PROJECT and MASTER THESES 2014/2015
Below you’ll find proposed topics for project and master theses. Most of the proposed topics
are just sketches. The detailed topics will be made in discussion between student and
supervisor.
Most topics can be both project and master thesis. It is most common to have the same main
topic for both project and master. Several of the topics might even be continued in a PhD
project. Some of the topics are related to ongoing research in the department, others have been
proposed by industry or by MARINTEK.
This list is made by Sverre Steen, http://folk.ntnu.no/sverres
Overview of proposed topics. A more detailed description follows on the next pages.
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Application of CFD to manoeuvring predictions
Development of efficient testing methods with documented uncertainty
Utvikling av bølgedempere for bruk i slepetank og MCLab
Rulledempning ved bruk av tunnellthrustere og azimuth-thrustere
Modeling of the forces on a propeller operating in rough seas
Steering and thrust loss while trawling
Importance of fluid-structure interaction for impact loads on free-fall lifeboats
Application of CFD to manoeuvring predictions
The goal of this project is to compare the capabilities of the CFD softwares StarCCM+ and
FINE/Marine for manoeuvring computations on a given hull. Results will be compared to
existing experimental data. The project will be divided as follow:
1.
Student project:
a.
Preparation of the geometry (cleaning and meshing)
b.
Learning of the two CFD softwares by the mean of tutorials
c.
Application to calm water resistance tests on the reference hull, and comparison with
existing experimental data.
d.
Steady state turning circle simulation (without propulsion unit), and comparison with
existing experimental data.
2.
Master thesis:
e.
Pure sway and yaw simulations in calm water for different frequency and amplitude
(to define), and comparison with existing experimental results.
f.
PMM simulations in calm water, and comparison with existing experimental results
Proposed by: MARINTEK
Supervisor: Sverre Steen. Advisors: Eloïse Croonenborghs, Anders Östman, Dariusz Fahti
Development of efficient testing methods with documented uncertainty
Experimental validation of performance of marine structures, such as ships, propellers,
offshore structures and fish farms are an essential part of the development projects. Most of
the experimental validation is performed in model scale. It is of course essential to know the
accuracy of the results of experimental validation. Such tests are also quite costly, so one tries
to make the tests as quickly and efficiently as possible. There is a trade-off between accuracy
and efficiency. As an example, the waiting time between runs in a towing tank impacts the
accuracy – if the waiting time is too short the remaining waves and current in the tank will
influence the results of the next run. Another example is the length of the time series used to
find mean values and/or other statistical parameters like standard deviations. The longer time
series the better accuracy, but increased time and therefore cost. Other was to increase
efficiency is to perform the tests in different way. It has for instance been proposed to test at
slowly, but continuously increased speed rather than at different constant speeds. Here at the
Marine Technology Centre, the development of new testing procedures has become more
urgent since MARINTEK is introducing automatic control of the towing carriage and
experiment procedure. There are also new developments in methodology to link measurement
uncertainty to the length of the time series. This forms the background for a proposed project
and master thesis to study development of efficient testing methods with documented
uncertainty. There is great freedom to select focus in this project – as the introduction shows
there are several possible topics that can be focused on.
Supervisor: Prof. Sverre Steen. Advisors: Kjetil Berget, Bjørn Ola Berge
Utvikling av bølgedempere for bruk i slepetank og MCLab
Forsøk i bølger med konstruksjoner uten forover-hastighet i slepetanker er vanskelig, fordi
konstruksjonen vil reflektere bølger ut til sidene, som så vil reflekteres fra veggene i tanken
tilbake til modellen, og derved skape en ukjent og nokså kaotisk bølgesituasjon. Det benyttes i
dag hovedsakelig to typer bølgedempere i slepetankene i Marinteknisk Senter –
svømmebassengdempere og vertikale perforerte plater som er montert parallelt med
tankveggen. Svømmebassengdemperne er ikke ment å være effektive for å dempe reflekterte
bølger som beskrevet over. Utfordringen er å finne nye typer bølgedempere som kan brukes
ved forsøk i bølger med modeller uten forover-hastighet, og å dokumentere deres effektivitet
ved ulike bølgelengder.
Forslagstiller: NTNU.
Faglærer: Sverre Steen.
Rulledempning ved bruk av tunnellthrustere og azimuth-thrustere
Bakgrunn: Rulledempning av skip som ligger stille er i dag basert på slingrekjøler og i noen
tilfeller rulledempningstanker. Både for yachter og offshore-fartøyer (for eksempel stand-by
fartøyer) er det stor interesse for reduksjon av rullebevegelser når fartøyer ligger stille. Slike
fartøyer er som regel utstyrt med tunnell-thrustere, og i en del tilfeller også med azimuththrustere. Thrusterne benyttes gjerne til Dynamisk Posisjonering (DP). Det er mulig å
samtidig benytte dem til å dempe rullebevegelsene, fordi DP-systemet arbeider mot
saktevarierende driftkrefter, som har en annen periode enn rulleperioden.
