Academic Research Portfolio Singapore Institute of Technology · Singapore
Portrait of Dr. Zhi Yung Tay
Offshore & Ocean Engineering

Dr. Zhi Yung Tay

Associate Professor

Stanford/Elsevier Top 1% Scientists

Singapore Institute of Technology

Research in hydroelasticity, floating infrastructure, coastal resilience, marine renewable energy and data-driven maritime engineering.

Research Interest Explore Grants View Publications Project Highlights
Profile

About Me

I am an Associate Professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), specialising in offshore engineering and floating structures designs as well as hydrodynamics and hydroelasticity. Previously, from 2014 to 2016, I held a prestigious position as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Institute of Energy System (IES), University of Edinburgh. During this tenure, I spearheaded the hydrodynamic modeling efforts within the EPSRC EcoWatt2050 Project, showcasing my expertise and leadership skills. Prior to my role at IES, I garnered extensive industry experience, notably as a Senior Research Engineer at the Keppel Offshore and Marine Technology Centre. Additionally, I served as a Research Fellow at the esteemed National University of Singapore (NUS). My academic journey culminated in the attainment of my Ph.D. from NUS, with a specialization in the hydroelastic response of very large floating structures. My research endeavors focus on hydroelastic and hydrodynamic analysis, with particular interests in offshore engineering, coastal protection and flood management, marine engineering, marine digitalisation and AI, renewable energy, ocean space utilization, and the dynamics of very large floating structures.

Career

Work Experience

Programme Leader (Bachelor of Integrated Studies in Technology and Management)

Singapore Institute of Technology, 2026–Present

Associate Professor

Singapore Institute of Technology, 2021–Present

Assistant Professor

Singapore Institute of Technology, 2016–2021

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Institute for Energy System, University of Edinburgh, 2014–2016

Senior Research Engineer

Keppel Offshore and Marine Technology Centre, 2012–2014

Engineering Science Programme Research Fellow

National University of Singapore, 2010–2012

Research Engineer

National University of Singapore, 2006–2008

Focus Areas

Research Interests

Research at the intersection of offshore engineering, coastal resilience and sustainable marine technologies.

Floating Infrastructure

Very large floating structures, hydroelasticity, floating photovoltaics and modular floating platforms.

Marine Renewable Energy

Wave energy converters and integrated floating offshore renewable energy systems.

Numerical Modelling

Coupled fluid–structure interaction, hydrodynamic analysis and computational engineering.

Coastal Protection & Resilience

Wave attenuation, flood protection, floating breakwaters and nature-based coastal solutions.

Additive Manufacturing

Design, structural performance and manufacturing of marine components and vessels.

Smart Maritime Engineering

Digital twins, machine learning and vessel energy efficiency.

Funded Research

Research Grants

Selected awarded research grants. Funding amounts are shown as supplied.

View all 17 research grants
  1. Eco-Friendly 3D-Printed Vessel Hulls: Design, Additive Manufacturing Approaches and Structural Connection Techniques, PI A*STAR-NAMIC · SGD 279,500 · 2025–2027 View project highlights ↗
  2. Bridging the Gap: Innovating Lightweight and High-Performance Composite Propellers for Electric Outboard Motors, PI A*STAR-NAMIC · SGD 279,500 · 2025–2027 View project highlights ↗
  3. Additive Manufacturing of Universal Lightweight High-Strength Floating Module, PI A*STAR-NAMIC · SGD 279,500 · 2025–2027 View project highlights ↗
  4. Multi-Purpose Modular Floaters for Integrated Mangrove & Seagrass Planter (REFOREST), PI MCCS · SGD 800,000 · 2025–2028 View project highlights ↗
  5. Investigation of Wave Attenuation over Mangroves and Seagrass (NATURE), Team PI MCCS · SGD 2,035,406.25 · 2024–2027 View project highlights ↗
  6. Smart and Multifunctional Floating Structures for Coastal Protection and Flood Control, Team PI CFRP-Tranche 2 · SGD 2,484,950 · 2024–2028 View project highlights ↗
  7. Development of Physics-Informed Data-Driven Storm Surge and Wave Models, Team PI CFRP-Tranche 1 · SGD 1,834,900 · 2023–2027 View project highlights ↗
  8. Carbon Negative Ecological Concrete for Sustainable Coastal Protection MOE-SIT Ignition Grant · SGD 149,900 · 2022–2024
  9. Carbon Negative Steel Slag Permeable Concrete for Green Urban Infrastructure BCA BETA · SGD 354,130 · 2024–2027
  10. Operational Profiling and Digital Twinning of Harbour Craft for Holistic Test-Bedding, Life-Cycle Optimization and Future Design Enhancements, Team PI Maritime R&D Grant Call on Harbour Craft Electrification, MPA-SMI · SGD 492,000 · 2021–2024
  11. Remote Monitoring of Hybrid Power and Propulsion Systems for Smart Ships, PI MOE TIF · SGD 229,000 · 2021–2023
  12. Ships’ Energy Efficiency via Machine Learning with Big Data Analytics, PI MOE TIF · SGD 392,419 · 2019–2021
  13. Sustainable Marine Transport: Ship Energy Systems & Environmental Technologies, PI SIT Strategic Initiative Grant · SGD 210,600 · 2020–2022
  14. HPC for Numerical Wave Tank, PI SIT Strategic Initiative Grant · SGD 194,890 · 2019–2021
  15. Applied Data Science Lab, co-I (ADSL) @SIT Strategic Initiative Grant · SGD 404,000 · 2019–2021
  16. Development of a Universal Modular Floating Unit for Multi-Purpose Usage, PI SIT MOE Ignition Grant · SGD 176,142 · 2018–2020
  17. Automation of Welding Length for Shipyard Production, PI SIT MOE Ignition Grant · SGD 122,600 · 2017–2019
Academic Output

