PhD Defence – Numerical modelling of marine dunes

On Thursday 24 October, at 10 am (CEST), Noémie DURAND will defend her PhD on numerical modelling of marine dunes in a shallow shelf sea in an offshore wind farm context. Her work was carried out at the Saint-Venant Hydraulics Laboratory, Ecole des Ponts, EDF R&D, Chatou, as part of the MODULLES project, under the supervision of Pablo TASSI (EDF R&D), with the co-supervision of Alice LEFEBVRE (MARUM) and Olivier BLANPAIN (FEM).

Watch the defence (connection link)

Abstract

Marine dunes, located at the bottom of shallow shelf seas, migrate under the influence of tidal currents, winds, and waves, impacting renewable energy projects. However, their dynamics remains poorly understood. This study focuses on modelling marine dunes and their interactions with the fixed foundations of offshore wind farms using a 3D model developed with openTELEMAC, for an application near Dunkirk. Our results show that dune migration is closely linked to the amplitude and direction of residual currents, which are influenced by wind conditions. Additionally, our findings indicate that the foundations cause dunes to converge, a factor that must be considered to minimise impact.

Jury members

• Katrien VAN LANDEGHEM (Professor, School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, UK), External referee
• Pieter ROOS (Associate Professor, University of Twente, Pays-Bas), External referee
• Rebekka KOPMANN (Researcher, Bundesanstalt für Wasserbau (BAW) Karlsruhe, Allemagne), Examiner
• Richard WHITEHOUSE (Professor, HR Wallingford, UK), Examiner
• Christian WINTER (Professor, Kiel University, Allemagne), Examiner
• Pablo TASSI (EDF R&D et LHSV), Thesis Director
• Alice LEFEBVRE (MARUM, University of Bremen, Allemagne), Thesis co-supervisor
• Olivier BLANPAIN (France Energies Marines), Thesis co-supervisor

Photo credit: France Energies Marines