Graduate Subsea Rock Installation

From our office in Gorinchem, you will turn your graduation research into solutions for the future of offshore wind. You will work within Subsea Rock Installation on a real engineering challenge. There are a number of questions related to the behavior of rock, and how to model this in various circumstances. Together we will finetune your assignment, which will combine engineering, modelling and practical validation in our research lab in Moerdijk.

The position

As a graduation student within Tender & Engineering, you will work on a research question from our Subsea Rock Installation department. The assignment focuses on improving our understanding of rock installation and supporting the development of future installation solutions. The assignment combines computational modelling in Gorinchem with physical scale testing in Moerdijk. You will work with specialists and use your findings to improve our engineering knowledge and future equipment design.

Your impact

Your research will help us make better engineering decisions for subsea rock installation. You will investigate complex interactions between rocks, equipment and water and translate your findings into useful engineering parameters. The exact focus is still to be determined, but you will combine simulations with practical validation. You will analyse results, compare them with scale model tests and identify what they mean for future designs. Your work will contribute to improving the reliability and development of subsea rock installation solutions.

You will work on:

• Investigating the interaction between rock grading and subsea rock installation equipment
• Using DEM, possibly in combination with CFD, simulations to study rock behaviour and particle fluid interactions
• Designing, executing and analysing scale model tests to validate simulation results
• Assessing different rock sizes, shapes and gradings and their effect on installation behaviour
• Translating research findings into parameters or recommendations for future engineering designs

About you

You are curious about how physical processes can be understood and improved through engineering and simulation. You enjoy working with complex problems and are interested in testing whether theoretical results match what happens in practice. You can work independently and communicate your findings clearly with others.

For this graduation assignment, we are looking for someone with:

• A Master student in Civil Engineering, Offshore Engineering or something similar
• An interest in subsea engineering, offshore installation or engineering design
• An analytical approach to technical or project related challenges
• The ability to structure research and communicate clear conclusions

You will join Tender & Engineering in Gorinchem and work with specialists in Subsea Rock Installation. You will see how engineering knowledge is applied to equipment and vessels used for offshore projects. Your work will connect numerical simulations with physical testing in Moerdijk and practical engineering questions. You will have the opportunity to learn from experienced colleagues and discuss your findings with people who understand the challenges of subsea operations.

At Van Oord, we work on complex projects where engineering, technology and teamwork come together. Your research can help us develop the next generation of solutions for offshore wind and subsea rock installation.

We offer

We offer you the opportunity to contribute to real engineering challenges that impact our global project. In addition, we offer:

• A graduation internship allowance
• Intensive supervision from experienced engineers

‘You come up with something at your desk and then see it actually working on a ship. That’s incredibly rewarding.’

Thomasz, Engineer Production Automation