PhD Studentship: INDIGO - Integration and DIGital Demonstration of Low-emission Aircraft Technologies and Airport Operations

Title of studentship: INDIGO – Integration and DIGital Demonstration of Low-emission Aircraft Technologies and Airport Operations

Starting date: June 2023

The project:

INDIGO is a H2020 European Research project, in collaboration with a number of universities and research institute across Europe. The main objective of INDIGO is to (i) to use multi-fidelity experimental and numerical tools to develop and assess technologies targeted for low-emission (noise and exhaust) aircraft; (ii) to establish a framework for evaluating the technologies with robust uncertainty quantification process. The project will specifically address read-world applications of technologies which can be readily assimilated by the aircraft and airport operations. The students will have access to our state-of-the-art aeroacoustic wind tunnel and high-performance computing facilities. The students will have the opportunity to work closely with research and industrial partners, attend workshops, consortium meetings, and present the results at relevant international conferences.

The PhDs will focus on experimental and numerical (digital-twin) studies of the low-emission, low-noise aircraft configurations with distributed propulsion systems:

1. PhD1 will examine the aerodynamic performance and acoustic signature of the single and distributed electric propulsion (DEP) by performing a series of experiments. The experiments will make use of the aeroacoustic wind tunnel (part of UK National Wind Tunnel Facility), and advanced measurement techniques developed in-house to obtain a comprehensive knowledge of the DEP and furthermore, to explore potentially promising techniques for propulsion noise mitigation, applicable to next-generation aircrafts.
2. PhD2 will employ a mixed-fidelity numerical tools to evaluate the single and distributed electric propulsion (DEP). The simulations will closely couple with the experiments and elucidate further the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic characteristics of these low-noise, low-emission configurations. Furthermore, multi-fidelity numerical models will be explored using advanced data-driven methods.

Candidate requirements:

Applicants must hold/achieve a minimum of a Master’s degree (or international equivalent) in a mathematics, or engineering discipline.  Applicants without a Master’s qualification may be considered on an exceptional basis, provided they hold a first-class undergraduate degree. Please note, acceptance will also depend on evidence of readiness to pursue a research degree.

The successful candidate will have knowledge of aerodynamics, fluid mechanics and programming.

Applicants must meet the University’s English language entry requirements.

Funding:

Funded by Horizon Europe H2020 for 3.5 years with an enhanced stipend rate. Funding is subject to confirmation of eligibility and award.

Contacts:

For questions about the research topic please contact Dr Nick Zang or Dr Beckett Zhou. 

For questions about eligibility and the application process please contact came-pgr-admissions@bristol.ac.uk

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