Kanwar Osama Zulfiqar

PhD

Structural Modeling of XL Wind Turbine Blades: From Geometric Nonlinearity to Data Assimilation

Host Organisation

Bergen Offshore Wind Center (BOW)

Geophysical Institute (GFI)
University of Bergen (UiB)

Project Description

During my PhD, I will work on developing three aspects related to wind turbine blades. The first is developing a methodology to determine when geometric nonlinearities become significant in the structural analysis of large offshore wind turbine blades. Secondly, create a framework for incorporating experimental data to improve the predictive accuracy of structural models for wind turbine blades. Lastly, I will investigate the effect of these variations on the response of a wind turbine.

Supervisors

Main supervisor: Prof. Cristian Guillermo Gebhardt (UiB)

Co. supervisor: Prof. Taeseong Kim (DTU)

Co. supervisor: Dr. Bruno Antonio Roccia

Background

I have lived, studied, and worked across multiple countries. Originally from Okara, Pakistan, I completed my early education there and earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from UET Taxila. After gaining work experience in Pakistan, I pursued a master’s in Structural Engineering at Aalto University, Finland, gaining academic insights and cultural exposure. I then worked at Granlund Oy as a Structural Engineer, where I was first introduced to wind turbines. To further deepen my expertise in structural mechanics, I am now pursuing a PhD at the intersection of mechanics and wind energy in Bergen, Norway.

Motivation

During and after completing my master’s degree, I worked as a structural engineer on a project called GenerIoT, which involved an unconventional structure for a civil engineer, specifically a wind turbine. During this period, I realized I needed a deeper understanding of structural mechanics to solve more advanced problems. This motivated me to pursue a PhD. My goal is to deepen my existing knowledge and develop a more comprehensive understanding of structural mechanics, which I believe will be invaluable for my future career.