Sundar has over 25 years of experience in the fields of ocean wave hydrodynamics, computational fluid mechanics, wave forces on fixed and floating structures, ship motions, statistical analysis, numerical and experimental methods, field studies and instrumentation, computer applications and software development. He is the developer of WAVE3D, a program based on second-order potential flow theory for the computation of wave forces and run-up on large offshore structures.
Sundar's passion for Coastal Engineering began in University when he earned his Bachelors in Civil Engineering and a Masters in Ocean Engineering from India followed by a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. His PhD research was focused on the topic of wave impact forces on cylinders. A paper presented on this work at the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers Conference in Singapore won the best paper award.
One of Sundar's memorable first projects was a consulting assignment for the Sakhalin-2 project off the coast of eastern Russia, where he was tasked to develop software, WAVE3D, for predicting wave forces and run-up on multi-leg gravity base offshore platforms. WAVE3D was used extensively to assess the performance of various platform concepts and determine deck elevation to avoid green water loads in design storm events. This project was notable for him as it included all aspects of coastal engineering that he enjoys: mathematics, numerical simulation and scale model testing in a wave basin.
Sundar's recent project with Ausenco on the Mina de Cobre terminal in Panama is one of his most unforgettable projects to date. The work for this project covered diverse coastal engineering topics such as bathymetry surveys, wave and current measurement in the field, numerical modeling of wave transformation, breakwater design and scale model testing, prediction of long-term sediment transport, prediction of thermal plume mixing from a cooling water outfall, prediction of extreme wave events and development of design criteria, and prediction of moored ship motions and berth downtime. Sundar installed a wave buoy and anemometers at the berth location to measure wave and wind data in real-time for the planning of critical marine construction operations.
Sundar is confident that our ability to deploy unmatched expertise, experience and leading edge technology for every single project is what drives client satisfaction and retention. He believes that Ausenco's main differentiators are that we execute each project successfully and safely, while providing ingenious, innovative and value-driven solutions to our clients.