Salary and appointment terms
You will be hosted mainly at DTU Lyngby campus. You are also expected to visit 
headquarter of DNVGL in Norway for approximately 3 months and collaborate with 
our industrial partners.The appointment will be based on the collective 
agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The 
allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. The period of employment 
is 3 years. 

You will be hosted mainly at DTU Lyngby campus. You are also expected to visit 
headquarter of DNVGL in Norway for approximately 3 months and collaborate with 
our industrial partners.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here.  

Further information
Further information may be obtained from Associate Professor Yanlin Shao, 
yshao@mek.dtu.dk or Professor Jens H. Walther, jhw@mek.dtu.dk. 

You can read more about DTU Mechanical Engineering on www.mek.dtu.dk/english.

Application
Please submit your online application no later than 30 June 2020 (23:59 local 
time). Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials 
to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply online", fill 
out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in 
one PDF file. The file must include: 
A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
Curriculum vitae
Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma
Excel sheet with translation of grades to the Danish grading system (see 
guidelines and excel spreadsheet here); be careful to enter correct information
Two recent letters of recommendation from professional referees.
If relevant, kindly include a maximum of two peer-reviewed journal or 
conference publications.

Applications and enclosures received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, race, disability, 
religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

DTU Mechanical Engineering covers the fundamental engineering disciplines 
within Solid mechanics, Fluid mechanics, Coastal and Maritime Engineering, 
Energy systems and energy conversion, Materials and Surface Engineering, 
Manufacturing Engineering, Engineering design and Product development. The 
department has a scientific staff of about 135 persons, 100 PhD students and a 
technical/administrative support staff of about 80 persons.

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and 
study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the 
global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. 
Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear vision to develop and 
create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That vision 
lives on today. DTU has 11,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an 
international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working 
environment. Our main campus is in Kgs. Lyngby north of Copenhagen and we have 
campuses in Roskilde and Ballerup and in Sisimiut in Greenland.

Apply online :