Rachael is a PhD student at the University of Exeter, working as part of the Renewable Energy group in the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences. She is supervised by Prof Lars Johanning, Prof Gavin Tabor and Prof Philipp Thies. Rachael has a BSc in Mathematics and Engineering from the University of Exeter (2016).
The focus of her research is on the influence of aerodynamic models on coupled simulations of floating offshore wind turbines, in which she is using a low order blade element momentum theory based model and a higher order CFD approach to analyse the behaviour of a floating wind turbine in operational and extreme conditions. The objective of her PhD work is to present recommendations for the design of floating offshore wind turbine blades to minimise loads in extreme conditions.
