News

We are pleased to announce that the 4th REMS Annual Conference will take place on 23rd & 24th of May, 2019 at Strathclyde University, Glasgow. The conference agenda will include presentations from industrial partners and REMS students. Invited delegates will receive further information shortly. For more information please contact info@rems-cdt.ac.uk

Jess is doing her research in collaboration with the National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC) which is based at TWI in Cambridgeshire. Whilst on placement with her sponsoring company, Jess was chosen to represent the NSIRC students and explain her research to the Mayor during his visit to TWI. Further details here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vision-business-leaders-discuss-new-opportunities-communications/

New students in REMS 2022 cohort visited the University of Oxford and the city centre as a part of their induction term activities.

The abstract on the topic "Human-Free Offshore Lifting Solutions", which was based on the group project within REMS, was selected for oral presentation in the session "Innovations in offshore logistics & installation" at the Conference. At the same time a poster was created. Among almost 240 posters, Mareike and the team's poster was selected as one of the six winners for the Poster Award. As part of the award, Mareike had the chance to present the poster within five minutes in the Poster Awards session.

Oxford University are currently recruiting up to 5 research students to work on several exciting projects all through the Centre for Doctoral Training in Renewable Energy Marine Structures (REMS). All studentships are for four years from October 2018 leading to the DPhil degree. The award involves a minimum stipend of £18k p.a. dependent on student eligibility - see individual adverts for eligibility restrictions, award details and scope of work. The following are available:

General studentship funded by EPSRC for eligible students

Project studentship funded by EPSRC for eligible students on fast finite element analysis for offshore foundations

Up to three studentships funded by Ørsted to pursue research on a new collaborative project focused on cyclic loading of monopile foundations. See further details of the recently announced collaboration at:

https://orsted.co.uk/Media/Newsroom/News/2018/02/Orsted-and-University-of-Oxford-sign-five-year-agreement-to-optimise-wind-turbine-foundations

The studentships will fund Home/EU students, and up to one overseas student, if suitable candidates apply.

http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/study-here/postgraduate/studentships/orsted-research-studentships-in-geotechnical-design-for-offshore-wind-turbines

These are all exciting opportunities to work at Oxford on world leading research that will make a difference to renewable energy in the future. The deadline for applications is currently March 9. Interested candidates can contact byron.byrne@eng.ox.ac.uk for further details and questions.

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New students in REMS 2021 cohort visited HR-Wallingford, Fugro and University of Oxford on the 18th of October 2017, as a part of their induction term activities.

For further information please follow the link below:

Russell Mayall working with E.ON

Over forty school students attended the REMS Public Engagement Day.

An opportunity to experience the wealth of experience and research currently being delivered to world leading industry is taking place on the 20th of September at Cranfield University.
The aim of the programme of activities at the REMS public engagement day is to increase awareness of various engineering disciplines and inspire young people to consider a future career path within the Energy and Power sector, whilst also raising awareness of the challenges currently faced worldwide.
Since the event is designed to inspire young people, we have invited schools and colleges from the local area to bring their pupils from Year 8 and above to campus to meet with researchers, academics, students and leaders within the Energy industry.
On the day, students will experience practical demonstrations, visit leading research facilities and ask questions of leading engineers about their work and their career.
We are looking to cover a wide range of engineering topics from Energy and Power with a focus on environmental issues and Energy security. Careers within Energy & Power are not just technical – we aim to demonstrate the wider contributions to society, the environment and people’s well-being.

REMS students attended the All Energy Exhibition and Conference held in Glasgow from the 10th to 11th of May.

The final REMS Group Project presentations were delivered on the 28th March 2017 at Cranfield University.
There were two groups, the first group were supported by DONG and presented their project Offshore Safety. The second group were supported by Lloyds Register and presented their project on Jacket Design.

