Optimization strategy of VAWT farms based on advanced numerical modelling

There is an urgent need towards green transition (zero emissions) and sustainable energy with projection for the offshore wind to be able to meet more than 30% of UK power needs and cover about 15% of the EU’s power demand by 2030. It is apparent that uptake of offshore wind could become the leading element for the renewable energy production.

The successful candidate will work in an exciting project that will advance the production yields of wind energy and provide sustainable green solutions for the energy future of our planet. Following our recent research study “Renewable Energy 171 (2021) 1371-1381” on VAWTs that received worldwide attention by top media sources such as FORBES, The NewYorker, The Independent etc. and showed that when these turbines work in pairs they enhance each other's performance by up to 15%, this project will take the next step towards understanding the complex fluid phenomena helping with this substantial increase and expand to wind farm layouts using combination of experimental data and results from computational engineering tools.

This PhD scholarship offers a unique opportunity for a bright and motivated individual from an Engineering, Physics or Applied Mathematics background to work on an exciting project between Oxford Brookes University and SeaTwirl (industrial partner and a world-leading manufacturer for large-scale vertical axis wind turbines).

This project will focus on testing various turbine combinations and configurations (angle, distance, rotation etc.) to identify the most efficient farm layout. Consequently, a 3D analysis will be performed and potentially move to more realistic modelling in conjunction with SeaTwirl. This can lead to developing an efficient and accurate numerical tool to achieve optimum configurations for varying setups and geometries in real scenarios. Project goal is to improve layout and power density in a VAWTs farm maximizing wind power production.

This is a team project so the successful candidate will collaborate with researchers and engineers at the industrial partner and with others at Oxford Brookes University. Visit to partner’s locations (Sweden) may be required.