Single-turbine scale quantification of wake turbulence

About the Project

This PhD scholarship is offered by the EPSRC CDT in Offshore Wind Energy Sustainability and Resilience, a partnership between the Universities of Durham, Hull, Loughborough and Sheffield. The successful applicant will undertake six-months of training with the rest of the CDT cohort at the University of Hull before continuing their PhD research at Loughborough University.

Individual wind turbines produce turbulent wakes that have implications for maximum power generation from downwind turbines, increased fatigue loads and associated maintenance costs (Porté-Agel et al., 2020). There are also associated environmental issues such as noise generation, and the introduction of large-scale flow structures to the atmospheric flow field. There have been a number of studies of these phenomena and Howard et al. (2015) and Kadum et al. (2019) have undertaken detailed studies of aspects of these dynamics. At the heart of this project is an attempt to develop deeper understanding of these phenomena in terms of the flow physics and to provide practical modelling methods that correctly represent these physics.

Of particular interest is the nature of the non-local energy transfers identified in the references cited above. Hence, this project will consider the non-equilibrium energy scaling for near-field wakes and how these effects can be captured in subgrid-scale models. Furthermore, we are interested in understanding how these non-local energy transfers relate to the behaviour of the flow’s pressure field, which provides another dimension to model development (Keylock, 2018).

Methodology:

The project will have three key stages to it:

• (a) direct numerical simulation of the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible flow with a suitable forcing included to represent the turbines;
• (b) analysis of the large datasets that result, extracting and summarising the physics from the stored quantities;
• (c) formulation of large-eddy simulation parameterisations based on the outcomes of (a) and (b). A study making use of some of our concepts in this regard is that by Yu et al. (2021).

An aspect of the project will involve undertaking comparative numerical experiments with control for helicity/helicoidal wake generation (see Li et al., 2006).

An exciting potential dimension to this project is to link the numerical results to field experiments conducted at the University of Minnesota.

Supervisors

• Professor Chis Keylock (Loughborough University)
• Dr Yi Li (University of Sheffield)
• Michele Guala (University of Minnesota)

Training & Skills

You will benefit from a taught programme, giving you a broad understanding of the breadth and depth of current and emerging offshore wind sector needs. This begins with an intensive six-month programme for the new student intake, drawing on the expertise and facilities of all four academic partners. It is supplemented by Continuing Professional Development (CPD), which is embedded throughout your 4-year research scholarship.

Entry Requirements

If you have received a First-class Honours degree, or a 2:1 Honours degree and a Masters, or a Distinction at Masters level with any undergraduate degree (or the international equivalents) in engineering, mathematics and statistics or physics, we would like to hear from you.

If your first language is not English, or you require Tier 4 student visa to study, you will be required to provide evidence of your English language proficiency level that meets the requirements of the Aura CDT’s academic partners. This course requires academic IELTS 7.0 overall, with no less than 6.0 in each skill.

Eligibility

Research Council funding for postgraduate research has residence requirements. Our CDT scholarships are available to Home (UK) Students. To be considered a Home student, and therefore eligible for a full award, a student must have no restrictions on how long they can stay in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the scholarship (with some further constraint regarding residence for education). For full eligibility information, please refer to the EPSRC website.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

The CDT is committed to generating a diverse and inclusive training programme and is looking to attract applicants from all backgrounds. We offer a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for home fee status candidates who identify as Black or Black mixed or Asian or Asian mixed if they meet the programme entry requirements. This positive action is to support recruitment of these under-represented ethnic groups to our programme and is an opt in process.

How to apply

Applications to the EPSRC CDT in Offshore Wind Energy Sustainability and Resilience are made to the University where the PhD project is based. You will find full instructions and links on the CDT website.

Applications for September 2026 entry will be considered on a rolling basis and applicants are therefore strongly encouraged to apply as early as possible.

Shortlisted candidates may be invited to interview as applications are received.

As offers may be made before all applications are reviewed, early application is strongly encouraged.

Funding Notes

The CDT is funded by the EPSRC, allowing us to provide scholarships that cover fees plus a stipend set at the UKRI nationally agreed rates. These have been set by UKRI as £20,780 per annum at 2025/26 rates and will increase in line with the EPSRC guidelines for the subsequent years (subject to progress).