REMS (Renewable Energy Marine Structures) is an EPSRC funded Centre for Doctoral Training set up to train fifty Engineering Doctorate (EngD) and PhD students over an eight-year period. Ten new students will be admitted each year for five years starting from October 2014. This is a collaborative partnership between Cranfield University and the University of Oxford. The REMS CDT conducts research across the full spectrum of Offshore & Marine Renewable Energy structures integrating deep specialist areas such as geotechnical engineering, the soil-structure interface, whole-system structural design & optimisation, design for manufacture, inspection maintenance & repair and structural integrity including fatigue & fracture mechanics in the marine environment.
REMS recruits and trains high-calibre engineers to an EngD and PhD level, in a research environment working closely with the offshore renewable energy sector so that the research output, skills and knowledge gained by the doctoral students is industrially relevant and useful within a short-medium term. Students will be enrolled at either Cranfield University or Oxford University. The training is characterised by an intense period at the start of the four years based at Cranfield University, followed by return visits over the four years for specialist technical modules. In this way the students will have a greater opportunity to develop strong links with each other irrespective of whether they are industry or university based along with the wider industry partners. This also allows flexibility in what is delivered to respond to the needs of industry. Students develop wider skills by including in their individually tailored training portfolio, courses currently offered by a range of partners to postgraduates. These courses include topics such as; research practice and ethics, learning techniques, communication skills, writing and publishing and career management. Students will also learn the academic skills of effective dissemination of research results through attendance at workshops and conferences in the UK and beyond, and by publishing the results of their research in peer-reviewed journals.
REMS is now looking to recruit the third cohort of 10 students for a start in October 2017. There are 5 EPSRC funded studentships available for students interested in working on one of the following areas of research:
Structural Design & Integrity
Manufacturing
Geotechnics
The studentships are available to UK and eligible* EU citizens with (or about to obtain) a minimum of a 2.1 or a Masters degree in Physical Science or Engineering. These studentships start from October, covering University fees and a competitive stipend.
For further details on our Centre please visit: www.rems-cdt.ac.uk

For further enquiries contact: info@rems-cdt.ac.uk
*To be eligible for this funding, applicant must be a UK national. All EU nationals are eligible to receive a fees-only award if they do not have “settled status” in the UK.

Within the module “Renewable energy technologies: Fundamentals”, the third-year REMS students went on the last day of this course together with the module manager Dr. Stuart Wagland on a field trip to Green Britain (http://www.greenbritaincentre.co.uk/). After two hours drive, it was time to explore the Green Britain Centre. The centre focused on renewable energy, future transport, as well as food. Thus, the students could have an organic lunch in the Café, while learning about biodiversity and food. Refreshed, it should have been easy to climb up the 300 steps inside the “ecotricity” wind turbine. When the students finally reached the top, they were rewarded with a great panoramic view from the viewing platform, but also experienced the tower motions due to the wind loads and blade rotations, as well as the yaw mechanism turning the wind turbine into the wind.


The 'ecotricity' wind turbine On the viewing platform at the top of the The solar tracker next to the wind turbine
wind turbine



The wind turbine blade The fastest wind powered vehicle 'Greenbird' Electric Car 'Nemesis EV'

Back on earth, a closer look was taken at the wind turbine blade next to the wind turbine and a huge solar tracker. Soon discussions started about the reasons for the occurrence in January 2009, when one blade of a wind turbine had fallen off and another blade was demolished, while the third one was still fully intact. Different theories could be debated on the drive back to Cranfield. But wouldn’t it have been nice to use the fastest wind powered vehicle “Greenbird”, with a record of 126.1 mph, or the electric car “Nemesis EV” with up to 151 mph to take the return journey?

Iona Richards received a major award from the British Geotechnical Association (BGA) for her final year MEng project titled ‘Time and rate effects for laterally loaded driven piles in clays’ while studying at The University of Oxford.

For further information:
http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/about/news/british-geotechnical-association-presents-two-major-awards-to-engineering-science-postgraduates

Iona is now a member of the REMS Doctoral Training Programme.


Iona Richards receiving her award from Professor Stephen Jefferis, Chair of the BGA

Assessment of Crack Arrest Behaviour in Modern Structural Steels
Project Description

Applications are invited for a research studentship leading to the award of a PhD/EngD degree.

Fracture mechanics based Fitness-For-Service (FFS) assessment of engineering structures is normally based upon the failure criterion, which is the initiation of crack extension by brittle fracture or ductile tearing at specified temperatures. The philosophy behind crack arrest is that if a crack initiates in a region of high stress or local embrittlement, it will be arrested in the surrounding material to prevent failure of the entire structure. The basic, simple idea for ensuring crack arrest is that the materials must have sufficient crack arrest toughness to ensure that fast propagating cracks, initiated in regions of low toughness and/or high stress, are arrested after they emerge from the critical zone. Obviously, during the design stage of ships, pipelines and some specific pressure vessels, analysis of crack arrest is of vital importance. The effect of temperature is another factor that needs to be taken into account in the course of the assessment of crack arrest or during design against crack arrest. The main aim of this project is to derive empirical models, which can be used to define crack arrest toughness from small test specimens (i.e. Charpy tests). It is also proposed to investigate and quantify the differences between the crack initiation and arrest toughness of two types of steels and explain the differences based on material microstructure. Finite Element modelling techniques will also be incorporated to understand crack arrest behaviour by analysing crack tip conditions in relation to a particular microstructure under specified loading condition.

