PhD Candidate in understanding fatigue wave loads on jacket structures for offshore wind turbines

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At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

About the job

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated candidate with an interest in wave-structure interaction, hydrodynamic modeling and machine learning to help us and an industrial partner develop a better understanding of fatigue wave loads on jacket structures. 

The position will be part of the EU Horizon 2020 MSCA Doctoral Network “Training Wind Energy Experts on Digitalisation” (TWEED). More information about the network and the position can be found at http://folk.ntnu.no/muskulus/tweed.

The starting date of the position should be around March 2025. Two research stays at TU Delft (3 months, The Netherlands) and the industrial partner MARIN (3 months, The Netherlands) are required.

You will be supervised by a professor who will be your immediate leader.

Duties of the position

• Gain better understanding of fatigue loads on jacket structures through the development of novel hydrodynamic load models
• Use a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for accurately predicting wave forces on such a complex, multi-membered structure, with particular focus on different possible joint geometries and important geometric features
• Create a database of various structural details and their loadings, evaluated with the CFD model
• Use machine learning techniques for developing an efficient meta-model that can interpolate and predict loads for different geometries from non-linear wave kinematics
• Implement and test a relevant industrial application, using real-world wind turbine data
• Participate in structured training activities
• Document, report and present research findings in international conferences and the scientific literature
• Contribute to network events and activities, including management of local events, dissemination and outreach

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in at least one of the following areas: Marine Hydrodynamics, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Scientific Computing, Coastal Engineering, Ocean Engineering
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education
• Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented by 01.01.2025
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program 
• Excellent written and oral English language skills are required
• Experience with one or more programming languages is necessary (especially C++ and Python)
• Strong background in numerical methods and computational fluid dynamics science is required
• Good knowledge of fluid mechanics and turbulence is expected
• Basic knowledge of ocean waves and wave mechanics is expected
• You must fulfill the eligibility requirements of the European Union H2020 framework programme for Early Stage Researcher: you must not have lived for more than 12 months in Norway in the 3 years immediately prior to the starting date, must be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of your research career (i.e., after obtaining the master’s degree), and must not have obtained a doctoral degree yet

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant 

Preferred selection criteria

• Knowledge of wind energy, structural dynamics, fatigue, offshore engineering and machine learning will be an advantage
• Experience with teaching (e.g. as student assistant) will be an advantage 
• Knowledge of Linux and open-source software will be an advantage
• Experience with the high-performance computing aspects of CFD is a plus

Personal characteristics

• Enthusiastic and curious
• Motivated to solve computational physics problems 
• Willingness and ability to quickly learn a lot is a must
• Good problem-solving skills are expected
• Ability to work both independently and with other researchers in a structured manner
• Able and willing to travel internationally to events, conferences, etc.
• Candidates must be responsible and socially adept

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

• Exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• An open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• Favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
Employee benefits

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2 % is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Civil Engineering within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must be attached to the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include:

• CV and certificates 
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position
• Name and contact information of three referees
• If you have publications or other relevant research work
• Written agreement of the permission to share information with the TWEED project Recruitment Team
• Identification of other possible positions at TWEED in which you may be interested or which you have also applied for

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Prof. Hans Bihs, email hans.bihs@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultant Martine Sulen, email martine.sulen@ntnu.no.  

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.