PhD in Mechanical Engineering: Understanding the impact of underwater cleaning on fouling control coatings

Award Summary

100% fees covered, and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £17,668 (2022-23 UKRI rate)

Overview

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is crucially important to meet globally agree climate/temperature targets. Maritime transport emits around 940 million tonnes of CO2 annually. Biofouling, the growth of marine plants and animals on the hull of a vessel, can significantly increase the drag of the hull and consequently fuel use and GHG emissions. Fouling control coatings are the primary means to minimise biofouling accrual. Underwater cleaning of these coatings is often required due to various operational considerations (water temperature, route, speed etc). However, the impact of in-water cleaning on the integrity of the fouling-control coating and its expected in-service lifetime is not well understood.

The purpose of this project is to investigate the fundamental physical parameters that control the integrity of fouling control coatings and their ongoing antifouling performance after underwater cleaning. The project consists of elements of material surface science, engineering design, mechanical characterisations, experimentation, biomechanical modelling and data analysis. Underwater cleaning is an emerging market but to determine the impact on fouling control coating and their performance required development of new testing methods and fundamental understanding of the results. 

Number Of Awards

1

Start Date

18th September 2023

Award Duration

4 years

Application Closing Date

28th February 2023

Sponsor

EPSRC ICASE and AkzoNobel

Supervisors

Academic supervisor : Dr Jinju (Vicky) Chen, Newcastle University

Industrial supervisor: Dr Lyndsey Tyson, AkzoNobel

Eligibility Criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project (inc. Engineering, Computing, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics etc.). Enthusiasm for research, the ability to think and work independently, excellent analytical skills and strong verbal and written communication skills are also essential requirements. 

Home and international applicants (inc. EU) are welcome to apply and if successful will receive a full studentship. Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills. 

International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme. 

How To Apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal 

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.  

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:  

• search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8090F 
• Research Area: Mechanical and Systems Engineering 
• select ‘PhD Mechanical Engineering (full time) - Mechanical and Systems Engineering' as the programme of study 

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Questions’ section:  

• a ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) - upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form  
• the studentship code ENG107 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field  
• when prompted for how you are providing your research proposal - select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert – and provide your own statement. 

Contact Details

Dr. Jinju (Vicky) Chen, E-mail: jinju.chen@ncl.ac.uk;

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