Director of HOREL Team

Dr. Zhiming Yuan

Reader in Hydrodynamics

Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean & Marine Engineering

Henry Dyer Building, 100 Montrose Street, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0LZ

T: +44 (0)141 548 3308

Dr. Zhiming Yuan has been a Lecturer (2014-2019), Senior Lecturer (2019-2022), and then a Reader (2022- ) in the Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering at the University of Strathclyde at Glasgow. He received his PhD degree at Strathclyde in 2014 on Ocean Engineering. His research activity mainly focused on the Marine Hydrodynamics and Offshore Renewable Energy, and he has published more than 60 journal articles on these areas. Dr Yuan is currently acting as the Scientific Managing Editor for Ocean Engineering, Applied Ocean Research, Coastal Engineering, and Marine Structures. He is an ITTC committee member and executive chair of ITTC Maneuvering Committee. Dr. Yuan has been the PI/CoI for more than 10 research projects, securing more than £1M grants from various funding sources, and he was invited by Prof. Ronald Yeung to carry out joint research at UC Berkeley (05/2017 – 09/2017) under Sir David Anderson Bequest Award. He is currently leading the Hydrodynamics and Ocean Renewable Energy Laboratory (HOREL) at Strathclyde, acting as the first supervisor of 9 PhD students. His research work on wave interference has been selected as Focus on Fluids article of Journal of Fluid Mechanics and highlighted by Nature (Nature. 565(7741):538), and these works have also been widely reported by TheTimes, DailyMail, Today Headline, ScienceNews, etc. In 2022, Dr Zhiming Yuan shared the Ig Nobel prize in the field of Physics for “trying to understand how ducklings manage to swim in formation”.

HOREL Memebers

Ming Zhang

Ph.D. student; Research Assistant

E: ming.zhang.100@strath.ac.uk

Ph.D. project: Real-Time Control on Ship Maneuvering and Wave Energy Converters

Abstract: Real-time control is a bridge between academic research and practical application. This thesis is aimed at stepping forwards in the real-time control of ships and ocean wave energy converters. Model predictive control (MPC) is adopted to realize on-line control in real-time manner.

A 2-level model predictive control (MPC) architecture is designed to integrate time-optimal path planning and anti-disturbance trajectory tracking. Time-optimal planning path is generated and followed in real-time manner. Obstacle avoidance and decision making are discussed in the project.

A LSTM prediction algorithm is proposed to predict wave excitation force with information of wave heights. Experimental tests are conducted to validate the performance of LSTM prediction. The LSTM can filter noise and capture harmonic components of wave force. Power capture of wave energy converter is improved remarkably in real-time manner.

Guangwei Zhao

Ph.D. project: Wave measurement by image processing

Abstract: A new optical method for measuring the free surface information in the laboratory is developing. This method reconstructs a three-dimensional model of a free surface based on the principle of stereo vision. By analyzing the free surface information recorded from two different viewpoints, a 3-D model of the free surface can be reconstructed. By this method, we can get more free surface data. This method is validated by measuring the rotation of the plate with an accuracy of 0.08mm ± 0.04mm. At present, this method is being applied in the Kelvin Hydrodynamics Laboratory. We reconstructed the digital waves on the free surface.

Yihan Liu

Ph.D. project: Hydrodynamic problems when the ship enters a lock

Abstract: The problem of Ship-lock interaction is very complex. When the ship enters the lock, it is inevitable that it will be affected by shallow water and the bank. In this process, there are two main reasons that complicate the hydrodynamic condition. The first reason is the piston effect caused by the translation wave in the gap between the ship and the lock door. The second reason is the return flow phenomenon in the lock. This project aims to use the hydrodynamic interaction programming MHydro to simulate the hydrodynamic conditions when the ship enters a lock and also predict the forces in 6 directions.

Shuangrui Yu

Ph.D. project: Control of floating wind turbines based on the machine learning algorithm

Abstract: Up to 80% of the offshore wind resources are in water depth higher than 60 meters, where floating wind turbines (FWTs) have advantages over the traditional bottom-fixed turbines. Due to the dynamic nature of the floating structures, FWTs are always oscillating in waves. It is essential to restrain pitch, roll and heave motions within acceptable limits, especially when the sea state is high. This project aims to control the motion of the floating wind turbine in a real-time manner based on the short-term prediction of wave elevation and wind speed. The active motion control scheme can be applied to minimize the platform motion based on the predicted wave elevation and wind speed, hence improving the operations of offshore floating wind turbines.

Fengshen Zhu

Ph.D. project: Hydrodynamic Interactions between Waves and Sea Train

Abstract: Offshore wind turbines are playing an increasingly important role in reducing CO2 emissions and mitigating global warming. However, wind energy is intermittent and the cost of grid connection is non-negligible, which constrains the development of offshore wind power. The production of hydrogen from offshore wind power is considered an alternative method that does not require connection to the grid, and hydrogen is delivered to land as a clean energy source for transportation, heating, chemical production, etc. Since sea trains can be applied to hydrogen transportation, problems of seakeeping and wave-making will be studied systematically.

Deqing Zhang

PhD title:

Abstract:

HOREL Alumni

Shuai Hao

Research on the Structural Robustness of TLPs under Local Failures

Abstract: The hydrodynamic responses of a fully coupled deepwater TLP system are studied in the project. A fully coupled TLP-TTR model is established. A specific hydraulic pneumatic tensioner is modelled by considering 4 cylinders. Different regular and irregular waves re considered. Consequently, the behaviours of different cylinders are presented. Besides, the local failure problem of the tensioner on a deepwater TLP is researched. The independent models of each TTR and its tensioner in the riser array are added on the existing model. Different environmental conditions, including a calm sea, regular waves and extreme sea states, are considered in the simulations. In the results, the behaviours of different cylinders of the failed tensioner are presented.

Lifen Hu

Research on Counter-Flooding Decision Aid System onboard Warship

Abstract: A M–H method-based decision support system (MHDSS) which could evaluate survivability and aid real-time decisions in shipboard flooding accidents is presented. It relies on certain reasoning logic to select available counter-flooding tanks (CFTs) combinations to provide swift and effective decision-making support for shipboard personnel on warships. In order to achieve optimal response to a flooding accident, the M–H method firstly confirms the feasible region of CFTs. To evaluate the feasible scheme acquired, the tilt angle is established as the decision criterion. During the process of searching for the feasible scheme, the method generates a scheme of single tank operation for one iterative process, and the final output is composed of all the schemes of single tank operation by means of linear superposition until a terminating condition is encountered. The developed system mainly focuses on real-time decision aid for damage control in case of emergency.

Director of HOREL Team

​HOREL Memebers

HOREL Alumni

HOREL Memebers