Numerical development of fluid-structure interactions for marine structures

This PhD position at Ecole Centrale de Nantes focuses on developing and validating a fully coupled numerical framework to capture fluid-structure interactions, ranging from quasi-static to dynamic hydro-elastic responses. Operating within the Chaire de recherche Bureau Veritas – Ecole Centrale de Nantes, the researcher will work closely with the foamStar development team to study phenomena such as springing and whipping on marine structures. The successful candidate will combine numerical solver development using OpenFOAM with experimental validation against extensive test databases. The project provides an opportunity to advance naval applications and collaborate with industry experts from Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore.

• Develop and verify numerical solvers for fluid-structure interaction using OpenFOAM and the foamStar module.
• Implement the generalized mode approach for structural deformation and modal decomposition.
• Perform Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations to analyze URANS equations under extreme wave conditions.
• Validate numerical frameworks against experimental databases and tank testing campaigns.
• Collaborate with the Research Department of Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore on naval applications.