Since its establishment in 1997, the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS; www.cofs.uwa.edu.au, www.ngcf.edu.au) at the University of Western Australia has developed into one of the most sophisticated research and modelling facilities in offshore geomechanics and engineering anywhere in the world. A large team of internationally recognised researchers, consulting engineers and technical staff work together to solve some of the key engineering challenges of today and tomorrow, both for the oil & gas and offshore renewable energy industries. Our work on the mechanics of seabed sediments and offshore foundations systems provides pivotal support to the local and global engineering community. Further, COFS is embedded in the multi-disciplinary Oceans Graduate School, which brings together experts in physical oceanography, hydrodynamics, coastal engineering and related fields.

Cryogenic pipelines to replace trestle for liquefied gas transfer terminalsIndustry partner: Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., Korea

Supervisors: Muhammad Shazzad Hossain, Mark Cassidy, Yinghui Tian, Hongwei An, Youngho Kim

Transferring liquefied natural gas between floating tankers and onshore plants conventionally relies on a pipeline on a trestle system. As an alternative, novel subsea cryogenic pipelines are being considered. This project will develop geotechnical design tools to ensure these larger outer diameter pipelines that are also heavier and stiffer than conventional steel pipelines are stable on the seabed. The embedment of cryogenic pipelines during the dynamic laying process, and subsequently by the scouring process will be quantified through world-leading centrifuge and O-tube experiments. Geotechnical design software, methods and guidelines will be developed for stable operation under nearshore hydrodynamic loading conditions on sandy seabeds.

Prospective students may contact Associate Professor Muhammad Shazzad Hossain at muhammad.hossain@uwa.edu.au with a copy of

• resume/CV• full academic transcripts and a copy of your research thesis • details of any published papers• results of English tests, e.g. IELTS Academic, TOEFL or PTE (if

applicable)

The successful candidates will be invited to apply for a Research Training Program and/or International Postgraduate Research (annual tax-free AU$30,000) scholarship.

For information on scholarships and to apply visit http://www.scholarships.uwa.edu.au/future-students/postgrad and contact Monica Mackman at monica.mackman@uwa.edu.au.