PhD Studentship in Aeronautics: Turbulence under strain (AE0068)

Start Date: As soon as possible

Introduction: Richard Feynman famously quoted ‘turbulence is the most important unsolved problem of classical physics’. Understanding and modelling turbulent flow physics will unlock a vast potential for optimising many applications of the energy and transportation sectors. While the last century has produced breakthroughs in our understanding of turbulent flows, these are confined in two extreme and polar-opposite regimes: when turbulence is highly or when it is lowly strained. Still, the physics of the in-between regime of intermediate-strain, which is critical for a wide variety of engineering and environmental applications, remains unexplored.

Objectives: You will experimentally quantify the flow-physics of fundamental turbulent flows, as their mean strain is varied from high to low levels, and will document the failure of classical theories to describe intermediate strain regimes. The produced data-set will be utilized to develop a novel theoretical framework for intermediate strain turbulence, based on previous work conducted in Imperial. The project will heavily rely on laboratory experiments, conducted in the state-of-the-art wind tunnel facilities of the Aeronautics Department, and will utilize novel theoretical and machine learning tools.

Supervisors: Dr Kostas Steiros, Lecturer in Experimental Fluid Mechanics. Dr Steiros’ expertise lies in turbulence theory, incompressible aerodynamics, and experimental fluid mechanics. 

Learning opportunities: You can expect to become an expert in aerodynamics and turbulent flows, and to have developed skills in experimental fluid mechanics, statistics, data processing, machine learning, and mathematical modelling. 

Professional Development: You will have access to engaging professional development workshops in areas such as research communication, computing and data science, and professional progression through our Early Career Researcher Institute. 

Duration: 3.5 years.

Funding: Full coverage of tuition fees and an annual tax-free stipend of £21,237 for Home, EU and International students. This PhD project is funded by the European Research Council, under the ERC grant ‘ONSET’.

Information on fee status can be found at www.imperial.ac.uk/study/pg/fees-and-funding/tuition-fees/fee-status/ 

Eligibility: i.e. You must possess (or expect to gain) a First class honours MEng/MSci or higher degree or equivalent in Engineering or a closely related discipline. 

How to apply: Send your preliminary application, as soon as possible, to k.steiros@imperial.ac.uk highlighting how you meet the selection criteria and to include your CV, university transcripts and, optionally, a piece of written work (e.g., from a previous project report).

Submit your application on our Apply webpages. When submitting your application, you will need to use the following details:

·         Search course/Programme: Aeronautics Research (PhD)

·         Research Topic: Please use reference number AE0068

·         Research Supervisor: Dr Kostas Steiros

·         Research Group: Aero

Application deadline: Until filled

For further information: For questions about the project, please email Dr Kostas Steiros, Lecturer in Experimental Fluid Mechanics: k.steiros@imperial.ac.uk 

For queries regarding the application process, please contact Lisa Kelly at: l.kelly@imperial.ac.uk 

You can also learn more about Imperial at: Study | Imperial College London.

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