Wind energy has become a real success story for the UK energy sector, enabled by a government keen to meet its legally binding target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The UK has increased the total installed capacity of the offshore wind, from the original target 30 GW to 50GW by 2030, in response to the current energy crisis. However, the efficiency of offshore wind turbines is still far from ideal. Considering the significant difference in the incoming flow from the root to the tip of the large-scale offshore wind turbine blades, even the most advanced independent pitch control technology is not capable to eliminate the adverse effects caused by the periodic variation of the inflow, not to mention dealing with random and high-frequency turbulent winds. The resulted flow separation on blades causes higher drag, lower lift, and hence poorer aerodynamic efficiency.
It has been practically demonstrated that vortex generators (VGs) can significantly increase turbine efficiency. VGs consist of small vanes on the flight surface, which keep the air flow attached for as long as possible, thereby increasing lift and reducing drag. Retrofitting VGs on blades has been shown to boost the annual energy production by as much as 3%, equivalent to the electricity needs of 600,000 homes if applied to all 11,000 wind turbines in the UK. This performance boost is achieved by installing VGs to suppress dynamic stall, a negative aerodynamic phenomenon which causes unsteady loads on the turbine blades, and hence shortens their life.
Interestingly, the theoretical basis behind the VG design for wind turbine blades did not include investigations into flow control mechanisms under dynamic stall, leaving a critical gap in knowledge, which this research seeks to fill. This PhD studentship aims to conduct investigations to evaluate the impact of VGs on the flow regime over wind turbine blades, aiming to quantify their impact and to establish a multi-factor optimisation method for the VGs, leading to the proposal of the next generation design.
You will benefit from accessing the cutting-edge research facilities in the aerodynamic lab of Northumbria University, including a novel wind tunnel testing-platform considering dynamic stall, to carry out experimental research and design on the project. Advanced flow measurement and visualisation technologies, such as PIV, multi-hole probes and hot-wire CTA, will be available for experimental investigations. You will also have access to research-level HPC clusters for high-fidelity CFD simulations to investigate the flow control mechanisms along with the experimental research.
You will benefit from joining a successful series of supporting projects from Royal Society, Northern Accelerator and Natural Environment Research Council, along with obtaining great opportunities to publish in top-quality journal papers and peer-reviewed conference presentations from this innovative research. You will also have the opportunity to work with our industrial partners including the leading industry Offshore-Renewable-Energy Catapult on the project, obtaining advice and support from them. The expecting research outputs will significantly enhance research impacts in the subject of wind energy, aerodynamic design and engineering.
Academic Enquiries
This project is supervised by Dr Xiang Shen, Professor Laurent Dala and Dr Roger Penlington. For informal queries, please contact Dr Shen’s email: [Email Address Removed]. For all other enquiries relating to eligibility or application process please use the email form below to contact Admissions.
Funding Information
Home and International students (inc. EU) are welcome to apply. The studentship is available to Home and International (including EU) students and includes a full stipend at UKRI rates (for 2022/23 full-time study this is £17,668 per year) and full tuition fees. Studentships are also available for applicants who wish to study on a part-time basis over 5 years (0.6 FTE, stipend £10,600 per year and full tuition fees) in combination with work or personal responsibilities).
Please also see further advice below of additional costs that may apply to international applicants.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Academic excellence of the proposed student i.e. 2:1 (or equivalent GPA from non-UK universities [preference for 1st class honours]); or a Masters (preference for Merit or above); or APEL evidence of substantial practitioner achievement.
- Appropriate IELTS score, if required.
- Applicants cannot apply for this funding if they are already a PhD holder or if currently engaged in Doctoral study at Northumbria or elsewhere.
Please note: to be classed as a Home student, candidates must meet the following criteria:
- Be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or
- have settled status, or
- have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
- have indefinite leave to remain or enter.
If a candidate does not meet the criteria above, they would be classed as an International student. Applicants will need to be in the UK and fully enrolled before stipend payments can commence, and be aware of the following additional costs that may be incurred, as these are not covered by the studentship.
- Immigration Health Surcharge https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application
- If you need to apply for a Student Visa to enter the UK, please refer to the information on https://www.gov.uk/student-visa. It is important that you read this information very carefully as it is your responsibility to ensure that you hold the correct funds required for your visa application otherwise your visa may be refused.
- Check what COVID-19 tests you need to take and the quarantine rules for travel to England https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-to-england-from-another-country-during-coronavirus-covid-19
- Costs associated with English Language requirements which may be required for students not having completed a first degree in English, will not be borne by the university. Please see individual adverts for further details of the English Language requirements for the university you are applying to.
How to Apply
For further details of how to apply, entry requirements and the application form, see
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research-degrees/how-to-apply/
For applications to be considered for interview, please include a research proposal of approximately 1,000 words and the advert reference (e.g. RDF23/…).
Deadline for applications: 27 January 2023
Start date of course: 1 October 2023 tbc
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