Do you want to be a part of the energy transition towards greener energy? Are you interested in wind turbine aerodynamics? This PhD research, as part of the HybridLabs project, will ensure that new developments in offshore wind energy are designed responsibly and sustainably. Interested in this exciting challenge? Then please apply.

Context

To tackle the climate crisis and to gain energy independent from foreign oil and gas, we have the urgency to transform the energy system. To achieve this, the worldwide installed capacity of offshore wind energy needs to reach 359 GW by 2030 and 1833 GW by 2050, which is a 30-fold increase compared to the current situation.
To succeed, radical innovations are needed to the way offshore renewables are designed, controlled, monitored, deployed, and maintained.

A key challenge associated with offshore wind turbines, and their floating logistics, is that the systems strongly interact with their physical environment (wind and water) in complex nonlinear ways. By physically testing small-scale versions of system components and emulating the missing physical effects through actuators driven by numerical models, the behaviour of the entire system can be predicted.  This combined way of testing is called 'hybrid' testing. The HybridLabs project has set its aim at unlocking innovations in the field of offshore renewables through a nation-wide infrastructure of hybrid experimental facilities, simulators, and offshore demonstration sites, learning from one another, though new data- and physics-driven approaches.

Job Description

We offer a PhD position (4-year contract) within the 7-year HypridLabs project; a project funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and established by 12 applicants, 9 co-founders and 16 cooperation partners. This project brings together renewable energy companies, related stakeholders (e.g., CrossWind, Campus@Sea, Heerema Engineering Solutions, Rijkswaterstaat, Shell, Siemens, Port of Amsterdam, North Sea Foundation) and research institutes (e.g., Delft University of Technology, Wageningen University and Research, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, University of Twente, MARIN, TNO). The consortium collaborations will help ensure the practical relevance of the research and will be a great benefit for you to learn and network.

As part of this project, you will conduct experiments at the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel. You will focus on two main aspects of hybrid testing for floating wind turbines.

1. Assessing forces and moments as well as wake flow characteristics of wind turbines in atmospheric flow conditions.
2. Assessing how the emulated wave motion affects the above investigated parameters.

In addition to experimental work, you will perform complementary Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations.

Anticipated starting date: 1st June 2024

The project will take place in the Building Physics research group, under supervision of dr. Stefanie Gillmeier (assistant professor with specialization in experimental wind engineering) and ir. Thijs van Druenen (lecturer/researcher with specialization in numerical wind engineering). The project has links with other past and ongoing projects within the research group. The Building Physics research group is one of the six research groups in the Unit Building Physics and Services of the Department of the Built Environment .

• A master's degree (or an equivalent university degree) in Fluid Mechanics, Aerospace Engineering, Wind Engineering, Meteorology or a related discipline with a background and an interest in aerodynamics as well as experimentation.
• You have a research-oriented attitude.
• You have a strong interest in experimental wind tunnel work.
• You have a hands-on attitude.
• You are pro-active and eager to learn.
• You can work autonomously as well as in an interdisciplinary team.
• You are interested in collaborating with industrial partners.
• You are fluent in spoken and written English: C1 level = IELTS: 7.0 score or TOEFL: 90 score.

Any of the following could be considered an advantage and should be mentioned in the motivation letter:

• Previous experience in wind tunnel testing.
• Knowledge of advanced measurement techniques (like LDA, PIV).
• Knowledge of MATLAB or Python.
• Knowledge of 3D drawing/design software for model design and assessment purposes.
• Previous experience with Computational Fluid Dynamics.
• Previous publications and scientific communications.

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after nine months. You will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale P (min. €2,770 max. €3,539).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates.