This fully accredited, and well respected, programme of study allows students to develop a firm foundation in the principles of Mechanical Engineering in a Marine Technology context. Our graduates have found employment in a diverse range of industries. That diversity is mirrored in the range of dissertation projects our students conduct, examples of which you will find here.
The projects currently being displayed are from our current academic year. To view other years
please select below.
Ashley Cullum
An Investigation into How the Royal Navy Could Implement a Modular Additive Manufacturing Workshop
This project investigates the
feasibility of an Additive Manufacturing Containerised Workshop for use in the
Mission Bays of the Royal Navy’s Type 26 and Type 31 frigates.
The justification for such a
workshop is explored, and how NATO Mission Modularity lays down the suitable
groundwork for such an endeavor.
The challenges of Certification
and Intellectual Property Rights are discussed, with current and potential
future solutions being outlined.
Direct Energy Deposition and
Material Extrusion have been selected from the seven Additive Manufacturing
processes for the proposed workshop design.
This was achieved using a Paired Comparison Analysis to assign weights
to categories for use in a Pugh Matrix.
This allowed for a logical and formal decision to be made.
The design comprises a 20-foot
ISO container, incorporating a workstation, two Stratasys F370-CR printers, two
Xactmetal XM200G printers, HVAC & air filtering and storage space for
materials & tools. A layout drawing
and cost estimate have been produced.
How the Royal Navy may approach
creating an Additive Manufacturing capability and the workflow it would entail
has been investigated. It is then
discussed how such a capability would be maintained and which department on a
vessel would be responsible.
The potential markets for growth
and economies of scale are shown for the modular Additive Manufacturing
Containerised Workshop.
The future of Additive
Manufacturing Technology and developments in software & hardware are
discussed.
Finally, potential future
problems and challenges are identified.
This project investigates the
feasibility of an Additive Manufacturing Containerised Workshop for u...
Bardo Borgia
Investigation Using CFD of Cavitation around Thin Foils
This study analyses, using CFD, the
cavitation phenomenon generated around four different foils at a fluid speed of
14.5 m/s and cavitation number of 1.0. Two thick NACA foils and two thin foils
were considered. The second thin foil was
designed using the XFOIL Software in order to warp the cross section. The method
used to modify the latter was to apply three different parameters and conduct
four variations for each so that different pressure distribution plots could be
studied. The cavitation model, inspired
from Da-Qing Li et al’s (2009) paper, made it possible to run transient
multiphase numerical models. From these, it was observed that a thinner
foil design is much more efficient compared to a thicker foil, having a smaller
and steadier cavity at higher velocities. It was concluded that, at high
velocities a lower coefficient of lift and smoother pressure distribution along
the foils chord is essential to make the foil more efficient and less prone to
cavitation. An answer to this conclusion is by using a foil that can morph its
cross section like the wings of airplanes.
This study analyses, using CFD, the
cavitation phenomenon generated around four different foils at ...
Freddie Herring
A theoretical analysis & design proposal of a hybrid renewable energy system to provide on-water charging facilities for electric boats within the Exe Estuary
With a UK net zero emission target for 2050, there is an ever-increasing
demand for adoption of zero emission propulsion technology within the small
watercraft industry. At current, existing infrastructure heavily favors the use
of internal combustion propulsion, with existing adoption of electric boats
limited to charging via charging stations connected to the grid. It is apparent that little development
for boats kept in near-shore environments has been incorporated.
This report analyses the environmental conditions of the Exe
Estuary, located in South Devon, and combines existing products to propose a hybrid renewable energy system. Integrating wind, solar PV and tidal power, the system aims to
provide an on-water charging facility for electric boats. The concept design predicts a maximum daily yield of 104.5kWh. However, with an average of 112%
variance. The system is expected to produce
greater power yields during summer and autumn months (average of 50+kWh daily) and less during the
winter (<40kWh), aligning well with the expected load demand from watercraft use in the
area.
An economic analysis gave a cost of £1.13/kWh for the design
proposal, over three times more expensive than grid electricity - making the
design proposal not financially feasible.
Further work to potentially change the outcome of such has
been suggested.
With a UK net zero emission target for 2050, there is an ever-increasing
demand for adoption of zer...
Samuel Fortmann
Validation and Numerical Investigation of Oscillating Hydrofoil Performance using Computational Fluid Dynamics
This project focused on exploring marine propulsion and
energy capture inspired by nature, leveraging Computational Fluid Dynamics
(CFD) for efficient energy transfer analysis. ANSYS CFX software was used to
develop a 2D pitching and heaving NACA 0012 foil model, with motion verified
via virtual spreadsheet calculations. Dependency studies on timestep, mesh, and
domain were performed, but, due to time limitations, not on the final
validation case or for multiple conditions.
A comprehensive literature review identified three key
papers that used the same testing facilities and equipment, which helped create
a validation dataset. This was compared with a published paper exploring these
regions in CFD. Time constraints limited
the investigation to one maximum Angle of Attack (AoAmax) at four
Strouhal numbers (St): 15° and 0.1, 0.18, 0.2, and 0.3. The validation dataset
showed moderate correlation at the AoAmax of 15° and a range of
acceptable results.
Final outcomes for efficiency and thrust coefficient
revealed that the model approximated a trend in the validation data for St
values above 0.18, with a good fit to averaged data (RMS error of 0.0319 for
efficiency and 0.0131 for thrust coefficient). However, at 0.1 St, the
efficiency was below the expected range, and further analysis of mesh
resolution at areas of rapid flow variation indicated a need for greater mesh
refinement near the foil surface.
This project focused on exploring marine propulsion and
energy capture inspired by nature, leveragi...
Timothy Ramshaw
An investigation into the drag reducing capabilities of Edwards & Renouf Ltd's HPS coating on marine materials
The negative ecological impacts of antifouling paint are
well documented. Edwards & Renouf Ltd. have developed a Hybrid Polymer
System (HPS) marine coating, comprised of polymers taken from the consumer
personal care industry. This results in an eco-friendly alternative to biocidal
antifoul paints.
This project has been designed to investigate the idea that,
as well as preventing fouling, the HPS marine coating has the capability of
reducing the drag felt by a vessel. Four tests were carried out to validate
this thinking. Lift and drag tests were carried out using a shaped plate. The plate drag test found that the HPS marine coating
resulted in an average drag reduction of 52.7% over a range of flow speeds
between 0.068m/s and 0.743m/s. The plate drag at minimised lift test found
that, when the contribution of lift was minimised, the HPS marine coating
reduced the plate’s drag by 38.8%. These results are only valid for an object
operating in a laminar boundary layer as the Reynolds number (Re) for the
plates were below the critical Reynolds number (Recr) for the
entirety of the experiments. Therefore, the effects of the HPS marine coating
in a turbulent boundary layer have not been investigated.
Cylinders were used to carry out a drag and a dye test. The cylinder drag test found that the HPS marine coating
reduced the cylinder’s average drag by 23.7% over a range of flow speeds
between 0.445m/s and 0.595m/s. The cylinder dye test showed that the HPS marine
coating extended the laminar distance of the boundary layer around the cylinder.
The conclusions drawn from the cylinder tests are only applicable to flow in
the subcritical region as the Re of the cylinders were in this region for the
experiments.
The negative ecological impacts of antifouling paint are
well documented. Edwards & Renouf Ltd. hav...