Internship Sand Laboratory

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The role

The objective of the proposed internship or graduation project is to review the characteristics of different soil types and the behavior of pump-pipeline systems.

Key accountabilities Background

Dredging equipment is subject to harsh conditions. Exposure to maritime, saline environments is already demanding for most steel structures. In addition, the dredging process itself and the way the equipment is operated and maintained pose extra challenges to the design of the equipment.

The performance of e.g. a cutter or dredge pump is highly depending on the soil (mixture) that is processed. Our clients are interested in the production of the equipment for their specific dredging project, however they often lack sufficient knowledge to predict this.

The RD&I department of Damen Dredging Equipment (DDE) owns different types of test facilities, a.o. a sand laboratory. The available equipment is used to determine weight, density, grain size distribution etc. of sand samples.

A software tool called ProDredge has been developed by DDE to predict the flow, head and sand production given a soil type, pipe system and pump.

Projects envisaged to be carried out in the near future are a.o.:

• Determining soil characteristics of sample to be collected on client sites;
• Production estimations in sales engineering phase of our projects;
• Research on the relation between grain size and various process parameters of the mixture flow;
• Validation of performance characteristics of newly designed centrifugal pumps;
• Improving and increasing functionality of ProDredge;
• Design of new and centrifugal pump types including innovative high pressure and efficiency increasing features.

  Details of above projects can be elaborated in a job interview with the candidate. Description

  An internship or graduation project typically consist of the following activities and results, but these items are depending per test objective, and the terms defined by the educational programme:

  • Literature study;
  • Design/run analytical models of physical processes (by CFD, Matlab, MathCAD, ProDredge, …);
  • Set up of the test program, including all varying conditions;
  • Executing the tests, monitoring and operating the test unit;
  • Collecting test data and analyzing the measuring results;
  • Validating analytical models with the measuring results;
  • Reporting and demonstrations to stakeholders within the project;
  • Taking responsibility for your own project management.

    Skills & experience

    • Bachelor or Master student in Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Dredging Engineering, Fluid Dynamics;
    • Autonomous, practically and result driven. A curious attitude. Good communication skills;
    • Good command of Dutch and English, especially in writing.

      What we offer

      The project will be carried out at the DDE yard location in Nijkerk. A monthly allowance will be paid for the duration of the assignment. Flexible working hours can be discussed and proper mentoring at HBO or academic level will be available throughout the project.