Dr Keri Collins
Profiles

Dr Keri Collins

Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Biography

Biography

Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Admissions tutor (Mechanical Engineering and Marine Technology)

Qualifications

Advance HE Fellow
AdvanceHE Level 7 Academic Professional Apprenticeship, 2021 (Distinction)
Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP), 2020 (Distinction)
PGCAP600, General Teaching Associates Course, 2014, University of Plymouth
PhD in Mechanical Engineering: The Effects of Asymmetry on Oscillatory Propulsion, 2012, University of Bath
MEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering with French, 2004, University of Bath

Key publications

Collins KM, Howey B, Vicente P, Gomes R, Harnois V, Hann M, Iglesias Rodriguez J & Greaves DM (2017) 'A Physical Mooring Comparison for a Floating OWC' 12th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference Cork, Ireland 8-/-0/20178-/-0/2017Open access
Gomes RPF, Gato LMC, Henriques JCC, Portillo JCC, Howey BD, Collins KM, Hann MR & Greaves DM (2020) 'Compact floating wave energy converter arrays: Mooring loads and survivability through scale physical modelling' Applied Energy , DOI Open access
Portillo JCC, Collins KM, Gomes RPF, Henriques JCC, Gato LMC, Howey BD, Hann MR, Greaves DM & Falcão AFO (2020) 'Wave energy converter physical model design and testing: The case of floating oscillating-water-columns' Applied Energy 278, 115638-115638 , DOI Open access
Collins KM, Stripling S, Simmonds D & Greaves D (2018) 'Quantitative metrics for evaluation of wave fields in basins' Ocean Engineering 169, 300-314 , DOI Open access
Collins KM, Meng M, Le HR, Greaves D & Bellamy NW (2017) 'Modelling of the buckling of a diaphragm–spine structure for a wave energy converter' Materials & Design 119, 159-170 , DOI Open access
View all publications
Teaching

Teaching

Teaching interests

From 2020 (revised programmes)

ENGR101 - Engineering Design (Lecturer and Module Leader)
ENGR102 - Engineering Practice and Experimental Techniques (Lecturer)
MECH234 - Thermo-fluids (Lecturer/laboratory leader)
MAR526 - Introduction to marine renewable energy (guest lecturer, tbc)
MECH549 - Medical Engineering and Biomechanics (guest lecturer)
PRME307 - Engineering Honours project (project supervisor)

2018/2019 & 2019/2020

MECH121 - Team Engineering (Lecturer and module leader)
MARN339 - Marine Engineering (Lecturer and module leader)
MARN526 - Introduction to marine renewable energy (Interim lecturer)

Supervision of project students for MEng Civil and Coastal Engineering and BEng and BSc Mechanical Engineering (and associated pathways)
(PRCE308/PRCE310/PRCE507/PRME304/PRME307/PRME306)

Previous years

Lecturing on:
MECH230 - Engineering science 2

Laboratory sessions and coursework marking:
MAR528(MAR504) - Mechanics of MRE structures
MARN203(MARN201) - Stability and hydrodynamics

Tutoring/supervising and marking DSGN313 - Engineering Design and computational methods

Available for MATLAB tutoring



Research

Research

Research interests

Keywords: Physical modelling, Experimental design, hydrodynamics, underwater propulsion/movement, bio-inspired design

My research has taken me down the path of physical modelling for experimentation, particularly with marine renewable energy devices, and I enjoy the engineering aspects of creating scale models for research applications. Recently, I have started looking into how choices made during model creation of scaled mooring lines can have an effect on experimental results and I am keen to supervise student projects in this area.

I recently led a BEIS-funded project with London Marine Consultants Ltd looking at motions and loads of interconnected physical models under wave action.

I am currently involved in the PORTOS project and the AEON project. I have previously done work for the Marine-i project.

Other research

From 2015 to 2018, I was principally involved in the WETFEET project. This was a Horizon 2020-funded project to accelerate wave energy by considering four key "breakthroughs". The Plymouth part of the work was the creation and subsequent testing of two arrays of oscillating water columns. My involvement spanned model design and build, experimentation, data analysis and programming, daily budget management, wider project management, co-supervision of a PhD student and reporting.

I have reviewed journal articles and conference papers for Energies, Energy, EWTEC, Intl J Green Energy, ISOPE and JMarSci.