Publication Record

Select a category to view the publications.

Book (3)
  1. Tay, ZY, 2025. Wave Energy Convertors in Tropical Seas: Large Floating Structures and Power Enhancement. CRC Press.
  2. Wang, CM and Tay, ZY*, Hydroelastic analysis and response of pontoon-type very large floating structures, in Fluid Structure Interaction II. 2011, Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 103-130.
  3. Cheng, N, Johnson, MC, Furth, M, and Tay, ZY*, The Key to Successful Carbon Capture and Storage: Engaging the Public. 2011, Southampton, UK: University of Southampton.
Book Chapter (3)
  1. Venugopal, V, Tay, ZY and Nemalidinne, T.R., Numerical Modelling Techniques for Wave Energy Converters in Arrays. In Ocean Wave Energy Systems (p. 281-322), 2022, Springer, Cham.
  2. Tay ZY*, Htoo NL. Wave Attenuation Effect of Various Breakwater for Tropical Climate. In: World Conference on Floating Solutions 2024 Dec 1 (pp. 497-505). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
  3. Wang M, Wan L, Zhang C, Tay ZY. Numerical Investigation and Optimization on the Performance of Wave Energy Converter Array. In: World Conference on Floating Solutions 2024 Dec 1 (pp. 535-543). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
Invited Review Paper (1)
  1. Wang, CM, Tay, ZY*, Takagi, K, and Utsunomiya, T, Literature review of methods for mitigating hydroelastic response of VLFS under wave action, Applied Mechanics Review, 2010, 63(3): p. 030802.
Keynote Paper (2)
  1. Wang, CM and Tay, ZY, Very large floating structures: applications, research and development, in 12th East Asia-Pacific Conference on Structural Engineering, 26-28 January 2011, Hong Kong, China.
  2. Wang, CM and Tay, ZY, Hydroelastic analysis of pontoon-type very large floating structures, in Workshop on Computational Engineering, Herrsching, Germany.
International Refereed Journal Paper (44)
  1. Zhang, Y. and Tay, ZY, Numerical investigation on hydrodynamic and wave attenuation performance of a stepped-type floating breakwater. Ocean Engineering, 2026. 362: p. 126321.
  2. Tay, ZY and Htoo, NL, A Novel V-Shaped Semi-Submersible Floater for Collocation of Wind Turbine and Wave Energy Converters. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 2026. 14(10): p. 931.
  3. Jiang, D, Yi, J, Nguyen, HP and Tay, ZY, Hydroelastic behavior of plate-type very large floating structures subjected to multi-lane moving vehicle loads. Marine Structures, 2026. 109: p. 104103.
  4. Tay, ZY, Raft-type modular articulated plate for offshore floating photovoltaic farms: antimotion performance and wave energy conversion. Ships and Offshore Structures, 2025: p. 1-28.
  5. Tay, ZY, 2025. Predicting hydroelastic response of very large floating structures using decision tree methods: A comparative study of single regression tree and ensemble models (Bagging and LSBoost). Ocean Engineering, 341, p.122636.
  6. Shi Y, Wei Y, Chen K, Xin C, Tay ZY, Chen Z. Frequency-domain approach of hydroelastic response for flexible offshore floating photovoltaic under combined wind and wave loads. Ocean Engineering. 2025 Apr 15;323:120565.
  7. Tay ZY*, Htoo NL, Konovessis D. A Comparison of the Capture Width and Interaction Factors of WEC Arrays That Are Co-Located with Semi-Submersible-, Spar-and Barge-Supported Floating Offshore Wind Turbines. Journal of Marine Science & Engineering. 2024 Nov 1;12(11).
  8. Shi, Y, Wei, Y, Tay, ZY and Chen, Z, 2023. Hydroelastic analysis of offshore floating photovoltaic based on frequency-domain model. Ocean Engineering, 289, p.116213.
  9. Tay, ZY* and Konovessis, D, 2023. Sustainable energy propulsion system for sea transport to achieve United Nations sustainable development goals: a review. Discover Sustainability, 4(1), p.20.
  10. Tay, ZY*, 2023. Three-Dimensional Hydroelasticity of Multi-Connected Modular Offshore Floating Solar Photovoltaic Farm. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 11(10), p.1968.
  11. Tay, ZY*, 2023. Artificial neural network framework for prediction of hydroelastic response of very large floating structure. Applied Ocean Research, 139, p.103701.