This is a joint NSIRC-REMS CDT project, which will be supervised by Dr Ali Mehmanparast at Cranfield University and Dr Elvin Eren at The Welding Institute. To find out more about research at National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC) please visit http://www.nsirc.co.uk/. More information about Renewable Energy Marine Structures (REMS) Centre for Doctoral Training can be found on http://www.rems-cdt.ac.uk.

Interested applicants should send an up-to-date CV to Dr Ali Mehmanparast (a.mehmanparast@cranfield.ac.uk).

The candidate will need to meet the academic requirements for enrolment for the PhD/EngD degree at Cranfield University; an upper second or first (or equivalent) in mechanical engineering or related discipline. Student eligibility criteria for EPSRC Industrial CASE funding require a relevant connection with the UK, usually established by residence. EU students may be eligible for a fees-only award (i.e. no maintenance grant). A strong background in fracture mechanics, materials behaviour, experimental testing and finite element modelling is required for this project.

Funding Notes

Funding is available for 4 years from EPSRC and TWI Ltd, and covers tuition fees and an annual stipend of around £20,000 per annum. The project must be commenced in October 2016.

REMS (Renewable Energy Marine Structures) is an EPSRC funded Centre for Doctoral Training set up to train fifty Engineering Doctorate (EngD) and PhD students over an eight-year period. Ten new students will be admitted each year for five years starting from October 2014. This is a collaborative partnership between Cranfield University and the University of Oxford. The REMS CDT conducts research across the full spectrum of Offshore & Marine Renewable Energy structures integrating deep specialist areas such as geotechnical engineering, the soil-structure interface, whole-system structural design & optimisation, design for manufacture, inspection maintenance & repair and structural integrity including fatigue & fracture mechanics in the marine environment.

REMS recruits and trains high-calibre engineers to an EngD and PhD level, in a research environment working closely with the offshore renewable energy sector so that the research output, skills and knowledge gained by the doctoral students is industrially relevant and useful within a short-medium term. Students will be enrolled at either Cranfield University or Oxford University. The training is characterised by an intense period at the start of the four years based at Cranfield University, followed by return visits over the four years for specialist technical modules. In this way the students will have a greater opportunity to develop strong links with each other irrespective of whether they are industry or university based along with the wider industry partners. This also allows flexibility in what is delivered to respond to the needs of industry. Students develop wider skills by including in their individually tailored training portfolio, courses currently offered by a range of partners to postgraduates. These courses include topics such as; research practice and ethics, learning techniques, communication skills, writing and publishing and career management. Students will also learn the academic skills of effective dissemination of research results through attendance at workshops and conferences in the UK and beyond, and by publishing the results of their research in peer-reviewed journals.

REMS is now looking to recruit the third cohort of 10 students for a start in October 2016. There are 5 EPSRC funded studentships available for students interested in working on one of the following areas of research:

• Structural Design & Integrity
• Manufacturing
• Geotechnics

The studentships are available to UK and eligible* EU citizens with (or about to obtain) a minimum of a 2.1 or a Masters degree in Physical Science or Engineering. These studentships start from October, covering University fees and a competitive stipend.

For further details on our Centre please visit: www.rems-cdt.ac.uk For further enquiries contact: info@rems-cdt.ac.uk

*To be eligible for this funding, applicant must be a UK national. All EU nationals are eligible to receive a fees-only award if they do not have “settled status” in the UK.

On the 14th October 2015 Cranfield University hosted the first REMS annual conference, with over 40 attendees from industry and academia. The conference focused on the REMS Centre’s three key research areas: structural design and integrity, manufacturing and geotechnics. Presentations from REMS academics and industrial partners ran alongside presentations from the first cohort of REMS students, highlighting the close working practice between industry and academia which is a key feature of the REMS Centre.

