Aerodynamics of rough surfaces: transition and heating

About the Project

Supervisory Team: Prof Neil Sandham

High speed boundary layer transition to turbulence over rough surfaces with heat transfer is an outstanding problem in fluid mechanics, with important technological applications. On this project you'll use scale-resolving numerical simulation to understand the flow physics and develop new prediction methods.

Rough surfaces are encountered in many engineering applications, leading to localised heating and early transition to turbulence. An extreme example is the ablating surface of a heat shield in hypersonic flow, for example during atmospheric entry where overall weight depends on how reliably the flow-induced heating can be predicted.

On this project you'll carry out well-resolved flow simulations (using direct and large-eddy simulation of transition to turbulence) to understand transition mechanisms for different types of rough surface and assess prediction methods for engineering applications. You'll gain experience with state-of-the-art simulation methods, using exascale-level high performance computers, based on modern heterogenous GPU/CPU computer architectures, and gain experience with large data processing techniques and reduced order modelling methods.

You'll join a team of researchers in Southampton studying problems in high and low speed flows using scale-resolving simulation techniques, including all aspects of transition and turbulent flow. You'll be based in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Boldrewood Innovation Campusin Southampton, benefiting from a large community of PhD and post-doctoral researchers. Training will be provided to get you up to speed in running the code-generation framework to generate code for high performance computer applications. You'll have opportunities to present your work internally as well as to attend and present at international conferences.

Entry requirements

You must have a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in one of the following:

• fluid mechanics
• aerodynamics

Fees and funding

Tuition fees will be paid, and you'll receive an annual stipend.

How to apply

Apply now

You need to:

• choose programme type (Research), 2026/27, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences
• select Full time or Part time
• search for programme PhD Engineering & the Environment (7175)
• add name of the supervisor in section 2 of the application

Applications should include:

• your CV (resumé)
• 2 academic references
• degree transcripts and certificates to date
• English language qualification (if applicable)