Ocean engineering with specialization in Marine geomechanics

Type of degree: Ph.D.

Brief overview of program: Marine geomechanics is directed toward development of a broad background in the theory and practice of geotechnics in the ocean environment. The research includes experimental and modeling studies to understand and predict properties and behavior of the seabed. Recent sponsored research has included studies on: sediment stress-strain and strength properties; anchor systems; seabed disposal of dredge materials; cable and pipeline siting and burial; instrument development for sediment sampling and in-situ testing; seabed processes including sediment erosion, slope stability, creep deformations, and dynamic processes; foundations for offshore and coastal structures; ice-sediment interactions; dynamic soil properties; and microstructure of sediments. Current research projects, sponsored by four different agencies, focus on downslope processes of slope and rise sediments, coastal benthic boundary- layer processes and properties, ocean disposal of contaminated dredged materials, and geoacoustic properties of the seabed related to mine detection. Modern geotechnical laboratory facilities have up-to-date and specially designed equipment for research on marine sediments.

Website: Click here for program website

Description of Facilities: The Department of Ocean Engineering is located in the Sheets Building on the Narragansett Bay Campus, which also houses a marine geomechanics laboratory, a wave/tow tank facility, and faculty offices. The adjacent Middleton building contains office space, a machine shop, an acoustic test tank, an electronics laboratory, and an equipment staging area. The department also has computational facilities on the Bay Campus which include personal computers and SUN workstations. These computers are connected by high speed network to the rest of the Bay Campus, Kingston campus and the Internet. Over 3,000 square feet of laboratory space is available, with equipment specially designed for research and the testing of marine sediments in the Marine Geomechanics Laboratory. State-of-the-art geotechnical equipment is used for tests and studies on direct simple shear; anisotropic triaxial compression; drained creep; acoustic velocity; and special flow-pump systems for triaxial, permeability, and compressibility studies. The vessel also has a multi-sensor core logging system. Other associated facilities include X-ray diffraction equipment, a scanning electron microscope, and devices for seafloor sampling. The department maintains and operates a wave and tow tank that is 30 m long, 3.5 m wide, and 1.5 m deep. It is equipped with a flapper- type wave maker that generates both sinusoidal and random waves. A specially designed vertical multi-plate porous wave absorber is employed to damp waves. The tow carriage is equipped with a strain gauge system and is capable of making force and angular measurements of heave, roll, and yawing motions. The wave maker and data acquisition system are computer controlled and are capable of random or regular wave generation. Wave measurements are made using custom-designed wave height and pressure gauges. The tank has been used for a wide variety of experiments including ship resistance and propulsion, wave kinematics and dynamics, diver drag measurements, fishing trawl dynamics, buoy dynamics, and underwater vehicle drag. In the Middleton Building on the Narragansett Bay Campus, the department maintains and operates an acoustics test facility that is 4 m wide, 7.6 m long, and 3.6 m deep. It has two towers, with manual control in the horizontal direction and electrical control in the vertical. The towers can be rotated about the vertical axis with an accuracy of one degree. A third carriage, which is independent of the towers, is mounted on a separate track. A computer data acquisition system processes the data. The tank is filled with fresh water, which is cleansed by a standard filtration system. This facility has been used for extensive experiments including beam pattern measurements of acoustic transducers and arrays, studies of acoustic parametric sources, and the development of subbottom profiling sonar systems and underwater diver communication systems.

Program Faculty: Each faculty member is a specialist in one or a few of the major areas of ocean engineering, and the faculty as a whole is thus able to prepare students for entry into the broad range of ocean engineering jobs in academia, industry, and government. http://www.oce.uri.edu/faculty_pages/Faculty.htm

Student Support: Financial aid includes departmental graduate assistantships and research support through faculty project support and undergraduate university scholarships.??????

Email: baxter@oce.uri.edu

Institution address: 215 Sheets Building Naragassett Bay Campus
                             Naragassett,RI 02882