PhD Studentship: Improving the Fatigue Life Assessment of Offshore Wind Turbine Support Structures by Considering Manufacturing Imperfections

Supervisors: Prof. Ali Mehmanparast

Project Description:

An efficient source of renewable energy, which is increasingly the preferred solution for realising the UK’s short- and long-term energy demand, is offshore wind. According to the UK’s Renewable Energy Roadmap and the national target to reach up to 50 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030, deployment of further offshore wind farms will be boosted over the coming decades. The dominant majority of the UK’s offshore wind turbines are supported using monopile foundations which are fabricated by welding large thickness steel plates. These support structures are subjected to severe cyclic loading condition during service; therefore, they need to be designed against fatigue failure for a desired target life which is typically between 20 and 25 years for older wind farms and 35 years or more for the recent farms.

There is currently an EPSRC-funded EngD project available on integrity assessment of offshore wind turbine support structures titled: “Improving the fatigue life assessment of offshore wind turbine support structures by considering manufacturing imperfections”. This 4-year EngD project is funded by EPSRC and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy through an industrial CASE award.

The studentship covers fees and tax-free enhanced stipend for 4 years, and includes industrial placements at the supporting company. The successful candidate will receive full academic and professional training from the Wind & Marine Energy Systems & Structures Centre for Doctoral Training (WAMSS CDT). The Wind & Marine Energy Systems & Structures (www.wamss-cdt.co.uk) is an EPSRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training, led by the University of Strathclyde, working collaboratively with Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh. The Centre aims to train the next generation of technical leaders, through EngD and PhD graduates, for the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) sector.

This doctoral project will be supervised by Prof. Ali Mehmanparast from the department of Naval Architecture, Ocean & Marine Engineering at University of Strathclyde, and co-supervised by industrial experts in the offshore wind sector.

This EPSRC-funded studentship is open to UK and eligible EU citizens (with Settlement status) with a first class, or strong upper second class honours degree. Self or externally funded International applicants are welcome to apply for additional PhD/EngD vacancies on similar research topics. The positions are suitable for high calibre candidates with a strong background in Mechanical/Civil/Materials/Marine/Structural Engineering.

For informal enquiries, please contact Prof. Ali Mehmanparast (Email: ali.mehmanparast@strath.ac.uk).