Ciência sem Fronteiras (Science Without Borders)
DCU PhD Project Template:
**Please use one form per project**
Please complete & submit to graduate.research@dcu.ie by Friday 13th July
PI name & contact
details:
School:
Dr Yan Delaure
Ph: +353 1 700 8886
E-mail: yan.delaure@dcu.ie
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
Has project been agreed
with head (or nominee)
of proposed registration
school?
Yes / No
Research Centre /
group affiliation:
Centre for Scientific Modelling and Complex System Modelling (Sci-Sym)
Research group /
centre website:
http://sci-sym.dcu.ie
PI website / link to
CV:
scisym.dcu.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=73
Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max):
The Energy and Environmental Flow Modelling group is part of the University Designated Research
Centre Sci-Sym. Its core activity involves the development of Computational Fluid Dynamics models
for a range of energy and environmental flows and its main expertise is in multiphase and free
surface flow as well as rotodynamic machines. Problems currently under investigation include wind
and wave energy systems, waste water pumps and bubble reactors.
Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web):
Development of a Numerical Wave Tank for Modelling of Wave Energy Systems
Computational modelling of wave-induced hydrodynamics is routinely used in the design of a wide
range of marine structures including wave energy devices. Most existing computational models rely
on extremely efficient methods capable of modelling large three dimensional problems within
realistic computational times. This is made possible by neglecting the fluid viscosity and in some
cases non-linear effects. Although accurate in predicting some of the salient features of the system’s
response, the methods have also been shown to have significant limitations in particular when the
amplitude of the system response is large. Wave energy devices generally incorporate dynamic or
structural features which compound these limitations. Discussions with one Irish based wave energy
developer have confirmed that there can be differences between certain aspects of the model
predictions and observations from sea trials or large scale experimental studies, leaving a number of
unanswered questions.
The objective of this research is to develop a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code, to model
the full non-linear and viscous effects and to provide useful and a practical design and investigation
tool for wave energy development. The goal is to provide a partial alternative to extremely
expensive sea trials for testing of existing system.
Unique selling points of PhD project in DCU:
The PI and his research group have extensive experience of Computational Fluid Dynamics using the
open source solver library OpenFOAM®. Work completed to date includes coupling of the Navier
Stokes solver to a 6 degree of freedom solver and the development of specialised boundary
conditions suitable for wave absorption at the open boundaries. This will need to be extended and
coupled to a wave generation source to allow modelling of full open sea conditions. The task is
particularly challenging and has not been satisfactory achieved by commercial codes but preliminary
work conducted at Sci-Sym indicates that efficient solutions are possible (see animation scisym.dcu.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=73). This research will
rely on high performance computing facilities from the Centre for Scientific Computation and
Complex System Modelling (SCI-SYM) and the Irish Centre for High End Computing (ICHEC). The
group’s expertise is at the forefront of research in this area and a successful completion of this
project will make it possible to work with Irish Enterprises which are some of the leading developers
of wave energy devices worldwide.
Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above:
Same PI as above
Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply:
Graduates with a strong background in Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics or Theoretical
Physics can apply.
Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area:
Please indicate the specific programme priority area under which the proposed PhD project fits- choose only
one (tick box):
Engineering and other technological areas
x
Pure and Natural Sciences (e.g. mathematics, physics, chemistry)
Health and Biomedical Sciences
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
Aerospace
Pharmaceuticals
Oil, Gas and Coal
Renewable Energy
x
Minerals
Biotechnology
Nanotechnology and New Materials
Technology of prevention and remediation of natural disasters
Biodiversity and Bioprospection
Marine Sciences
x
Creative Industry
New technologies in constructive engineering