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PhD: Aerodynamics of wind farms: experimental and reduced-order modelling approaches

Du 1 octobre 2025 au 30 septembre 2028

 Université d'Orléans / Laboratoire PRISME, Orléans, France
Contacts : cedric.raibaudo@univ-orleans.fr


Fully funded by the French ANR Young Researcher project called SONATE, the aim of the thesis is to understand the aerodynamics, performance and losses of a wind farm at different scales and under inlet flows that correspond to realistic conditions of a real wind farm. The PhD student will carry out large-scale experiments in the atmospheric section of the PRISME wind tunnel, using various measurement tools (pressure, hot-wire, PIV). From these measurements, the project will focus on building representative physics-based reduced-order models, capable of predicting the performance of the wind farms with different inputs depending on the flow conditions (yaw, turbulence, angular momentum added by the blades, etc.). Supervisors: Dr. Cédric Raibaudo (advisor, grant recipient), Pr. Nicolas Mazellier (thesis director)

Context and motivations
Development of carbon-free energy production is a major societal and environmental issue. Among the most attractive solutions, wind energy occupies a particularly important place as emphasized in the IPCC proposals to combat global warming. Although this sector has entered a more mature phase, there are still many issues that arise regarding the reliability of wind farm performance predictions. Understanding the collective aerodynamics of wind turbines is therefore crucial to predicting, improving, and optimising the performance and lifetime of individual wind turbines operating in wind farms. Wake interaction between turbines in close proximity in a wind farm causes power loss and aeroelastic phenomena leading to mechanical fatigue. Wind farms cause also flow blockage and disturb their surroundings or a subsequent farm downstream, resulting in up to 30-40% of production compared to their nominal operation.

The doctoral thesis is part of a full project of the French ANR Young Researcher programme called SONATE (details on windfarms-aero.org). The SONATE project aims to understand the aerodynamics, performance and losses of a wind farm at different scales and under inlet flows that correspond to realistic conditions of a real wind farm. Monitoring the farm’s performances in real-time is indeed of substantial benefit for its control and optimisation. Consequently, an accurate model of the losses and the flow inside the farm is necessary to improve existing farm models and allow realistic calculations at an affordable cost. Therefore, from these measurements, the SONATE project aims to design physics-based and data-driven reduced order models for a simpler but accurate representation of the farm. 

This doctoral thesis aims to understanding in depth the physical mechanisms of the wake interactions in the wind farms at different scales, under realistic inflow conditions that can be generated upstream the farm. The experimental approach will be used for the thesis, using the environmental section of the large wind tunnel of the PRISME laboratory of the University of Orléans. The thesis will be in the continuity of recent works and thesis carried out within the host team. In particular, optical methods coupled with point measurements will be implemented to study the development of the flow inside the wind farm.

Working environment
This PhD will benefit from an extremely favourable working environment in terms of resources and know-how. The candidate who will be recruited will integrate the Flows and Aerodynamic Systems (ESA) group of the PRISME laboratory at the University of Orléans. The research activities of this group relate to the understanding, modelling and control of wake flows representative of industrial applications. In particular, the work will be based on know-how developed over several years on the study of wind turbine wakes. The PRISME laboratory has large test facilities including wind tunnels which will be used during the project. In particular, the return section of the Malavard wind tunnel dedicated for environmental studies will be the main region of interest for this project. Once validated, the experimental setup will be used to carry out a parametric test campaign. The generated database will then be post-processed and analysed.
The thesis will also benefit from the means of the ANR SONATE project. The material and means for the large-scale experiments will be funded by the SONATE project, with which part of the budget will be dedicated for dissemination in international conferences and peer-reviewed papers, communication and scientific mediation.

Expected skills
We are looking for a highly motivated PhD student (F/M), holding a Master degree in physics or mechanical engineering with strong background in fluid mechanics, experimental techniques and turbulence. The PhD student will be deeply involved in dissemination of the results in project reports, peer-reviewed journals, and presentations in international conferences. Therefore, high communication and writing skills in English are mandatory.

Salary
Gross salary: around €26 400/year including basic health insurance. 
If interested (not compulsory), the student can teach engineering students at Polytech Orléans (tutorials, practices) for additional paid hours. 
Starting scheduled Fall 2025 (October ideally).

How to apply
Send your CV, motivation letter, transcript of marks (even partial) of Master and the contact details of two scientific referees to cedric.raibaudo@univ-orleans.fr and nicolas.mazellier@univ-orleans.fr.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.