Wind turbine icing prediction and evaluation

Eligibility: UK/EU students

Award Details: £15,000 Bursary plus tuition fees

Duration: Full Time 3 years Fixed Term (Start date: September 2016)

Application deadline: This opportunity will only remain open until a suitable candidate is identified- early application is therefore advised. Standard University research application closing dates apply.

Informal enquiries are essential before application; contact Dr. Jonathan Nixon to discuss this opportunity.

Congratulations on taking your first steps toward a Research Degree with Coventry’s Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing. As an ambitious and innovative University, we’re investing an initial £100m into our new research strategy, ‘Excellence with Impact’. Through original approaches from world-leading experts, we’re aiming for our research to make a tangible difference to the way we live. As a research student you are an integral part of Coventry’s lively and diverse research community and contribute to our reputation for excellence. With our exceptional facilities and superb support mechanisms you are afforded every opportunity for academic success.

The Project:
The abundant wind resource in cold and high altitude regions has recently attracted much interest for wind energy. However, the efficiency of wind power generation in cold climates is severely compromised by the prevalence of icing. Icing of blades causes a reduction in aerodynamic performance, excessive vibration, damage to bearings, dangerous break-off ice, control system failure and increased maintenance costs. In harsh climates, severe icing can stop turbines completely and reduce annual power output by as much as 50%. There are several emerging anti-icing and de-icing solutions, but there are no commercially available products for wind turbine operators. Furthermore, anti/de-icing solutions can be expensive and energy-intensive. This project aims to enhance affordable, reliable and clean wind energy in cold regions by developing a wind turbine icing prediction and evaluation decision support system. The project will involve developing and integrating models for ice formation, iced wind turbine aerodynamics, and anti/de-icing system performance. The system will inform research on the optimal implementation and arrangement of anti/de-icing technologies, and provide an impetus for the uptake of anti/de-icing solutions. The successful applicant will work closely with wind turbine manufacturers and academics conducting renewable energy research in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Automotive Engineering.
About The Centre/Department

The School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Automotive Engineering enjoys a global reputation for teaching, student experience and research. The School is within the Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing, which has recently had an investment of around £100 million for research and built an inspirational £55M state-of-the-art building to host equipment and student facilities. Our research expertise range from Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems to Multi Phase Fluid Flow Systems for oil and gas extraction. The School has a growing body of postgraduate research students and is now looking to expand its research in renewable energy technologies. The successful candidate will work with Dr. Jonathan Nixon and two other co-supervisors.

Successful applicants will have:
• A minimum of a 2:1 first degree in a relevant discipline/subject area with a minimum 60% mark in the Project element or equivalent with a minimum 60% overall module average,or
• A Masters Degree in a relevant subject area will be considered as an equivalent. The Masters must have been attained with overall marks at merit level (60%). In addition, the dissertation or equivalent element in the Masters must also have been attained with a mark at merit level (60%).
• The potential to engage in innovative research and to complete the PhD within a prescribed period of study
• Language proficiency (IELTS overall minimum score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each component).

Additionally:
• Knowledge and/or experience of wind turbines is desirable, but not essential
• A good knowledge of engineering, including renewable energy, aerodynamics, heat transfer and materials, is expected
• Experience in one or more of the following areas is highly desirable: energy systems modelling, MATLAB, meteorology, computational fluid dynamics, wind tunnel testing and decision support systems

Application Procedure:
Application information can be found in our how to apply section. Before completing the application please contact Dr. Jonathan Nixon cc’ing in [Email Address Removed] for an initial informal discussion about the opportunity.

Eligibility:
All UK/EU students are eligible to apply that meet the academic requirements, the eligibility criteria can be found here.