Funded studentship in Mechanical Engineering
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Department of Mechanical Engineering for a three year research studentship in the field of flow control and unsteady aerodynamics, leading to the award of a PhD degree.
About the project
Start date: Ideally October 2013, will consider January/April 2014
Funding: Stipend of £13,590 (correct for 2013/14) per year. Training support grant
of £1000 per year. Paid laboratory or tutorial support opportunities also available.
Within the unsteady aerodynamics team we have recently begun a research project in collaboration with Airbus: “Actuators for load reduction and their frequency response”. This project will investigate the potential to stabilize the unsteady aerodynamic loads through active flow control (blowing, synthetic jets, Gurney flaps…). If the extreme loads can effectively be controlled the structural weight of the aircraft can be reduced giving both performance and efficiency benefits.
This University Research Studentship (URS) will contribute towards this project by extending the work to more realistic three-dimensional scenarios and will also consider the possibility of the same flow control technologies for wind turbine applications.
The research will be undertaken in the large closed-section wind tunnel at the University of Bath and will encompass a wide range of experimental techniques such as force measurement, hot wire, flow visualization, particle image velocimetry, and so on.
No prior experience of these techniques is necessary, but the ability to solve problems independently is desirable.
How to apply
The studentship is available for students with British or EU citizenship. Applicants should have a first class or 2:1 degree in an engineering or physical sciences discipline. Enthusiastic and self-motivated candidates with good team-working and communication skills are encouraged to apply.
Interested applicants should send the following to Dr David Cleaver: CV, cover letter explaining why you wish to pursue a PhD in this area, and the names and email addresses of two referees.
Suitable candidates will be instructed to complete an online application form.
