Research Associate - CFD for Offshore Wind Farms & Wakes

A Research Associate position is available for an experienced fluid dynamicist to develop and apply computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models to the analysis of offshore wind and tidal turbine farms and farm-scale wakes, subject to turbulent atmospheric and marine flows. The position is part of the Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Impact Hub (2023-2027, https://supergen-ore.net/) which aims to foster research and innovation in Offshore Renewable Energy. The Hub involves collaboration of nine UK institutions, and liaison with multiple industrial partners across the offshore wind, wave energy and tidal-stream sectors. The consortium is led by the University of Plymouth with this post forming part of the Manchester-led workstream titled ORE Modelling in collaboration with other hub partners including University of Oxford, University of Aberdeen and University of Southampton.

The aim of the role is to advance modelling capabilities of the formation and development of turbine- and farm-wakes in unsteady atmospheric and marine flows. This requires code development to reproduce representative unsteady conditions, and evaluation of selected configurations of wind- and tidal stream systems. Farm-scale wakes will be analysed to inform prediction of energy yield subject to the wakes of upwind farms and the siting and operation of large farm clusters comprising multiple farms. Validation will be undertaken relative to data from offshore deployments and experiments. The simulations will also be employed to inform specification of measurement campaigns and targeted measurements. The work will involve development of an existing high-fidelity in-house CFD code – Digital Offshore Farms Simulator – with the expectation that several cases will be run on HPC facilities. The position will involve collaboration with other members of the Supergen ORE hub, including academic and industrial partners.

You should have a PhD in engineering, mathematics or physics, with advanced knowledge of applied fluid mechanics, and direct hands-on experience of developing CFD codes. Expertise is sought in programming in Fortran or C/C++, accompanied by understanding of turbulence mechanics and simulation. Experience of parallel processing is required as is understanding of turbine load- and wake modelling applicable to wind and / or tidal-stream systems. You should be capable of working under your own initiative and as part of a collaborative team and have excellent written and oral communication skills.

The School is committed to promoting equality and diversity and currently holds the Athena SWAN Bronze Charter Mark for promoting women’s careers in STEM subjects in higher education and the University Bronze Race Charter Mark. The University is an equal opportunities employer and applicants are welcome from all sections of the community regardless of age, sex, gender (or gender identity), ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. We are happy to talk about flexible working and blended working arrangements may be considered. All appointment will be made on merit.

Enquiries about the vacancy, shortlisting and interviews:

Name: Professor Tim Stallard

Email: tim.stallard@manchester.ac.uk

This vacancy will close for applications at midnight on the closing date.

Further particulars including job description and person specification are available on the University of Manchester website - click on the 'Apply' button above to find out more.

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