Job Description

:

Salary: Grade 7, \xc2\xa335,308 - \xc2\xa343,155 (pro-rata)

Contract Type: Part Time (0.4 FTE - 14 hrs per week) 3 months, Fixed Term Contract

Rewards and Benefits: 33 days annual leave, plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday) for all full time staff. Use our total rewards calculator: to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.

Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and leading-edge, relevant research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for innovation, business and industry.

Nearly 30,000 students study with Heriot-Watt across business, engineering, design and the social, physical, biological and sports sciences. Our student body is roughly split evenly between the UK, our two campuses in Dubai and Malaysia, and online, with the latter being distributed across almost all the countries of the world. We also have many partnerships with other institutions world-wide who award Heriot-Watt degrees.

About our Team

This role is an opportunity to be part of a new project at HWU run alongside the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, DNV, and the European Marine Energy Centre. The HWU side of the project will be led by Dr Adam Stock, an Assistant Professor within the Institute of Mechanical, Process and Energy Engineering in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

IMPEE is a new, dynamic, multidisciplinary research Institute focused on promoting excellence across our main research themes: Biomedical Engineering, Digital Engineering, Energy Harvesting and Conversion, and Multiphase Flow. Much of our work involves strong industrial links across a range of sectors and through our expertise, skills and experience we work together with industry to identify new areas of interest.

Detailed Description

The integration of a wind turbine and electrolyser into an islanded microgrid is complicated by the low inertia of the interfacing grid and the slow response of the electrolyser relative to the turbine. Further, there are many unknowns regarding hardware design, control of power flow, stability, inter-system coordination, storage requirements and protection systems. To establish the feasibility of islanding the Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine wind turbine - electrolyser microgrid system, a work package has been designed that breaks down into distinct tasks, as follows: System modelling; AC system interface specification; Control system design; Electrical design; integration of the \xe2\x80\x9cPower Adjustment Controller\xe2\x80\x9d (PAC) into aeroelastic turbine model; Power smoothing capability determination; and integration of results into system model. The hydrogen production process will also be designed. This systematic approach will allow the development of a feasible technical specification for operating the LDT wind turbine - electrolyser system off-grid, in island mode.

The successful applicant will be developing control software that demonstrates how wind turbine power output can be smoothed to facilitate easier integration with hydrogen production via electrolysis. This will involve the tuning and software testing of a novel wind turbine control augmentation known as the Power Adjusting Controller (PAC) for use with DNV Bladed simulations of the Levenmouth 7MW demonstration wind turbine. The project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of an off-grid green hydrogen production demonstration, for which smoothing of the wind turbine\'s output power is a key component. The controller code is in the C++ coding language with the tuning processed in MATLAB.

Alongside the software engineering requirements, the candidate will be required to communicate results both internally to the project (with project partners) and externally through high quality presentations and reporting. The project will involve working closely with industrial partners and is building towards real-time integration of software tools with hardware, so experience in these areas is desirable.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Tune, software test and demonstrate the Power Adjusting Controller (PAC) for smoothing the power output of the Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine
• Ensure good coding practice is followed at all times and that effective code and data management techniques are followed at all times
• Communicate results of the project internally (to the other project partners) and externally (to funders, academia and industry) through high quality presentations and reports.
• Contribute to the writing of scientific papers based on the outputs of the project

Education, Qualifications and Experience

Essential Criteria

• PhD in a renewable energy modelling and/or control topic area
• Highly experienced software developer with strong experience in one or more of MATLAB, python or C++ programming languages
• A track record of software development including experience with change management methodologies
• Experience of both working within an academic environment and engaging closely with industry
• Strong experience of working in the renewable energy sector
• Ability to formulate and progress work on their own initiative.
• Experience in public presentations of scientific results (e.g. conference talks).

Desirable Criteria

• Experienced in real-time data analysis and signal processing
• Evidence of ability to present work effectively in person, e.g. at conferences and seminars
• Capability to be self-directed and think innovatively.
• Experience in leading the writing of scientific papers.

\'How to Apply\'

Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on 9 July 2023.

Please submit via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment system (1) Cover letter describing your interest and suitability for the post; (2) Full CV that includes the list of publications

At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.

Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.

Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers .

We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part-time working and job share options.

Use our total rewards calculator: to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.

Heriot-Watt University