Research degrees awarded to supervised students

Publications

Publications

Key publications

Collins KM, Howey B, Vicente P, Gomes R, Harnois V, Hann M, Iglesias Rodriguez J & Greaves DM (2017) 'A Physical Mooring Comparison for a Floating OWC' 12th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference Cork, Ireland 8-/-0/20178-/-0/2017Open access
Gomes RPF, Gato LMC, Henriques JCC, Portillo JCC, Howey BD, Collins KM, Hann MR & Greaves DM (2020) 'Compact floating wave energy converter arrays: Mooring loads and survivability through scale physical modelling' Applied Energy , DOI Open access
Portillo JCC, Collins KM, Gomes RPF, Henriques JCC, Gato LMC, Howey BD, Hann MR, Greaves DM & Falcão AFO (2020) 'Wave energy converter physical model design and testing: The case of floating oscillating-water-columns' Applied Energy 278, 115638-115638 , DOI Open access
Collins KM, Stripling S, Simmonds D & Greaves D (2018) 'Quantitative metrics for evaluation of wave fields in basins' Ocean Engineering 169, 300-314 , DOI Open access
Collins KM, Meng M, Le HR, Greaves D & Bellamy NW (2017) 'Modelling of the buckling of a diaphragm–spine structure for a wave energy converter' Materials & Design 119, 159-170 , DOI Open access

Key publications are highlighted

Journals
Articles
Jin S, Wang D, Hann M, Collins K, Conley D & Greaves D (2022) 'A designed two-body hinged raft wave energy converter: From experimental study to annual power prediction for the EMEC site using WEC-Sim' Ocean Engineering 267, 113286-113286 , DOI Open access
Wang D, Jin S, Hann M, Conley D, Collins K & Greaves D (2022) 'Power output estimation of a two-body hinged raft wave energy converter using HF radar measured representative sea states at Wave Hub in the UK' Renewable Energy 202, 103-115 , DOI Open access
Wang D, Conley D, Hann M, Collins K, Jin S & Greaves D (2022) 'Power output estimation of WEC with HF radar measured complex representative sea states' International Journal of Marine Energy 5, (1) 1-10 , DOI Open access
Davey T, Sarmiento J, Ohana J, Thiebaut F, Haquin S, Weber M, Gueydon S, Judge F, Lyden E & O’Shea M (2021) 'Round Robin Testing: Exploring Experimental Uncertainties through a Multifacility Comparison of a Hinged Raft Wave Energy Converter' Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 9, (9) 946-946 , DOI Open access
Howey B, Collins KM, Hann M, Iglesias G, Gomes RPF, Henriques JCC, Gato LMC & Greaves D (2021) 'Compact floating wave energy converter arrays: Inter-device mooring connectivity and performance' Applied Ocean Research 115, , DOI Open access
Gomes RPF, Gato LMC, Henriques JCC, Portillo JCC, Howey BD, Collins KM, Hann MR & Greaves DM (2020) 'Compact floating wave energy converter arrays: Mooring loads and survivability through scale physical modelling' Applied Energy , DOI Open access
Portillo JCC, Collins KM, Gomes RPF, Henriques JCC, Gato LMC, Howey BD, Hann MR, Greaves DM & Falcão AFO (2020) 'Wave energy converter physical model design and testing: The case of floating oscillating-water-columns' Applied Energy 278, 115638-115638 , DOI Open access
Collins KM, Stripling S, Simmonds D & Greaves D (2018) 'Quantitative metrics for evaluation of wave fields in basins' Ocean Engineering 169, 300-314 , DOI Open access
Collins KM, Meng M, Le HR, Greaves D & Bellamy NW (2017) 'Modelling of the buckling of a diaphragm–spine structure for a wave energy converter' Materials & Design 119, 159-170 , DOI Open access
Le HR, Collins KM, Greaves DM & Bellamy NW (2015) 'Mechanics and Materials in the Design of a Buckling Diaphragm Wave Energy Converter' Materials & Design 79, 86-93 , DOI Open access
Rapid communications
Toffoli A, Waseda T, Houtani H, Kinoshita T, Collins KM, Proment D & Onorato M (2013) 'Excitation of rogue waves in a variable medium: An experimental study on the interaction of water waves and currents' Physical Review E 5, (87) , DOI
Conference Papers
Foster A, Best O, Gianni M, Khan A, Collins K & Sharma S (2022) 'Drone Footage Wind Turbine Surface Damage Detection' 2022 IEEE 14th Image, Video, and Multidimensional Signal Processing Workshop (IVMSP) 6-/-0/20226-/-0/2022IEEE , DOI Open access
Wang D, Conley D, Hann MR, Collins KM, Jin S & Greaves D (2021) 'Power output estimation of WEC with HF radar measured complex representative sea states'
Ohana J, Gueydon S, Judge F, Haquin S, Weber M, Lyden E, Thiebaut F, O’Shea M, Murphy J & Davey T (2021) 'Round robin tests on a hinged raft wave energy converter'
Ye Q, Cheng S, Kim B, Collins KM & Iglesias G (2019) 'Structure Design and Assessment of a Floating Foundation for Offshore Wind Turbines' 2nd International Offshore Wind Technical Conference , DOI Open access
Wang D, Conley D, Hann M, Collins KM & Greaves D (2019) 'Use of HF radar for replciating wave-current combined wave conditions for testing of wave energy converters' 13th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference 9-/-0/20199-/-0/2019Open access
Candido J, Sarmento A, Gardner FE, Gato LM, Fontana M & Collins KM (2019) 'The WETFEET project - A disruptive approach to wave energy' 13th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference 9-/-0/20199-/-0/2019Open access
Howey B, Iglesias G, Collins KM, Hann M, Greaves D, Gomes R & Henriques JCC (2019) 'Wave energy converter arrays: Motion response of inter-connected array' 625-632 Open access
Collins KM, Howey B, Vicente P, Gomes R, Harnois V, Hann M, Iglesias Rodriguez J & Greaves DM (2017) 'A Physical Mooring Comparison for a Floating OWC' 12th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference Cork, Ireland 8-/-0/20178-/-0/2017Open access
Ransley E, Brown SA, Howey B, Collins K & Greaves D (2017) 'Numerical Modelling of a Floating OWC-WEC Using CFD' 4th PRIMaRE Conference Southampton 7-/-0/20177-/-0/2017Open access
Collins KM, Hann M, Iglesias Rodriguez G, Greaves DM, Vicente P & Harnois V (2016) 'Breakthroughs in WEC arrays Shared moorings and cablings in the WETFEET project' International Conference on Ocean Energy Open access
Collins KM, Iglesias G, Greaves D, Toffoli A & Stripling S (2013) 'The New COAST Laboratory of Plymouth University: a World-Class Facility for Marine Energy' Coasts, Marine Structures and Breakwaters 2013 Edinburgh, UK 9-/-0/20139-/-0/2013ICE Publishing Publisher Site Open access
Collins KM, Brown JC, Ladd RR, Chambers LD, Bowyer A & Megill WM (2011) 'Variable stroke timing of rubber fins' duty cycle improves force' 2011 15th International Conference on Advanced Robotics (ICAR 2011) 6-/-0/20116-/-0/2011IEEE , DOI
Brown J, Chambers L, Collins KM, Akanyeti O, Visentin F, Ladd R, Fiorini P & Megill W (2011) 'The Interaction between Vortices and a Biomimetic Flexible Fin' Springer Berlin Heidelberg 418-419 , DOI
Reports
Collins KM, greaves D, Hann M, Howey B, Iglesias rodriguez G & Harnois V (2016) D6.1 - Analysis of different potential configurations of non-rigid Inter-moored devices. Publisher Site
Collins KM & Dai YM (2014) Possible power production for a WITT device deployed on a ship.
Collins KM & Dai YM (2013) Ship motion characteristics. WITT consortium
Presentations and posters
Collins KM, Arber P, Greaves D, Hann M, Iglesias G, Simmonds D, Stripling S & Toffoli A Collins KM, Arber P, Greaves D, Hann M, Iglesias G, Simmonds D, Stripling S & Toffoli A 'Facilitating coastal and ocean research in the laboratory' Open access
Collins KM, David-West O, Le H & Greaves DG Collins KM, David-West O, Le H & Greaves DG 'From Concept to Laboratory Testing: the Development Cycle of a Novel Wave Energy Converter' Open access
Personal

