University of Adelaide prepares engineering students for future submarine careers through Project Harmonia

Located on the doorstep of the Osborne shipyards – the proposed construction site for AUKUS class submarines – the University of Adelaide is taking proactive steps to prepare engineering students for future roles in building the next generation of submarines.

Central to this effort is Project Harmonia, which exposes students to key submarine concepts such as ballast control, manoeuvring, underwater navigation and hydrodynamics through hands-on construction and rapid prototyping of unmanned underwater vehicles.

Project Harmonia began three years ago with the construction of a single experimental submarine and a digital simulation environment, the “Digital Twin”. It has since expanded to include an underwater glider capable of shallow-water operation, a submarine bearing the BB2 hull shape, and a configurable propulsion module used for comparative studies of hull shape variations and propellor geometries.

For students involved, the designing, construction and experimentation of these underwater vehicles form part of their Honours or Master of Engineering programs. Internship students – both from within the University and from international partners such as ENSTA in France – also contribute significantly. Alongside inspiring interest in maritime engineering, the project exposes students to additive manufacturing, mechatronics and software coding, and develops their ability to compare simulation results with experimental data.

Work takes place in the Chapman Laboratory, home to a 30-metre wave flume that provides an ideal controlled environment for underwater testing. A recent addition to the project is a hydrodynamic towing carriage that measures drag forces on surface and submarine models and incorporates a propellor dynamometer. The project has also recently acquired an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) with side-scan sonar, enabling experimentation in real-world lake and ocean environments.

Much of Harmonia’s success relies on creating watertight enclosures for electronics, motors and batteries. Industry partner MCT Brattberg has generously provided watertight cable penetrators, known as RGPs, which have been used in several Harmonia modules. These, combined with acrylic tubing, allow students to build reliable watertight enclosures that prevent water ingress while enabling drive shafts and cables to exit.

In return, Eugene Lamnek from the University of Adelaide, who mentors Harmonia students, has designed and built a custom scale model of the Collins Class submarine for MCT Brattberg to demonstrate their products at conferences. The one-metre-long model includes a longitudinal cutout for easy inspection and incorporates scaled-down versions of MCT Brattberg’s cable and pipe transit systems, clearly illustrating their position and function throughout a submarine.

Eugene recently presented the model to Anders Folbert, Managing Director of MCT Brattberg Australia, ahead of its display at the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exhibition 2025. The model helped attract attention by demonstrating the real-world applications of MCT Brattberg’s products and making complex requirements easier to explain.

This collaboration is helping the University of Adelaide prepare engineering students for careers in the submarine industry while strengthening MCT Brattberg’s ability to engage with customers through practical demonstrations. It stands as an excellent example of mutually beneficial collaboration between universities and industry.