PhD Studentship - SEAI funded InDyCORE (Innovation in Dynamic Cables for Offshore Renewable Energy) Project

Post status: Full-time – 3 Years

Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week

Post summary

The Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) are seeking a PhD student to work on the SEAI funded InDyCORE (Innovation in Dynamic Cables for Offshore Renewable Energy) project.

Power export cables for floating offshore wind turbines, termed ‘Dynamic Cables’ are required to move with the floating device. They are continuously subjected to a variety of bending and twisting forces caused by the tidal current and floater behaviour, meaning that more robust designs are required compared to the traditional ‘static’ cables used in fixed base turbines. The InDyCORE project focuses on the structural behaviour of these cables, addressing significant uncertainty about their mechanical properties, hydrodynamic loading and vibration response. Specifically, it seeks to advance the state of the art in mechanical design and operation of dynamic cable systems through:

1. Developing improved models of dynamic cables system to give better understanding of cable behaviour
2. Undertaking an experimental testing campaign to characterize the structural properties of dynamic cable systems using TCD’s hybrid simulation facility and
3. Quantify the role of uncertainty in Dynamic Cable modelling and analysis and using data driven approaches to optimize maintenance strategies.

The research under the first two headings aims to improve fundamental understanding of dynamic cable behaviour, while research under the third theme will apply probabilistic approaches to develop a software framework that combines measured data with computational models to guide maintenance decision making for dynamic cable systems.

More details can be found here: www.tcd.ie/hr/vacancies

Standard Duties and Responsibilities of the Post

The appointed applicants will undertake academic research under the direction of the PI and Co-PI’s, working closely with other appointees and members of academic staff.

Funding Information

The project is funded by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) under the ‘National Energy Research, Development & Demonstration (RD&D) Programme’

Person Specification

Qualifications

Excellent academic performance and grades at undergraduate level and/or Master’s level is considered essential.

Knowledge & Experience (Essential & Desirable)

• A strong background in engineering or mathematics (Essential)
• Experience in computational modelling (Essential)
• Working knowledge of both fluid and/or structural dynamics (Desirable)
• Experience developing code using PYTHON, MATLAB, or similar, software (Desirable)

Skills & competencies

• A strong background in engineering or mathematics
• Expertise in computational modelling
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills
• Ability to work collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team

Application procedure

Applicants should submit a full Curriculum Vitae to include the names and contact details of 2 referees (including email addresses), to:

Dr. John Hickey: john.hickey@tcd.ie

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