Research Fellow / Tidal Turbine Testing 3
Renewable energy is a global drive that is making a difference to the way we care for our planet. As a mechanical engineer and an enthusiastic advocate for renewables I feel privileged to be assisting in the development of tidal energy as a reliable and competitive source of renewable energy to the market.
As a Research Fellow in the School of the Natural and Built Environment at Queen’s University Belfast I am investigating the performance characteristics of two experimental tidal stream turbine rotors in idealised and real tidal flows. The Tidal Turbine Testing (TTT) projects aim to understand the interaction between the 1.5m diameter tidal stream turbines in various flow scenarios experienced in real tidal sites.
Alongside the research at QUB I volunteer as an expert on the IEC technical committee PT62600-202 for the development of a technical specification entitled; ‘Guidelines for the early stage development of tidal energy converters’. Previously I was a PhD researcher at Cardiff University investigating the effects of flow direction on tidal stream turbines using numerical and experimental techniques.