Future marine vehicles: bioinspired solutions for energy efficiency, advanced operation and autonomous

Marine, Offshore and Subsea Technology (MOST) is an international recognised discipline in Newcastle with a successful track record delivering research projects powered by world leading research facilities, including the Emerson Cavitation Tunnel, the Princess Royal research vessel, the fully turbulent flow channel, the towing tank and the combined wind, wave and current tank.

Biomimetics are learning from the mother nature to address the specific challenges faced by the industry. And for the marine sector, future marine vehicle is needed both for large shipping vessels and small autonomous vehicles. Bioinspired solutions can be developed to support the development of future marine vehicles.  

The PhD project involves opportunity to work in Applied Biomimetics Marine Hydrodynamics group developing bioinspired solution for marine vehicles (https://www.abmhydro.com/). The student will be involved in researching experimental, numerical and data-driven approaches to model and develop bioinspired solutions for ships and other marine vehicles. Student will be involved in research projects related to decarbonization of maritime industry and development of novel marine autonomous vehicles. Specific scopes will be discussed and determined together with the potential students according to the student background and the research focus.

Newcastle University is committed to being a fully inclusive Global University which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from everybody, regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital status/civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, as well as being open to flexible working practices.

Application enquires:

Suitable candidates will have a prior background in naval architecture, ocean engineering and mechanical engineering. The candidate is expected to be proficient in experimental and computational hydrodynamics and hydroacoustics (e.g. StarCCM+, OpenFoam, Matlab, LabView, Rhino, PIV, openwater, cavitation, noise tests.). Prior research experience in propeller design and optimisation and AUV development is highly desirable. It is also fundamental that you have to be proficient in CAD modelling.

Contact: Dr. Weichao Shi, weichao.shi@newcastle.ac.uk