  12. Corrigan, BC, Tay, ZY* and Konovessis, D, 2023. Real-time instance segmentation for detection of underwater litter as a plastic source. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 11(8), p.1532.
  13. Hadi, J, Konovessis, D and Tay, ZY*, 2023. Self-labelling of tugboat operation using unsupervised machine learning and intensity indicator. Maritime Transport Research, 4, p.100082.
  14. Roslan, SB, Tay, ZY*, Konovessis, D, Ang, J.H. and Menon, N.V., 2023. Rule-Based Control Studies of LNG–Battery Hybrid Tugboat. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 11(7), p.1307.
  15. Roslan, S.B., Konovessis, D. and Tay, ZY*, 2022. Sustainable hybrid marine power systems for power management optimisation: a review. Energies, 15(24), p.9622.
  16. Fam, ML, Tay, ZY and Konovessis, D, 2022. An Artificial Neural Network for fuel efficiency analysis for cargo vessel operation. Ocean Engineering, 264, p.112437.
  17. Hadi, J, Tay, ZY and Konovessis, D, 2022, July. Ship navigation and fuel profiling based on noon report using neural network generative modeling. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 2311, No. 1, p. 012005). IOP Publishing.
  18. Tay, ZY*, Energy generation enhancement of arrays of point absorber wave energy converters via Moonpool's resonance effect. Renewable Energy, 2022, 188, p. 830-848.
  19. Tay, ZY*, Power enhancement of wave energy converter array via wave runup in channel. Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, 2022, 144(2), p.022001.
  20. Hadi, J, Konovessis, D and Tay, ZY*, Filtering harbor craft vessels’ fuel data using statistical, decomposition, and predictive methodologies. Maritime Transport Research, 2022, 3, p.100063.
  21. Fam, M, Tay, ZY and Konovessis, D, 2022. Techno-economic analysis for decarbonising of container vessels. Techno-economic analysis for decarbonising of container vessels. Singapore: Research Publishing.
  22. Tay, ZY* and Lee, L, Performance of integrated vertical raft-type WEC and floating breakwater. Ocean Systems Engineering, 2022, 12(1), p. 39-61.
  23. Tay, ZY*, Effect of resonance and wave reflection in semi-enclosed moonpool on performance enhancement of point absorber arrays. Ocean Engineering, 2022, 243, p.110182.
  24. Hadi, J, Konovessis, D and Tay, ZY*, 2022. Achieving fuel efficiency of harbour craft vessel via combined time-series and classification machine learning model with operational data. Maritime Transport Research, 3, p.100073.
  25. Tay, ZY*, Performance and wave impact of an integrated multi-raft wave energy converter with floating breakwater for tropical climate. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 218, p. 108136.
  26. Nguyen, HP, Wang, CM, Tay, ZY and Luong, VH, Wave energy converter and large floating platform integration: A review. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 213, p.107768.
  27. Tay, ZY*, Hadi, J, Chow, F, Loh, DJ and Konovessis, D, Big data analytics and machine learning of harbour craft vessels to achieve fuel efficiency: a review. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 2021, 9(12), p.1351.
  28. Tay, ZY*, Performance and wave impact of an integrated multi-raft wave energy converter with floating breakwater for tropical climate. Ocean Engineering, 2020, 218, p.108136.
  29. Tay, ZY* and Wei, Y, Power enhancement of pontoon-type wave energy convertor via hydroelastic response and variable power take-off system. Journal of Ocean Engineering and Science, 2020, 5(1), pp.1-18.
  30. Tay, ZY* and Venugopal, V, The impact of energy extraction of wave energy converter arrays on wave climate under multi-directional seas, Journal of Ocean Engineering and Marine Energy, 2019, p. 1-22.
  31. Tay, ZY*, Energy extraction from an articulated plate anti-motion device of a very large floating structure under irregular waves, Renewable Energy, 2019, 130, p. 206-222
  32. Tay, ZY*, and Venugopal, V, Hydrodynamic interactions of oscillating wave surge converters in an array under random sea state, Ocean Engineering, 2017, 145, p. 382-394.
  33. Gallego, A., Tay, ZY et al., Large scale three-dimensional modelling for wave and tidal energy resource and environmental impact: Methodologies for quantifying acceptable thresholds for sustainable exploitation, Ocean and Coastal Management, 2017, 147, p. 67-77.