It was a huge honour for the REMS Centre to have Andrew Garrad of DNV GL open the conference with a powerful keynote speech, considering both the vast progress wind energy has seen in the last three decades, and its huge potential for the future. Dr. Garrad also highlighted the crucial role politics plays, alongside technology, in the continual development of the renewables industry.

Students from the first cohort of the REMS Programme summarised their current and future research in presentations throughout the day, giving insight into the breadth of research within the centre. These presentations were particularly informative for the second REMS cohort, who have recently joined the programme and will begin their own research in January 2016, following an induction term in Cranfield this autumn. A poster competition for the first REMS cohort also ran throughout the day, and congratulations go to Peter Houlston who won the poster competition with his poster entitled ‘Modelling of monopiles in clay using FLAC3D’.

Presentations from REMS academics on the SLIC project (Prof. Feargal Brennan) and the PISA project (Prof. Harvey Burd and Prof. Byron Byrne) were also highlights of the day. It was very interesting to hear about the progress in these joint industry projects, both of which aim to redefine design methods for offshore monopile support structures and help reduce the levelised cost of offshore wind energy.

The conference concluded with an expert panel Q&A session, providing a platform to discuss both the challenges faced by the offshore renewable industry and the development we can expect to see in the coming years. We look forward to building on the success of the first REMS annual conference with a larger event next year to accommodate for the continual growth of the REMS Centre.

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Cranfield University has successfully organised a SimoNet/Supergen Wind Hub event in University College London on Wednesday 23rdSeptember 2015. SimoNet is joint venture between industry and academic institutes, managed by Cranfield University and University College London, and aims to facilitate communication between practitioners, researchers and all those interested in the field of Structural Integrity Monitoring and Non-destructive Testing. During the Supergen Wind Hub programme, the lately awarded grants from the Supergen Wind Challenge 2015 as well as the Supergen Wind Hub Flexible Funding Call were presented.

The event had a series of very interesting presentation from industry (ARUP, TWI, Mistras, Atkins, DONG) and (RenewableUK, Imperial College London, University of Dundee, University of Surrey, University of Bristol, Cranfield University and the University of Strathclyde). The presentations from the day will soon become available.

A poster exhibition also took place with the REMS CDT student Ms Anastasia Ioannou winning the price for the best poster.

We are pleased to announce that our first REMS Annual Conference will be held on 14th October at Cranfield University. Please find attached the programme of events for the day. If you have any questions about the Conference Programme please do not hesitate to email us at info@rems-cdt.ac.uk.

REMS applications are still open for October 2015 entry: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AKH037/rems-studentships/.

Potential applicants interested in applying should in the first instance contact Dr Ali Mehmanparast for Structural Design and Integrity,Dr Supriyo Ganguly for Manufacturing and Professor Byron Byrne for Geotechnics.

For general enquiries please contact: info@rems-cdt.ac.uk

The 4th EIS WWT conference, organized by the Engineering Integrity Society, aims to provide a platform for the discussion of current technological developments in fatigue and durability assessment for renewable energy structures. The event speakers are drawn from companies in this sector, as well as from experienced professionals and academic researchers working with emerging technologies in theoretical assessment of renewable structures.

For more information about this conference please click here.

A new EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Renewable Energy Marine Structures (REMS) was officially opened on 4 March, at Cranfield University by Maria McCaffery, CEO of RenewableUK.

The Centre, funded by a partnership between the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and companies from the energy and power industries, will train fifty Engineering Doctorate (EngD) students who will study for four years each, over the next eight years. The first cohort registered in October 2014. This is a collaboration between Cranfield University and the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford.

Professor Sir Peter Gregson, CEO and Vice Chancellor of Cranfield University welcomed everyone and said: “This specialist Doctoral Training Centre will build on our expertise in the renewable energy sector, and the collaboration between Cranfield University and the University of Oxford will ensure a stimulating environment in which doctoral research students can play a significant role in building the UK’s capabilities in sustainable energy technology for the future.”

Professor Brennan, Director of Energy at Cranfield University and REMS Centre Director, added: “Offshore wind is already becoming a cornerstone in the UK’s energy mix, with wave and tidal power emerging as major technologies so that we have a secure and sustainable energy supply for the 21st century. This new Centre will ensure that the UK and Europe remain at the forefront of this very important sector so that not only can we satisfy domestic requirements, but that we export our services and technologies ensuring the UK leads the world in the development, implementation and cost-effective operation of offshore structures for wind, wave and tidal power.”