Prosjekt: Studere tilsvarende systemer for rulledempning av skip ved bruk av ror, samt annen
relevant litteratur. Gjøre beregninger av nødvendig thrustkraft og dempe-effekt.
Master: Lage en beregningsmodell som inkluderer tapseffekter og dynamiske effekter. Lage
et enkelt kontrollsystem for styring av thrusterne. Gjøre simuleringsstudier. Om man på
grunnlag av prosjektoppgaven finner det hensiktsmessig kan det gjennomføres modellforsøk
med systemet.
Forslagstiller: NTNU. Oppgaven vil inngå i University Technology Centre, som drives i
samarbeid med Rolls-Royce.
Faglærer: Sverre Steen
Modeling of the forces on a propeller operating in rough seas
Background: Propellers operating in rough sea conditions are subject to large dynamic loads,
due to the varying inflow, and due to ventilation and out-of-water events. For designers and
manufacturers of propellers and thrusters it is important to have a simple model for forces on
a propeller in rough sea conditions. Such a model can be based on a simple analytic model,
supplemented by empirical data.
Project thesis:
Literature survey about propellers in waves and oblique flow, and the loads on propellers in
general.
Master thesis:
Development of a mathematical model for the propeller loads. Verification against model and
full scale measurements.
Proposed by: NTNU. The work will be a part of University Technology Centre which is a
research cooperation with Rolls-Royce Marine.
Supervisor: Prof. Sverre Steen.
Steering and thrust loss while trawling.
From practical experience, it is found that a large part of the propeller thrust is lost due to
excessive use of rudder to maintain direction of the trawler while trawling. The use of rudder
is necessary to keep wanted heading and track, which is offset due to environmental forces
(wind, waves, current). Like for a tug, the forces in the tow lines are important for the control
of the trawler while trawling. Although the magnitude of the forces are mainly given, the
point of application on the ship might be changed to improve the control of the ship. The
trawler “Prestfjord” has recently had an extensive measurement package installed – unique to
such a ship. These measurement results will be made available to the candidate as an
important resource in the project. The measurements are performed as part of the SITNEFproject Improvedo: http://www.sintef.no/Fiskeri-og-Havbruk-AS/Prosjekter/2010/ImprovedoImproved-vessel-design-and-operation/
Suggested activities in the project and master:
 Study the literature and results of previous studies to establish state of the art with
respect to trawling and control of trawl and trawlers.
 Establish a simulation model of “Prestfjord», including trawl. The simulation might be
partly based on existing simulation models (there is no need to start from scratch!)
 Compare the simulation model against the available full scale measurement results.
 Establish some typical and some critical trawling conditions to be simulated. Contact
with the captain of “Prestfjord” is recommended for this point.
 Simulate the defined conditions and compare against measurements.
 Test alternative locations of the attachment points of the trawl wires to investigate the
sensitivity with respect to steering and power consumption.
 Make recommendations for improved trawling configuration (if possible) and suggest
further work (if required)
Topic proposed by Rolls-Royce Marine (Leif Vartdal)
Supervisor: Prof. Sverre Steen.
Co-supervisor: Karl Johan Reite, SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture
Importance of fluid-structure interaction for impact loads on free-fall
lifeboats
Loads and responses of free fall lifeboats used on offshore oil & gas installations has been a
hot topic of research and investigations for several years, after it was discovered large
structural deformations and unacceptably high acceleration levels in existing boats. Both
CFD, FEM and model and full scale experiments are used in the research and investigation of
the performance of the lifeboats. The combination of CFD and FEM is increasingly in favor,
and it has been demonstrated that generally good agreement between calculation and full scale
measurements is obtained. However, the influence of elastic deformations of the hull structure
on the hydrodynamic loads during impact is ignored in most numerical analyses, and the
validity of this simplification is questioned in some cases, where large structural deformations
are observed in full scale measurements.
The main objectives of the proposed project and master thesis are:
 To determine in which cases the deformation of the structure is important for the
impact loads
 To propose methods to account for the influence of elastic deformations
 To explore the use of coupled CFD and FEM to analyze this particular fluid-structure
interaction problem
Since the bottom of the lifeboats is V-shaped, using knowledge of wedge impact is crucial. It
is foreseen that for the project, establishing suitable benchmark cases for wedges, and doing
extensive surveys of previous work in the field of wedge impact, hydroelasticity and free-fall
lifeboats will be important elements, while for the master thesis, analysis of wedge impact
using Star CCM+, and coupling it with the finite element software Abaqus will be important.
The thesis project is suggested by Fedem Technologies in Trondheim. Fedem offers the right
student a work place at Fedem during the thesis work, and also assistance with the CFD and
FEM modelling. A summer internship is also possible. Contact Jon Tøndevoldshagen
jon.tondevoldshagen@fedem.com 917 31 017 for more information about Fedem’s work on
free fall lifeboats and what Fedem can offer.
Supervisor: Prof. Sverre Steen