[UK] PhD Studentship at The Robert Gordon University
PhD Studentship Scale Effects in Tidal Current Device Testing
School of Engineering
Applications are invited for a PhD studentship in the School of Engineering at The Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen to work on a Tidal Energy project. The influence of scale on turbulent structures will be examined to determine if scale affects the structure of turbulence in tidal currents and how can these effects be accommodated in model testing.
Significant turbulence at metre-length scales is potentially a substantial threat to the installation and operation of tidal current energy converters. Turbulence structures within tidal currents have been identified at metre-length scale from data provided by earlier work and these may take the form of volumes of random motion or more organised vortices and shear flows. The studentship will be grounded in a thorough examination of existing turbulence theory and seek to determine from existing work the present understanding of interaction of turbulence structures in collision. The scale effects may be postulated to arise from superposition of smaller turbulent structures and/or from large flow/bathymetry characteristics and the studentship will examine the validity of this hypothesis. The rapid changes of velocity within large scale turbulence, coupled with the relatively high density of the operating fluid (sea water) implies that structurally significant fluctuations in loading may be applied to a submerged structure by such flow behaviour. Furthermore, given the level of laboratory testing and numerical analysis that tidal turbine systems undergo, it is important to be able to account for (or confidently discount) these significant fluctuations at the design and testing stages of a turbine and/or its support structure. The studentship will therefore seek to establish a viable methodology for incorporating or accommodating the effects of turbulence during device testing and numerical modelling.
Candidates for the studentship should have at least a 2:1 Honours degree (or equivalent) in Mechanical Engineering or similar and, ideally, a thorough grasp of fluid dynamics numerical modelling. All PhD students are expected to complete the PgCert in Research Methods as part of their studies but prior quantitative and qualitative research skills will be a distinct advantage. This studentship provides full university fees for UK/EU applicants and a tax-free maintenance allowance of £12,600 per annum. The studentship is available to start from 1 March 2008.
Applications including a completed application form (available from http://www.rgu.ac.uk/research/degrees), a detailed CV, names and addresses of two referees should be emailed to researchdegrees@rgu.ac.uk or posted to Research Degrees Office,
The Robert Gordon University
Schoolhill, Aberdeen AB10 1FR
quoting reference FDT1 by 15th February 2008.
Informal enquiries may be addressed to Dr Alan Owen on 01224 262360, email a.owen@rgu.ac.uk
For further details and to apply please visit our website at www.rgu.ac.uk/research/degrees