Maria McCaffery, CEO of RenewableUK said: “The Centre is opening its doors at just the right time, as the UK’s world-leading offshore wind sector is expanding rapidly, with installed capacity expected to double by 2020 to meet our renewable energy targets, and a further trebling needed between 2020 and 2030. Meanwhile, the wave and tidal sector is about to see a step change as we move closer towards the deployment of the first commercial-scale arrays in British waters, marking the dawn of new industries. These are exciting times to be working in the field of offshore renewables, but we are well aware that if we’re to maintain our global lead, we will need to attract more first-class engineers into the sector in the years ahead. That’s why I’m immensely proud to have been invited to open this centre of excellence”.

Professor Philip Nelson, CEO of EPSRC said: “Investing in tomorrow’s scientists and engineers is vital if the UK is to have the right skills we need to address the energy challenges we face. This EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training will be working closely with the energy and power industries. This means that researchers can be well informed by industry needs and likewise industry is plugged in to cutting edge research.”

EPSRC-funded centres bring together diverse areas of expertise from both academia and industry to train engineers and scientists with the skills, knowledge and confidence to tackle today’s evolving issues, and future challenges. They also provide a supportive and exciting environment for research students and create new working cultures, building relationships between teams in universities and forging lasting links with industry.

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We are pleased to announce the official opening of the REMS Centre for Doctoral Training by Maria McCaffery, Chief Executive of RenewableUK, to be held at Cranfield University on Wednesday 4th March 2015.

REMS is now looking to recruit the second cohort of 10 students for a start in October 2015: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AKH037/rems-studentships/.

Potential applicants interested in applying should in the first instance contact Dr Ali Mehmanparast for Structural Design and Integrity,Dr Supriyo Ganguly for Manufacturing and Professor Byron Byrne for Geotechnics.

For general enquiries please contact: info@rems-cdt.ac.uk

REMS CDT aims to recruit 10 students for the September 2014 intake.

Further information can be found at http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AIX936/phd-studentship/

Potential applicants interested in applying should in the first instance contact Professor Feargal Brennan for Structural Design and Integrity, Professor Stewart Williams for Manufacturing and Professor Byron Byrne for Geotechnics.

Further details of the recruitment for openings in Geotechnical Engineering at Oxford can be found under research studentships at: http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/civil/Vacancies

The Rt Hon George Osborne MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, has announced 22 new Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs). One of these, a new £7.8m Centre for Structural Integrity & Materials for Offshore Wind and Marine Renewable Energy, will be led by Cranfield and they will partner in a second new centre.

The Centre of Renewable Energy Marine Structures (REMS) will train fifty Engineering Doctorate (EngD) students over an eight-year period, admitting ten new students each year for five years starting in October 2014. This is a collaborative partnership between Cranfield University and the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford.

The University’s offshore renewable energy engineering activity led by Professor Feargal Brennan has evolved from a sustained world-leading research presence in the offshore Oil and Gas sector for over thirty years and now covers a spectrum of applications from wave, tidal stream and wind power.

Professor Brennan, REMS Centre Director said: “Offshore and Marine Renewable Energy is one of the most exciting areas for talented young mechanical and structural engineers beginning their careers. The REMS Centre working alongside other national initiatives will ensure the UK leads the world in the development, implementation and cost-effective operation of offshore structures for Wind, Wave and Tidal Power.

He continued: “Our partnership with Oxford University, who has been at the forefront of academic developments for over thirty years in offshore Geotechnics particularly for foundation design, brings together unprecedented world-class research and training expertise in Offshore and Marine Structures.”

REMS other partners include Arup, Atkins, Centrica, DnV, Dong, E.ON, EDF, Fugro, GE, Mojo Maritime, Qinetiq, RES, RWE, Skanska, Tata Steel.

Cranfield are also partnering with The University of Warwick in the new EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing. It will produce the next generation of manufacturing business leaders with a high level understanding of interdisciplinary enterprise, the research experience essential to compete in a global low carbon environment, and an international view of Sustainability and the Circular Economy. The Centre will address industry-driven research challenges including: establishing natural or recovered materials as feed-stocks, reducing process inputs and outputs without compromising performance or economic viability, extracting high value materials from waste streams, and ultimately establishing economic and environmental sustainability.

REMS is the second EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training at Cranfield. The STREAM programme – an Industrial Doctoral Centre for the water sector was awarded funding in January 2014.