Degree type
PhD
Closing date
1 February 2025
Campus
Hobart
Citizenship requirement
Domestic / International
About the research project
Offshore piles remain as one of the most common foundations of offshore structures such as offshore wind farms for renewable energies. Up to 10 m diameter monopiles are being used as foundations for wind turbines installed in chalk or calcarenite soils in seabed. Chalk and calcarenite soils are problematic, whose strength varies significantly during pile driving compared with that of traditional soils and rocks. Moreover, there is currently limited guidance regarding the installation of large diameter piles in such weak rock and/or very hard soils. The crushing around the pile end especially requires more rigorous investigation. Developing a better understanding of driving piles in weak rock has the potential to allow significant optimisation of pile design and reduce installation risks and costs.
This project aims to model pile driving by the state of the art hybrid finite-discrete element method (HFDEM) parallelized on the basis of general-purpose graphic-processing-units (GPGPU) using compute unified device architecture (CUDA) C/C++. This allows large deformation as well as crushing of chalk and calcarenite to be simulated.
Successful PhD candidates are to be rewarded additionally with the opportunity of collaborating Dr Daisuke Fukuda in Hokkaido University in Japan in terms of further developing and parallelizing HFDEM as well as A/Prof Yinghui Tian at University of Melbourne and Dr Tingfa Liu at University of Bristol in term of investigating the crushing behaviour of chalk and calcarenite.
Primary Supervisor
Funding
Applicants will be considered for a Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship or Tasmania Graduate Research Scholarship (TGRS) which, if successful, provides:
- a living allowance stipend of $33,511 per annum (2025 rate, indexed annually) for 3.5 years
- a relocation allowance of up to $2,000
- a tuition fees offset covering the cost of tuition fees for up to four years (domestic applicants only)
If successful, international applicants will receive a University of Tasmania Fees Offset for up to four years.
As part of the application process you may indicate if you do not wish to be considered for scholarship funding.
Other funding opportunities and fees
For further information regarding other scholarships on offer, and the various fees of undertaking a research degree, please visit Scholarships and fees.
Eligibility
Applicants should review the Higher Degree by Research minimum entry requirements.
Ensure your eligibility for the scholarship round by referring to our Key Dates.
Additional eligibility criteria specific to this project/scholarship:
- Applicants must be able to undertake the project on-campus
Selection Criteria
The project is competitively assessed and awarded. Selection is based on academic merit and suitability to the project as determined by the College.
Additional essential selection criteria specific to this project:
- First-class honours degree or master degree in the area of civil engineering or closely related discipline
Additional desirable selection criteria specific to this project:
- Track-record of high-quality journal publications
- Excellent communication skills in both spoken and written English
- Numerical simulation skills such as DEM, FEM and FVM
- Other related laboratory or numerical competence
Application process
- Select your project, and check that you meet the eligibility and selection criteria, including citizenship;
- Contact Dr Hong Liu to discuss your suitability and the project's requirements; and
- In your application:
- Copy and paste the title of the project from this advertisement into your application. If you don’t correctly do this your application may be rejected.
- Submit a signed supervisory support form, a CV including contact details of 2 referees and your project research proposal.
- Apply prior to 1 February 2025.
Full details of the application process can be found under the 'How to apply' section at Research degrees.
Following the closing date applications will be assessed within the College. Applicants should expect to receive notification of the outcome by email by the advertised outcome date.
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