Job description

Job summary

Applications are invited for the post of Research Assistant/Associate in the Department of Aeronautics. You will have the exciting opportunity to work on a cutting-edge project to develop the tools for designing the next generation of more efficient offshore wind farms, funded by EPSRC. This will involve performing novel experiments for wind-turbine wakes using the state-of-the-art equipment and facilities within the Department of Aeronautics. This post is part of a five-year fellowship that will see a research team of five people being assembled at the time of appointment. This project involves collaboration with both Vestas and Frazer-Nash Consultancy in the UK and academic collaboration with the University of Oldenburg in Germany.

Your track record should demonstrate excellence in acquiring experimental data and applying fundamental turbulence theory and analysis tools to produce high-quality scientific output. You are expected to have a strong publication record, commensurate with their experience. You will also be expected to work collaboratively with other members of the research team towards the common goal of developing tools to optimise future wind farms.

Duties and responsibilities

The post involves overseeing the fabrication of wind-turbine models to be tested in the Department of Aeronautics’ water flume and wind tunnels. State-of-the-art experiments will then be performed to track the coherent structures present in the near wake of the turbine (e.g. the blade tip/root vortices) as well as measuring the turbulent entrainment rate into the far wake in response to varying freestream turbulence. The experiments will make use optical techniques (particle image velocimetry and planar laser induced fluorescence) for simultaneous measurements of velocity and scalar.

Essential requirements

Essential requirements:

You are required to have experience in:

• Design of physical experiments;
• Aerodynamics measurements, principally PIV for velocity measurements and PLIF for tracking scalar sources;
• Analytical techniques for fluid motion, in particular turbulent dynamics and modal decomposition;
• Experience modelling turbulent flows, through a combination of analytical and data-driven approaches is strongly desired;
• Presentation of data and ideas both orally and in publications.

Those appointed at Research Associate level

Hold a PhD (or equivalent) in Aeronautics, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.

Those appointed at Research Assistant level

A first / masters degree (or equivalent) in Aeronautics, Mechanical engineering or a closely related discipline

*Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as Research Assistant.

Further information

This is a full time, fixed term position until 30 June 2026. 

Informal enquiries regarding the position – Dr, Oliver Buxton o.buxton@imperial.ac.uk

Queries relating to recruitment process - Lisa Kelly: l.kelly@imperial.ac.uk

The College is currently trialling a Work Location Framework until early 2023.  Hybrid working may be considered for this role and the role holder may be expected to work 60% or more of their time onsite, with 40% the minimum time spent onsite.  The opportunity for hybrid working will be discussed at interview.

The College is a proud signatory to the San-Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions, we evaluate applicants on the quality of their work, not the journal impact factor where it is published. For more information, see https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-evaluation/

The College believes that the use of animals in research is vital to improve human and animal health and welfare. Animals may only be used in research programmes which are ultimately aimed towards finding new treatments and making scientific and medical advances, and where there are no satisfactory or reasonably practical alternatives to their use. Imperial is committed to ensuring that, in cases where this research is deemed essential, all animals in the College’s care are treated with full respect, and that all staff involved with this work show due consideration at every level. Find out more about animal research at Imperial.

Documents

• Job Description Research Associate ENG02458.pdf