Funding

Competition funded (UK/EU and international students)

Project code

SMDE8970124

Department

School of Mechanical and Design Engineering

Start dates

April 2024

Application deadline

19 January 2024

Applications are invited for a fully-funded three year PhD to commence in April 2024. 

The PhD will be based in the Schools of Mechanical and Design Engineering and Energy and Electronic Engineering, and will be supervised by Dr Ya Huang and Prof. Victor Becerra. 

Successful applicants will receive a bursary to cover tuition fees for three years and a stipend in line with the UKRI rate (£18,622 for 2023/24). Bursary recipients will also receive a £1,500 p.a. for project costs/consumables. 

The work on this project will:

  • Compare and evaluate existing variants of Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) control strategies using a 3-degree-of-freedom planar vessel control model. Define and implement the dynamic programming schemes for the optimal control problem balancing various control costs and performance gains for underactuated systems. Develop a 6-degree-of-freedom full rigid body vessel model with corresponding control cost and performance landscape. 
  • Define realistic wave and current disturbance models using a combination of nonlinear wave models such as the High Order Spectrum (HOS-ocean) open-source solver for nonlinear waves and the WASS stereo wave imaging public database. Create accurate vessel hydrodynamic loading mechanisms from the results of our strip theory inspired hydrodynamic computational models.
  • Select and compare nonlinear model predictive control, sliding mode control, and L1 adaptive control strategies for the 6-dof vessel model. Re-evaluate seakeeping performance and control cost-to-go.  
  • Implement selected control strategies on the 1x0.5 m Pytheas the test robotic boat in moving current and wave conditions with different scale factors. Identify the operational envelope defined by maximum vessel thrust, maximum current velocity, wave height, and encounter angle for each control strategy.  

Seakeeping, concerning the control of vessel motion when subjected to waves and the resulting effects on humans, systems, and mission capacity, remains one of the biggest challenges in maritime safety. As our climate changes, storms will inevitably become more frequent and severe. Human and machines both have to adapt. 

The project will investigate a selection of dynamic programming based optimal control strategies for seakeeping and reduced injury to occupants due to shock and vibration on fast vessels. The newly developed algorithm will make possible a real-time seakeeping, dynamic motion planning, and shock mitigation controller onboard for both manned and unmanned vessels. The outcome will devise understanding and correlation between close-range wave characteristics with dynamic loads transmitted to the vessel structure and human occupants. 

The School of Mechanical and Design Engineering owns two small-scale unmanned surface test vessels, and has access to a University owned power boat with stereo vision camera system dedicated to this project for wave data collection and machine vision algorithm validation. The project will start with comparing and adapting existing variants of Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) control strategies. It will then extend to nonlinear model predictive control and L1 adaptive control to accommodate the wide range of disturbances of rough sea conditions. The project will take advantage of our existing research avenues in stereo wave imaging, strip theory inspired hydrodynamic modelling of fluid-structure interaction, and human biomechanic responses to shock and vibration on fast vessels. 

The controller development campaign will form a critical part of the seakeeping and shock-mitigating navigational decisions that are key to the safe operations of manned or unmanned surface vessels in challenging sea conditions. The project is aligned with the University’s vision to build global and national partnerships through the boundary-breaking themes of future transportation and intelligent systems.  

The project offers a unique opportunities to engage with a wide spectrum of industrial collaborators from fast marine craft suppliers and operators, marine robotic companies, and coastguard agencies. The student is expected to collaborate with project partners and attend relevant conferences, project meetings, and workshops.

 

Entry requirements

You'll need a good first degree from an internationally recognised university (minimum upper second class or equivalent, depending on your chosen course) or a Master’s degree in an appropriate subject. In exceptional cases, we may consider equivalent professional experience and/or qualifications. English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0.

Essential subject knowledge: engineering analytical skills, programming, control systems, and mathematics.   

Essential skills: programming.

Desirable subject knowledge: control systems, computer science, software engineering, electronics, mechanics, physics.

Desirable skills: working with mechatronic systems.  

 

 

 

 

How to apply

We’d encourage you to contact  Dr Ya Huang  (Ya.Huang@port.ac.uk) to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code.

When you are ready to apply, you can use our online application form. Make sure you submit a personal statement, proof of your degrees and grades, details of two referees, proof of your English language proficiency and an up-to-date CV.  Our ‘How to Apply’ page offers further guidance on the PhD application process.

If you want to be considered for this funded PhD opportunity you must quote project code SMDE8970124 when applying.