Simulation of extreme ocean events and coastal processes

The Institut national de la recherche scientifique is a university dedicated to research and training at the graduate level. The Centre Eau Terre Environnement focuses its activities on the sustainable management of water and earth resources. French is the official language.

PhD project: PhD students are sought to join our interactive laboratory in which field, laboratory and numerical investigations work concurrently to predict and prepare for extreme events in a climate changing world. The research work has a focus on fundamental and applied research in the area of coastal sciences and engineering. One common goal is to improve the understanding of the underlying physics of wind driven waves and the interaction with seabed and structures. The proposed research is focused on the development of mathematical and numerical models to study the physics of complex fluid mixing and structural response as coupled interactions. Developing these models require a detailed understanding of the primary processes of fluid dynamics especially when the free-surface break-up generating overturning waves with entrained air, bubbles, and sprays. The underlying mechanism is driven by wind and thus the air-sea interactions are important to understand. High Reynolds number flows on its own also present a challenging problem. In shallow depth, the wave processes are influenced by currents and sediments, and therefore can be important to analyze and predict as coupled interactions. For this purpose, we are in the process of developing a suite of numerical free-surface solvers. Here we are seeking to further develop our prediction tools, including Lattice Boltzmann algorithms, for parallel CPU and GPU computing. This project is complemented by small and large scale experiments including detailed images from our large CT scanning facility. The laboratory is also well equipped with tools/techniques including particle image velocimetry, lidar, multi sonar beam, data/image analysis, etc.

Requirements: The candidates are expected to have a first class degree and have (or expected to obtain by start date) earned a MSc in science or engineering and have a relevant background in some of the above areas of physics, mathematics, computer science and/or ocean/coastal engineering.