2015 IRDR IMPACT PHD STUDENTSHIP
PhD Studentship: Risks to Arctic offshore operations: Consolidation and strength of thick
sea ice features
University College London
Qualification
type:
PhD
Location:
London
Funding for:
UK Students, EU Students
Funding amount:
Not specified
Hours:
Full Time
Placed on:
ASAP
Closes:
17th October 2015
The UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction invites applications for a fully
funded 3-year UCL Impact Studentship with NTNU
Primary Supervisor: Professor Peter Sammonds (IRDR)
Secondary Supervisor: Dr Michel Tsamados (UCL Centre for Polar Observation &
Modelling)
Tertiary Supervisors: Dr Knut Hoyland (NTNU, Trondheim, Norway)
Dr Eleanor Bailey (C-Core, Newfoundland, Canada)
Proposed Research
This project focuses on the development of a thermal consolidation and failure model for
rafted and ridged sea ice. The model will resolve outstanding problems of the
consolidation process including the impact of salt released during freezing and the influx of
sea water into a keel. The model equations will be analyzed but also solved numerically.
Fracture will be addressed by analysing the shear fracture energy required to rupture ice
freeze bonds as a function of the degree of consolidation. These will be employed in
discrete element modelling. The model study will be guided by laboratory experiments of
consolidation and strength of sea ice in the UCL cold room, where the evolving
temperature and salinity distributions will be measured. Shear fracture experiments will
measure the energy for breaking freeze bonds and bending experiments will measure the
bending strength of consolidated floes.
The model will be validated against field measurements. The UCL student will work
cooperatively with students at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology
(NTNU) in Trondheim and the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), working on numerical
simulations of sea ice interactions with offshore structures and full scale sea ice properties.
UCL INSTITUTE FOR RISK & DISASTER REDUCTION (IRDR)
The Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction aims to provides a focus for UCL’s risk and
disaster reduction (RDR) activities, which span earth and space sciences, mathematics
and statistics, engineering and development planning, population health, anthropology,
ethics and laws. By promoting novel multidisciplinary research and its translation into
practice, the Institute aims to establish a role of international leadership in RDR. We are
seeking to appoint outstanding individuals to our research studentships to develop world-
class research and contribute to enhancing the impact of that research.
Student Prerequisites
A successful candidate will have a good honours degree in engineering, physics or
geophysics with an enthusiasm for computational modelling and fieldwork, and an aptitude
for laboratory experiments. An MSci, MSc or MRes degree would be an advantage.
Funding is available for UK/EU students only.
Training and support
The student will receive training in numerical modelling and laboratory ice physics, joining
an active research groups working on problems of polar modelling and ice strength in
Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling and in the Rock and Ice Physics Laboratory at
UCL. UCL has a programme of courses promoting transferable skills such as research
planning and presentation, computing and scientific writing.
Career prospects
Careers In research in arctic engineering and geophysics, and in risk and hazard
assessment and management in the City would be open to the graduate.
For further information contact:
Peter Sammonds (p.sammonds@ucl.ac.uk)
Application: Please see www.ucl.ac.uk/rdr/