Biography
Federico Zilic de Arcos completed his undergraduate studies in naval engineering in 2015 at the Austral University of Chile, specialising in naval architecture and marine engineering. After working as a research assistant at the Canal de Ensayos Hidrodinámicos in Valdivia, Chile, and co-founding the start-up company Okeanos, he joined the Oxford Tidal Energy group in 2017 as a DPhil student. His thesis focused on tidal turbine hydrodynamics and fluid-structure interactions. Following a short postdoc in Oxford, Federico was awarded an H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship co-funded by the Region of Normandy. The objective of his fellowship was to study dynamic loads on axial-flow rotors and floating energy systems at the Laboratoire Ondes et Milieux Complexes in Le Havre, France.
He returned to the University of Oxford in 2024 as a Departmental Lecturer in Civil Engineering Fluid Mechanics in association with St Edmund Hall.
Research Interests
Federico's research is focused on numerical and experimental aero-/hydrodynamics of renewable energy systems. His work includes the development and validation of numerical models for predicting steady and dynamic loads on axial-flow turbines, as well as research on rotor fluid dynamics, fluid-structure interactions, and floating energy systems.
Research Groups
Publications
Tidal and wave driven hydrokinetic power in atolls of an amphidromic region in the Pacific Ocean
Zilic de Arcos F, Pham MA, Lucas F, Lafosse M & Pinon G (2026), Renewable Energy, 256, 124668-124668
BibTeX
@article{tidalandwavedri-2026/1,
title={Tidal and wave driven hydrokinetic power in atolls of an amphidromic region in the Pacific Ocean},
author={Zilic de Arcos F, Pham MA, Lucas F, Lafosse M & Pinon G},
journal={Renewable Energy},
volume={256},
number={124668},
pages={124668-124668},
publisher={Elsevier BV},
year = "2026"
}
Modelling unsteady hydrodynamic gust loading on tidal turbine blades
Smyth ASM, Zilic de Arcos F & Young AM (2025), Journal of Fluids and Structures, 137, 104381-104381
BibTeX
@article{modellingunstea-2025/9,
title={Modelling unsteady hydrodynamic gust loading on tidal turbine blades},
author={Smyth ASM, Zilic de Arcos F & Young AM},
journal={Journal of Fluids and Structures},
volume={137},
number={104381},
pages={104381-104381},
publisher={Elsevier BV},
year = "2025"
}
Dynamic loading of two side-by-side tidal stream turbines in regular waves
McNaughton J, Zilic de Arcos F, Vogel C & Willden R (2025), Journal of Fluids and Structures, 133, 104259-104259
BibTeX
@article{dynamicloadingo-2025/3,
title={Dynamic loading of two side-by-side tidal stream turbines in regular waves},
author={McNaughton J, Zilic de Arcos F, Vogel C & Willden R},
journal={Journal of Fluids and Structures},
volume={133},
number={104259},
pages={104259-104259},
publisher={Elsevier BV},
year = "2025"
}
The Effect of Flow Sampling on the Robustness of the Actuator Line Method
Zormpa M, Zilic de Arcos F, Chen X, Vogel CR & Willden RHJ (2024), Wind Energy, 28(1)
BibTeX
@article{theeffectofflow-2024/12,
title={The Effect of Flow Sampling on the Robustness of the Actuator Line Method},
author={Zormpa M, Zilic de Arcos F, Chen X, Vogel CR & Willden RHJ},
journal={Wind Energy},
volume={28},
publisher={Wiley},
year = "2024"
}
A CFD Study on High‐Thrust Corrections for Blade Element Momentum Models
Zilic de Arcos F, Wimshurst A, Willden RHJ, Pinon G & Vogel CR (2024), Wind Energy
BibTeX
@article{acfdstudyonhigh-2024/7,
title={A CFD Study on High‐Thrust Corrections for Blade Element Momentum Models},
author={Zilic de Arcos F, Wimshurst A, Willden RHJ, Pinon G & Vogel CR},
journal={Wind Energy},
number={e2937},
publisher={Wiley Open Access},
year = "2024"
}
Tidal turbine benchmarking project: stage I - steady flow blind predictions
Willden R, Chen X, Tucker Harvey SW, Edwards H, Vogel C et al. (2023), Proceedings of the 15th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC 2023), 15(3)
BibTeX
@inproceedings{tidalturbineben-2023/9,
title={Tidal turbine benchmarking project: stage I - steady flow blind predictions},
author={Willden R, Chen X, Tucker Harvey SW, Edwards H, Vogel C et al.},
booktitle={15th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC 2023)},
year = "2023"
}
A numerical study on the hydrodynamics of a floating tidal rotor under the combined effects of currents and waves
Zilic de Arcos F, Vogel CR & Willden RHJ (2023), Ocean Engineering, 286(Part 2)
BibTeX
@article{anumericalstudy-2023/8,
title={A numerical study on the hydrodynamics of a floating tidal rotor under the combined effects of currents and waves},
author={Zilic de Arcos F, Vogel CR & Willden RHJ},
journal={Ocean Engineering},
volume={286},
number={115612},
publisher={Elsevier},
year = "2023"
}
An experimental investigation of the influence of inter-turbine spacing on the loads and performance of a co-planar tidal turbine fence
McNaughton J, Ettema S, Zilic de Arcos F, Vogel C & Willden R (2023), Journal of Fluids and Structures, 118
BibTeX
@article{anexperimentali-2023/3,
title={An experimental investigation of the influence of inter-turbine spacing on the loads and performance of a co-planar tidal turbine fence},
author={McNaughton J, Ettema S, Zilic de Arcos F, Vogel C & Willden R},
journal={Journal of Fluids and Structures},
volume={118},
number={103844},
publisher={Elsevier},
year = "2023"
}
Hydrodynamic independence and passive control application of twist and flapwise deformations of tidal turbine blades
Zilic de Arcos F, Vogel CR & Willden RHJ (2023), Journal of Fluids and Structures, 118
BibTeX
@article{hydrodynamicind-2023/2,
title={Hydrodynamic independence and passive control application of twist and flapwise deformations of tidal turbine blades},
author={Zilic de Arcos F, Vogel CR & Willden RHJ},
journal={Journal of Fluids and Structures},
volume={118},
number={103827},
publisher={Elsevier},
year = "2023"
}
A parametric study on the hydrodynamics of tidal turbine blade deformation
Zilic de Arcos F, Vogel C & Willden RHJ (2022), Journal of Fluids and Structures, 113
BibTeX
@article{aparametricstud-2022/7,
title={A parametric study on the hydrodynamics of tidal turbine blade deformation},
author={Zilic de Arcos F, Vogel C & Willden RHJ},
journal={Journal of Fluids and Structures},
volume={113},
number={103626},
publisher={Elsevier},
year = "2022"
}
