About this project
The UK is committed to the use of offshore wind energy to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The EPSRC-NERC Aura Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Offshore Wind Energy and the Environment will enable delivery of this target by developing environmental and engineering solutions to key offshore wind sector challenges; thereby supporting a sustainable energy supply. In partnership with Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (ORE Catapult), a 4-year taught and research industry-sponsored Aura CDT PhD is offered. The PhD directly addresses sector needs to understand array scale sediment transport.
Future offshore wind farm (OWF) arrays will be built further from shore. As a result, there is a need to advance both planning and design of foundations and electrical infrastructure to cope with greater depths, and more extensive exposure in the hostile marine environment. Built OWF array configurations are not optimised for the different predominant hydrodynamic conditions and large-scale, long-term sediment transport processes at future development sites. Therefore, different optimal design concepts to those adopted for current sites might be needed.
Little is known about array-scale longshore and cross-shore sediment transport budgets, sediment mobility and increased turbidity effects in OWFs in the UK and emerging markets. Moreover, by 2034, up to 1,000 turbines in UK windfarms will reach the end of their design life, requiring decommissioning work, which will trigger seabed instabilities and modify sediment transport fluxes.
This PhD will explore the following research questions:
- How are the flow and sediment transport processes in future OSW sites different to those in current sites?
- How would current array configurations modify those conditions? What are the potential impacts to array scale seabed dynamics?
- How could cable networks be optimised from an array scale sediment transport perspective in future sites?
- How could current cable, foundation and scour protection practices be improved to optimise future OSW array configurations?
- How can current cable installation be modified to facilitate site decommissioning and future repurposing?
The post is available from September 2021 as a full-time position. You will join Cohort 3 of the Aura CDT in Hull, in the heart of the UK’s Energy Estuary – the global centre for research, innovation and development for the sector. Initially, you will study for a Postgraduate Diploma in Offshore Wind Energy and the Environment, followed by a 3-year PhD supported by ORE Catapult.
Find out more through our webinar
Click here to watch a recording of our recent free webinar about funded postgraduate research at the Aura CDT. You'll hear from programme leaders, supervisors, and students and listen to queries from other applicants in the Q&A.
For more information visit auracdt.hull.ac.uk
Apply now
To apply for this Aura CDT / ORE Catapult PhD Scholarship, please complete the online form accessed from the links below (please ensure you choose the appropriate link for full-time or part-time study):
Apply here for a full-time place on the Array scale sediment transport dynamics scholarship
Apply here for a part-time place on the Array scale sediment transport dynamics scholarship
For further advice on making an application, please see the Aura CDT website.