(Graduation) Internship Fluid-Structure Interaction - Hydrodynamics

We offer you an Ocean of Possibilities. Join our family.

About us

Get on board with Damen Naval, along with more than 1,200 professionals based in The Netherlands, Romania, and Germany. We are the naval division of the family-owned Damen Shipyards Group which employs 12,000 professionals globally. Damen Naval designs and builds advanced naval vessels for customers all over the world. With a passion for technological innovation and sustainable solutions, we continue to push the boundaries in naval shipbuilding. You can be part of our team! Are you ready for duty?

The role

In the (recent) past, ships were designed by experience, extrapolation of existing technologies and rules and regulations of classification societies (CS). Since computational computer power is increasing rapidly, (ship-) structural designs are more and more driven by direct analysis. With respect to floating-structural related issues, the hydrodynamic pressures predicted by seakeeping software of a floating structure must be coupled to different structural models to compute the structural response. Research in this field is ongoing to make these developments happen and determine how the ship structure for next generation of naval vessels will be designed. In addition, supporting research is needed to provide tools and methods to further optimize these fluid-structure interaction models.

Various graduate research or internship projects are available related to this topic, all projects are supported by subject matter experts within the company.Some possible subjects are:

• Predicting wave induced loadings by time domain methods (potential flow and or CFD).
• Influence of operational conditions on fatigue and global strength.
• Statistical methods in predictions of sea induced loadings.
• Study the effect of applying different (higher order) wave theories on sea induced loadings.
• In-house fatigue analysis tool ‘’Seakeeping frequency domain coupling to FEA (1-way coupling)’.
• In-house fatigue analysis tool ‘’Seakeeping time domain coupling to FEA (1-way coupling)’’.
• Coupling CFD to a FEA model of the structure (1-way coupling).
• Coupling CFD to a FEA model of the structure (2-way coupling, hydro-elasticity).
• Comparison of frequency vs time domain methods ‘’1-way hydro-structural coupling w.r.t. fatigue’’.

A combination of different subjects is part of the possibilities. Damen Naval can provide readily available assignments, but it is also possible to propose your own specific topic of interest.

Please indicate your preferences (or research topics of your own making) when sending us your application through our career website.

Key accountabilities

As an intern or graduate student at Damen Naval you may encounter multiple aspects related to vulnerability. Depending on the assignment, you are expected to select or develop the analysis methods and engineering tools needed to achieve your research goals.

You will be responsible from day one for the planning and execution of your research project. You are expected to deliver a detailed in-depth analysis of your research problem and meanwhile be able to communicate the results and conclusions to other departments.

Skills & experience

The perfect candidate for an internship or graduation project related to Naval vessel Vulnerability has the following characteristics:

• Top class student Master student Mechanical Engineering, Marine Engineering, Aerospace engineering, or Naval Architecture. Other equivalent fields of study may also apply or can be considered depending on the topic chosen for the assignment.
• Passionate about ships and shipbuilding.
• Passionate about military ships.
• Independent, curious, analytical, and proactive.
• Familiar with hydrodynamics and ship structures (e.g. fatigue, strength, ocean waves, ship motions, statistics and probability).
• Basic experience with simulation tools (e.g. CFD and other hydro-structures related tools like Comflow, Seacal, Pretti, Ansys Aqwa, Ansys workbench/APDL, Femap and or LS-Dyna) or have a proven ability and specific motivation to become familiar with this subject in a very short time.
• Able to use programming tools (e.g. Python, MATLAB).
• Capable of identifying and communicating with multiple stakeholders.
• Taking responsibility for your own planning and project management.
• Good command of the Dutch and English language both written and verbal.

What we offer

The project will preferably be carried out at the Damen Naval office location in Vlissingen. A monthly allowance will be paid for the duration of the assignment. In addition, a temporary accommodation or compensation for housing could be provided, if required. Flexible working hours can be discussed and proper mentoring at BSc or MSc level will be available throughout the project.