Research Associate in Experimental Fluid Dynamics

Fixed term contract: up to 24 months

Full time: 35 hours per week 

The Opportunity:

A Research Associate position is available to contribute to the fluid mechanics and bioinspired engineering research activities of the Vortex Interaction Laboratory (VOILAb, https://voilab.eng.ed.ac.uk) in the School of Engineering of the University of Edinburgh. The post holder will have specialist expertise in particle image velocimetry (PIV). The position is at UE07 and available on a fixed term basis for up to 24 months. 

This position will contribute to different VOILAb activities in the field of experimental fluid dynamics. The main focus of this research position is the study of the aerodynamics of free-falling particles undertaking time-resolved particle image velocimetry with a continuous laser in a vertical wind tunnel. (see, https://voilab.eng.ed.ac.uk/dandidrone). This bio-inspired project aims at the development of flying sensors passively transported and distributed by the wind. They will contribute to protecting the environment by providing data on the contamination of physical and biological systems and on the impact of human activities. To date, a key limitation of this technology is that insect-scale sensing drones can remain airborne only for a few minutes. By contrast, some natural flyers such as the dandelion fruit, travel unpowered for days and hundreds of kilometres. Previous VOILAb’s work published in Nature (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0604-2) revealed that the dandelion adopts a highly porous wing to form a new fluid vortex that has never been observed before, the separated vortex ring. This project aims to exploit the underlying fluid mechanics mechanisms that allow the dandelion to remain airborne to increase the endurance of dandelion-inspired drones. 

The post holder is also expected to contribute to the wider range of activities within VOILAb including, for example, the study of the fluid-structure interaction of flexible blades for wind and tidal turbines in collaboration with industry partners. The post holder is expected to lead knowledge exchange activities with the wind and tidal energy sector as well as experimental in the FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility (https://www.flowave.co.uk) using particle tracking velocimetry and Shake-The-Box (e.g. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12650-022-00832-z). 

The start for this position is between 1^st November 2024 and 1^st February 2025. Later starts will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 

Your skills and attributes for success: 

• Knowledgeable in, and passionate about, fluid mechanics
• Experienced in experimental fluid mechanics
• Being strongly driven and self-motivated

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