  34. Tay, ZY* and Venugopal, V, Optimization of Spacing for Oscillating Wave Surge Converter Arrays Using Genetic Algorithm, Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering, 2016: p. 04016019.
  35. Wong, LH, Tan, HS, Wang, CL, Lim, H, Ho, HC, Wang, CM, Tay, ZY, and Gao, RP, Floating wetlands at Punggol, The IES Journal Part A: Civil & Structural Engineering, 2013, 6(4): p. 249-257.
  36. Wang, CM, Wang, CY, and Tay, ZY, Analogy of TE waveguide and vibrating plate with sliding edge condition and exact solutions, The IES Journal Part A: Civil & Structural Engineering, 2013, 6(1): p. 32-41.
  37. Cheng, N, Furth, M, Johnson, MC, Tay, ZY, Shenoi, RA, and Wilson, PA, Engaging the community with a "Green Town" concept, Energy Procedia, 2013, 37: p. 7337-7345.
  38. Tay, ZY* and Wang, CM, Reducing hydroelastic response of very large floating structures by altering their plan shapes, Ocean Systems Engineering, 2012, 2(1): p. 69-81.
  39. Wang, CM, Yee, AA, Krock, H, and Tay, ZY*, Research and developments on ocean thermal energy conversion, The IES Journal Part A: Civil & Structural Engineering, 2011, 4(1): p. 41-52.
  40. Wang, CM, Tay, ZY*, Duan, WH, Zhang Y Y, and Silvestre, N, Examination of cylindrical shell theories for buckling of carbon nanotubes, International Journal of Structural Stability and Dynamics, 2010, 11(6): p. 1035-1058.
  41. Wang, CM and Tay, ZY, 2011. Very large floating structures: applications, research and development. Procedia Engineering, 14, pp.62-72.
  42. Gao, RP, Tay, ZY, Wang, CM, and Koh, CG, Hydroelastic response of very large floating structure with a flexible line connection, Ocean Engineering, 2010, 38(17-18): p. 1957-1966.
  43. Tay, ZY*, Wang, CM, and Utsunomiya, T, Hydroelastic responses and interactions of floating fuel storage modules placed side-by-side with floating breakwaters, Marine Structures, 2009, 2(3): p. 633-658.
  44. Tay, ZY*, Wang, CD, and Wang, CM, Hydroelastic response of a box-like floating fuel storage module modeled using non-conforming quadratic-serendipity Mindlin plate element, Engineering Structures, 2007, 29(12): p. 3503-3514.
International Refereed Conference Paper (24)
  1. Tay, ZY, Kaung, MH and D. Jiang. Performance of heave plate for motion mitigation and energy optimization in integrated design of FOWT and WEC systems. in International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering. 2026. American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
  2. Tay, ZY and Yue, J. Wave, Tidal and Solar Energy Resource Evaluation at Singapore Strait and Adjacent Region Seas: Prospects for Renewable Energy Deployment. in World Conference on Floating Solutions. 2025. Springer.
  3. Tay ZY, Lin Htoo N. Performance and Wave Attenuation of Stepped-Type Floating Breakwater Under Influence of Mooring Stiffness for Tropical Climate. In: International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering 2025 Jun 22 (Vol. 88964, p. V007T12A009). American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
  4. Roslan, S.B., Konovessis, D., Ang, J.H., Vineeth, N. and Tay, ZY, 2024, May. Simulation of LNG-Battery hybrid tugboat under the influence of environmental loads and manoeuvre. In International Marine Design Conference.
  5. Hadi, J, Tay, ZY and Konovessis, D, 2022, July 2022. Ship navigation and fuel profiling based on noon report using neural network generative modeling. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 2311, No. 1, p. 012005). IOP Publishing.
  6. Fam, ML, Tay, ZY and Konovessis, D. An Artificial Neural Network based decision support system for cargo vessel operations. In Proceedings of the 31st European Safety and Reliability Conference, 2021, Angers, France (p. 19-23).
  7. Tay, ZY*, Hadi, J, Konovessis, D, Loh, DJ, Tan, DKH and Chen, X, Efficient Harbor Craft Monitoring System: Time-Series Data Analytics and Machine Learning Tools to Achieve Fuel Efficiency by Operational Scoring System. In International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering (Vol. 85161, p. V006T06A019). American Society of Mechanical Engineers, June 2021.
