Physics-Informed Digital Twin for Guided Wave-Based Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations

Project Description:

This PhD scholarship is offered by the EPSRC CDT in Offshore Wind Energy Sustainability and Resilience; a partnership between the Universities of Durham, Hull, Loughborough and Sheffield. The successful applicant will undertake six-month of training with the rest of the CDT cohort at the University of Hull before continuing their PhD research at the University of Sheffield.

Offshore wind turbines are critical to the UK’s transition to net-zero, but their reliability is challenged by harsh marine environments. Turbine foundations, buried beneath the seabed, are particularly difficult to inspect once installed. Failures or unexpected degradation can lead to costly downtime, complex repairs, and significant risks to energy security. The offshore wind industry has highlighted the urgent need for improved monitoring solutions to reduce uncertainty and support long-term sustainable deployment.

This PhD project will develop a physics-informed digital twin for offshore wind foundations, combining ultrasonic guided wave monitoring, high-fidelity finite element simulations, Bayesian inference, and machine learning. Guided waves can propagate over long distances and reach areas that conventional inspection techniques cannot access, making them ideally suited for monitoring monopiles beneath the seabed. By fusing physics-based modelling with data-driven learning, the digital twin will enable accurate real-time assessment of structural condition, improved prediction of degradation, and reliable estimates of remaining useful life.

The project will use a combination of laboratory experiments, numerical modelling, and large-scale offshore case study supported by industry partners. Outcomes will include new methods for detecting early-stage defects, quantifying uncertainty under variable environmental conditions, and delivering actionable insights to support condition-based maintenance strategies. These advances will directly benefit the offshore wind industry by reducing operations and maintenance costs, extending foundation lifetimes, and minimising the risk of unplanned outages.

The successful student will join the Dynamics Research Group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sheffield, while also being embedded in the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). This dual environment offers world-class academic expertise, access to industrial collaborations, and specialist facilities in digitalisation and process monitoring.

Training and development

You will benefit from a taught programme, giving you a broad understanding of the breadth and depth of current and emerging offshore wind sector needs. This begins with an intensive six-month programme at the University of Hull for the new student intake, drawing on the expertise and facilities of all four academic partners. It is supplemented by Continuing Professional Development (CPD), which is embedded throughout your 4-year research scholarship.

Alongside the CDT training programme, this project provides a unique opportunity to gain cutting-edge technical skills and strong professional development for a career in academia or industry. Including, training in advanced guided wave SHM (from Guided Ultrasonics Ltd) and finite element modelling (Pogo from Imperial College London). Industry placements with project partners will provide additional hands-on experience and ensure strong links to real-world applications.

Entry requirements

If you have received a First-class Honours degree, or a 2:1 Honours degree and a Masters, or a Distinction at Masters level with any undergraduate degree (or the international equivalents) in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, or Mathematics and Statistics, we would like to hear from you.

If your first language is not English, or you require Tier 4 student visa to study, you will be required to provide evidence of your English language proficiency level that meets the requirements of the Aura CDT’s academic partners. This course requires academic IELTS 7.0 overall, with no less than 6.0 in each skill.

If you have any queries about this project, please contact Dr Panpan Xu via p.xu@sheffield.ac.uk.

You may also address queries about the CDT to auracdt@hull.ac.uk.

Watch our short video to hear from Aura CDT students, academics and industry partners:

Funding

The Offshore Wind CDT is funded by the EPSRC, allowing us to provide scholarships that cover fees plus a stipend set at the UKRI nationally agreed rates. These are currently £20,780 per annum at 2025/26 rates and will increase in line with the EPSRC guidelines for the subsequent years (subject to progress).

Eligibility

Research Council funding for postgraduate research has residence requirements. Our CDT scholarships are available to Home (UK) Students. To be considered a Home student, and therefore eligible for a full award, a student must have no restrictions on how long they can stay in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the scholarship (with some further constraint regarding residence for education). For full eligibility information, please refer to the EPSRC website.

We also allocate a number of scholarships for International Students per cohort.

How to apply

Applications for this project will open in Autumn 2025 for September 2026 entry.

Interviews will be held online with an interview panel comprising of project supervisory team members from the host university where the project is based.  Where the project involves external supervisors from university partners or industry sponsors then representatives from these partners may form part of the interview panel and your supplementary application form will be shared with them (with the guaranteed interview scheme section removed). 

If you have any queries about this project, please contact Dr Panpan Xu via p.xu@sheffield.ac.uk.

You may also address queries about the CDT to auracdt@hull.ac.uk.