Personal

Conferences organised

Helped to organise EWTEC2021 hosted in Plymouth September 2021.

Member of the organising committee for Women in STEM - A celebration of research excellence, March 2015 https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/women-in-stem

Other academic activities

Founder member and project manager for the human-powered submarine project: PULSE (Plymouth University Leg-powered Submarine Engineering).
At the eISR 2014, our submarine, Mayflower, came 3rd overall and became the fastest human-powered submarine built by any UK team. We also won the prize for Reliability. In 2015, we went to the USA to compete but sadly we couldn't repeat our success.

https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/plymouth-university-dive-deep-to-break-human-powered-submarine-record

Additional information

I have been lucky enough to give science-based talks to the general public at festivals around the UK:
2017, Port Eliot Festival, Cornwall: Invited talk on wave energy and the WETFEET project
2012, Secret Garden Party, Cambs: As part of Guerilla Science gave a talk about biomimetics, fish swimming research and human-powered submarines
2011, Bestival, IoW: As part of Guerilla Science gave a talk about biomimetics, fish swimming research and human-powered submarines

Former Member of the RINA/IMarEST young members' group for Devon and Cornwall
STEM ambassador
SECAM Fire Marshal
SECAM Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee member
SECAM Marketing and Recruitment comittee member

Faculty Strategy group member
Personal tutor

Placement tutor

Admissions tutor