PhD Studentship: Design and Structural Dynamics of Offshore Aquaculture Systems, PhD; Funded

Research Overview

The aim of this project is to characterise the impact of coupled environmental loads on the dynamic structural response of offshore aquaculture farms and potential impacts on fish behaviour.

Depending on your research interests and academic background, this project can be tailored to combine knowledge from structural mechanics, fluid dynamics, offshore engineering and animal behaviour.

Improving the understanding of structural loads in offshore aquaculture has direct implications for the expansion of offshore aquaculture as it can:

• Inform robust and failure-resistant farm designs
• Improve welfare of farmed fish and reduce environmental damage
• Lower capital and maintenance costs through optimised structures

Applicants should have a strong foundation in engineering, physical sciences, or a closely related discipline.

We are particularly interested in candidates with:

• A degree in civil, mechanical, ocean, or offshore engineering, or a related discipline
• Interest in structural dynamics, hydrodynamics, or marine systems
• Experience with programming or numerical tools (MATLAB, Python)
• A willingness to work across disciplinary boundaries
• Motivation to tackle open-ended, real-world engineering problems

Experience with CFD, finite element methods, offshore structures and aquaculture would be beneficial but is not essential.

This PhD offers you the opportunity to work on a rapidly emerging offshore industry where many key engineering questions remain open. You will:

• Develop expertise in offshore structural dynamics
• Work with real-world environmental data and simulation tools
• Contribute to the design of next-generation sustainable ocean infrastructure
• Build skills applicable across marine engineering, and environmental systems

UK tuition fees and an annual tax-free stipend of at least £21,805 per year