About the project or challenge area

Wind turbines are now a widely used technology in the developed world, offering costs of energy competitive with conventional fossil fuels. However, the current design and manufacturing methods require complex supply chains, large factories and expensive capital equipment to manufacture the components; well developed infrastructure for transporting the components to the final installation site; and regular maintenance from skilled workers to keep them operating for typical lifetimes of 20 to 25 years. Although wind turbines also offer great potential for providing low-cost renewable energy in developing countries, new design and manufacturing methods are needed so that they can be produced close to their installation site without requiring expensive material supply chains and manufacturing facilities. They must also be as robust as possible so that they can remain in use for long lifetimes without requiring replacement parts or maintenance from highly skilled personnel. This project will explore design concepts and manufacturing methods that can address these challenges, using case study countries in the developing world to provide realistic design constraints. It will also explore the financial schemes that might be necessary to help promote the widespread manufacture and deployment of turbines with maximum social and economic benefits. (Although this is intended to be an interdisciplinary project, spanning both engineering and the social sciences, the exact focus of the project can be tailored to suit the student's background.)

Why choose this project?

The project will allow you to work with experts in Bristol's Composites research group (ACCIS) and gives scope to undertake detailed research on design concepts and manufacturing methods, whilst also accounting for the overarching economic, social and environmental constraints.

About you

This project would suit a candidate with strong interests in engineering design, wind energy and international development.

How to apply

All students can apply using the button below, following the Admissions Statement (PDF, 188kB). Please note that this project requires a research statement - for further guidance, please see Section B of the Research Statement template (Office document, 74kB). 

This project is not funded, for further details please use this link.

Before applying, we recommend getting in touch with the project's supervisors. If you are interested in this project and would like to learn more about the research you will be undertaking, please use the contact details on this page.