Internship or graduation project Sand Laboratory

At Damen, Damen Dredging Equipment (DDE) is offering an internship or graduation project focused on reviewing the characteristics of different soil types and the behavior of pump-pipeline systems.

The role

The objective of the proposed internship or graduation project is to review the characteristics of different soil types and the behavior of pump-pipeline systems.

Key accountabilities

Dredging equipment is subject to harsh conditions. Exposure to maritime, saline environments is already demanding for most steel structures. In addition, the dredging process itself and the way the equipment is operated and maintained pose extra challenges to the design of the equipment.

The performance of e.g. a cutter or dredge pump is highly depending on the soil (mixture) that is processed. Our clients are interested in the production of the equipment for their specific dredging project, however they often lack sufficient knowledge to predict this.

The RD&I department of Damen Dredging Equipment (DDE) owns different types of test facilities, a.o. a sand laboratory. The available equipment is used to determine weight, density, grain size distribution etc. of sand samples. A software tool called ProDredge has been developed by DDE to predict the flow, head and sand production given a soil type, pipe system and pump.

Projects envisaged to be carried out in the near future are a.o.:

• Determining soil characteristics of sample to be collected on client sites;
• Production estimations in sales engineering phase of our projects;
• Research on the relation between grain size and various process parameters of the mixture flow;
• Validation of performance characteristics of newly designed centrifugal pumps;
• Improving and increasing functionality of ProDredge;
• Design of new centrifugal pump types including innovative high pressure and efficiency increasing features.

Description

An internship or graduation project typically consists of the following activities and results, but these items depend on the test objective and the terms defined by the educational programme:

• Literature study;
• Design/run analytical models of physical processes (by CFD, Matlab, Python, ProDredge, …);
• Set up of the test program, including all varying conditions;
• Executing the tests, monitoring and operating the test unit;
• Collecting test data and analyzing the measuring results;
• Validating analytical models with the measuring results;
• Reporting and demonstrations to stakeholders within the project;
• Taking responsibility for your own project management.

Skills & experience

• Bachelor or Master student in Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Dredging Engineering, Fluid Dynamics;
• Autonomous, practically and result driven, with a curious attitude;
• Good communication skills;
• Good command of Dutch and English, especially in writing.

What we offer

• A monthly allowance for the duration of the assignment;
• Temporary accommodation or compensation for housing, if required;
• Flexible working hours can be discussed;
• Proper mentoring at HBO or academic level throughout the project.

Please note that only candidates with permanent EU citizenship together with a permanent valid EU work visa can be considered as viable candidates.

A pre-employment and security screening and investigation form part of the recruitment process.