PhD Scholarship: Enhancing the Resilience of Offshore Wind Electrical Systems through Digital Twin Tools

This PhD scholarship is offered by the EPSRC CDT in Offshore Wind Energy Sustainability and Resilience, a partnership between the Universities of Durham, Hull, Loughborough and Sheffield. The project is supported by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult. The successful applicant will undertake six months of training with the rest of the CDT cohort at the University of Hull before continuing their PhD research at the University of Sheffield. The project focuses on developing control strategies for wind generation planning through advanced Digital Twin concepts for electrical equipment in offshore wind systems. Using a combination of physics-based and data-driven AI approaches, the research will develop and validate multi-time scale Digital Twin tools for real-time simulation, control, and condition monitoring of electrical powertrains including rotor aerodynamics, structural dynamics, generators, converters, transformers, and filters. The aim is to improve system stability, enhance maintenance, and reduce operational risk in offshore wind electrical systems. The scholarship provides comprehensive training including an intensive six-month taught programme at the University of Hull, followed by specialized training in power electronics, motor drives, control and signal processing at the University of Sheffield. Students will have access to relevant software training including FPGA programming and real-time modelling tools. The four-year research scholarship includes continuing professional development embedded throughout the programme.