{"id":1130,"date":"2020-01-28T10:00:39","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T09:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.exeter.ac.uk\/exetermarine\/?p=1130"},"modified":"2020-01-28T10:00:39","modified_gmt":"2020-01-28T09:00:39","slug":"developing-a-new-floating-wind-turbine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/exetermarine\/2020\/01\/28\/developing-a-new-floating-wind-turbine\/","title":{"rendered":"Developing a New Floating Wind Turbine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Model Tests with a Novel Floating Wind Turbine Concept<\/h2>\n

Dr Ed Mackay & Prof. Lars Johanning, Offshore Renewable Energy Group<\/a><\/h4>\n
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Dr Ed Mackay<\/a> (Left) and Prof Lars Johanning <\/a>(Right)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Floating offshore wind energy has been identified as being able to provide a significant contribution to meeting future renewable energy generation targets. Compared to traditional offshore wind turbines, which are fixed to the seabed, floating turbines can access deeper waters and areas with a higher wind resource. Current floating wind turbines are at the pre-commercial stage, with small arrays of up to five turbines being demonstrated. The cost of floating offshore wind turbines is currently significantly higher than fixed offshore wind. One of the main areas identified for reducing the cost of the structure is in the design of the platform. The platform must be designed to withstand large wave loads and keep the wind turbine as stable as possible. Large platform motions lead to reduced energy yield and increased loads on the wind turbine and drive train.<\/p>\n

As part of the EPSRC funded RESIN project<\/a>, the University of Exeter has been working with Dalian University of Technology (DUT) in China to investigate the use of porous materials in the floating platform for an offshore wind turbine, as a passive means of reducing platform motions. Porous materials are commonly used in offshore and coastal structures such as breakwaters or offshore oil platforms. As a wave passes through the porous material, energy is dissipated, reducing the wave height and wave-induced forces. The question posed by the RESIN project is: can porous materials be beneficial for floating offshore wind?<\/p>\n

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Examples of porous structures used in coastal and offshore engineering<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The project has investigated this question using a combination of physical and numerical modelling. A range of analytical and numerical models have been developed [1-3] and validated against scale model tests in wave tanks. Two tests campaigns were conducted at the large wave flume at DUT in the summers of 2018 and 2019. The initial tests last year considered simple cases with flat porous plates with various porosities and hole sizes [4] and tests with fixed porous cylinders. These tests were used to validate the numerical predictions in a range of simple scenarios and gain an understanding of the effect of the porosity on the wave-induced loads.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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A wave interacting with a fixed porous cylinder<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following the successful validation of the numerical models with simple fixed structures, a design was developed for a 1:50 scale model of a floating turbine, which could be tested with and without external porous columns. The model was tested at DUT this summer and further tests were conducted in the FlowWave tank at the University of Edinburgh this autumn. The test results showed that the motion response could be reduced by up to 40% in some sea states by adding a porous outer column to the platform. Work is ongoing to analyse the test results and optimise the design a platform using porous materials. However, initial results indicate that using porous materials in floating offshore wind turbines offers potential for reducing the loading on the turbine and mooring lines and improving energy capture.<\/p>\n

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1:50 scale model of a floating platform for an offshore wind turbine in various configurations. Left: inner column only. Middle: medium porous outer column. Right: Large porous outer column. The turbine rotor and nacelle are modelled as a lumped mass at the top of the tower.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The scale model installed at the FloWave tank at the Univeristy of Edinburgh<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thanks Ed!<\/em><\/p>\n

To keep up to date with the Renewable Energy team, give them a follow on Twitter @Renewables_UoE\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

For information on the Offshore Renewable Energy research group, check out their webpages<\/a>.<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n