This project will evaluate and formulate climate change impact on loading/actions on energy infrastructure (e.g. wind turbine towers) as a function of different climate projection scenarios.
Department/School
School of Sustainability, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Project Description
This study aims to investigate the impact of climate projection scenarios on different types of existing energy infrastructures/assets and will provide framework to critically assess the required adaptation measures for future designs and constructions as well as asset management decisions. Specifically, the project targets the challenges below:
- Lack of existing converting mechanism to translate climate data to infrastructure loading demand: climate change projections are often presented as changes in temperature and precipitation level; however, their impact on infrastructures during their lifetime is often oversimplified.
- Lack of physics-based assessment of energy infrastructure response to climate-induced demand: the climate change impacts on energy infrastructure are predominantly assessed using statistical analysis of previous events without reflection on asset characteristics and their physical response.
- Lack of consideration of system-of-systems approach in assessing the impact of climate change on short/long-term infrastructure climate demands and corresponding response: the assessment of climate change on infrastructures are generally conducted in silos, either with over-generalisation or bespoke assessment for a certain type of structure/infrastructure without considering the interdependencies.
Different combinations of climate variables will require an appropriate form of modelling; data-driven approaches via exploiting the power of deep learning machine learning algorithms and physics-based numerical models of assets to physically model and investigate the infrastructure response to different climate actions will be developed and utilised as part of this project. This will include a wide range of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models for different climate actions and different infrastructure characteristics. The project can also be directed to investigate the spatial and temporal impacts of climate data on different types of dependency and independency connections (physical, geographical and logical) between different infrastructure assets in a network.
How to Apply
Applications should be submitted via the Civil and Environmental Engineering PhD programme page. In place of a research proposal you should upload a document stating the title of the projects (up to 2) that you wish to apply for and the name(s) of the relevant supervisor. You must upload your full CV and any transcripts of previous academic qualifications. You should enter ’Faculty Funded Competition’ under funding type
Funding
The studentship will provide a stipend at UKRI rates (currently £17,668 for 2022/23) and tuition fees for 3.5 years. An additional bursary of £1700 per annum for the duration of the studentship will be offered to exceptional candidates.
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