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

About the Project

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.