  8. Tay, ZY* and Wan, L, Sloshing Effect Due to Hydrodynamic Interaction and Hydroelastic Response of Enclosed Large Floating Multi-Bodies. In The 29th International Ocean and Polar Engineering Conference. International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers, 2019.
  9. Tay, ZY*, Wei, Y and Vakis, AI (2018). Energy extraction of pontoon-type wave energy converter. Proceedings of the ASME 37th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering (OMAE2018), Madrid, Spain, 17-22 June, 2018, 77089.
  10. Tay, ZY*, Energy generation from anti-motion device of very large floating structure, European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC), 27 August to 1st September 2017, Cork, Ireland.
  11. Tay, ZY* and Venugopal, V, Performance of finite arrays of oscillating wave surge converters in irregular and multi-directional sea, in Asian Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (AWTEC), 24-28 October 2016, Singapore.
  12. Tay, ZY* and Venugopal, V, A genetic algorithm scheme for spacing optimization in WEC arrays, in Asian Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (AWTEC), 24-28 October 2016, Singapore.
  13. Tay, ZY*, Yordanov, VZ, Mihalev, V, and Choudhary, A, Challenges and potential of extended tension leg platform in ultra-deepwater, in International Conference in Hydrodynamics (ICHD), 19-24 October 2014, Singapore.
  14. Tay, ZY*, Popov, PR, Yordanov, VZ, and Nguyen, HD, Hydroelastic Analysis for Extended-Column of Extended Draft Semi-Submersible, in ASME 2014 33rd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering: American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
  15. Tay, ZY*, Nguyen, HD, and Wang, WP, Recent advancement in tendon technology for deepwater in International Conference in Hydrodynamics (ICHD), 19-24 October 2014, Singapore.
  16. Tay, ZY*, Jain, A, and Ke, A, E-SEMI-Feasibility solution for dry tree application in deepwater, in International Conference in Hydrodynamics (ICHD), 19-24 October 2014, Singapore.
  17. Nguyen, HD and Tay, ZY*, Review of riser techniques for deepwater application, in International Conference in Hydrodynamics (ICHD), 19-24 October 2014, Singapore.
  18. Tay, ZY*, Jain, A, Adrian Ke, and Mathew, J, Feasibility of E-SEMI for dry tree solution, in 21st International Oil & Gas Industry Exhibition & Conference OSEA 27-30 November 2012, Singapore.
  19. Kim, DK, Bhawanin, M, Kim, TY, Tay, ZY, Chen, M, and Paik, JK, Concepts for the sequestration of anthropogenic carbon emissions in the near future: a summary of the outcomes from an LRET workshop, in Conference of Society of Naval Architeture Korea (SNAK), Korea.
  20. Wang, CM, Tay, ZY, Gao, RP, and Koh, CG, Hydroelastic response of VLFS with a hinge or semi-rigid line connection, in ASME 2010 29th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering: American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
  21. Tay, ZY*, Wang, CM, and Utsunomiya, T, Hydroelastic interactions of large floating storage module, in 21st KKCNN 2008 Symposium on Civil Engineering, 27-28 October 2008, Singapore.
  22. Tay, ZY* and Wang, CM, Hydroelastic response of floating fuel storage modules placed side-by-side, in ASME 2008 27th International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering: American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
  23. Wang, CD, Tay, ZY, Wang, CM, Shah, KW, and Song, TC, Wave induced deflections and stress-resultants of two floating fuel storage system, in 2nd International Maritime-Port Technology Development Conference (MTEC), 26-28 September 2007, Singapore.
  24. Wang, CD, Tay, ZY*, and Wang, CM, Hydroelastic analysis of a large floating box-line oil storage module modeled using the Mindlin plate theory, in 19th KKCNN 2006 Symposium on Civil Engineering, 10-12 December 2006, Kyoto, Japan.
Connect

Contact

Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore

✉ Institutional Email LinkedIn ↗ Google Scholar ↗ ORCID ↗ Stanford Top 2% Scientists Single-Year ↗ Stanford Top 2% Scientists Career-Year↗ GitHub ↗ SIT Personal Webpage ↗
↑