Recently, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) announced the list of recipients for the 2024 Research Fund for Excellent International PhD Students. Behnam Norouzi, a PhD student in the Department of Civil Engineering, was awarded the grant for his exceptional research capabilities and innovative project. Among six projects selected across the university, Behnam Norouzi was the sole recipient from the School of Ocean and Civil Engineering.

Behnam Norouzi’s research project, titled Developing a Novel Foundation to Secure Floating Renewable Energy Turbines, focuses on addressing critical technical challenges in the development of deepwater offshore wind farm. Offshore wind farms, as a key area for renewable energy development, have garnered widespread attention due to their vast potential. However, the high construction costs, particularly for turbine foundations, remain a significant barrier to their large-scale deployment. To tackle this issue, his research focused on the design of floating wind turbine foundations. In view of the high cost, insufficient bearing capacity and soil resistance of traditional foundations in deepwater, he proposed a novel hybrid foundation that combines helical pile and skirt foundation. The bearing capacity of the hybrid foundation was studied through centrifuge tests and numerical methods, providing an efficient and economical solution for the selection of floating wind turbine foundation types. His findings hold significant implications for advancing deepwater offshore wind technology.

Behnam Norouzi is a joint PhD student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and The University of Melbourne, supervised by Professor Guanlin Ye and Associate Researcher Qi Zhang from SJTU, as well as Professor Yinghui Tian from The University of Melbourne. His successful selection not only highlights the significant achievements of the joint training model between the two universities but also reflects our university's active role in international collaborative research and contributions to the global energy transition.

Behnam Norouzi

Behnam Norouzi, Professor Guanlin Ye (first row, far left), Professor Yinghui Tian (first row, second from the right), and Associate Researcher Qi Zhang (second row, second from the left).

Behnam Norouzi, Professor Guanlin Ye (far right), and Professor Yinghui Tian (far left)

Contributed by: Graduate Academic Affairs Office and Department of Civil Engineering.