Computationally Efficient Control Co-Design Optimization Framework with Mixed-Fidelity Fluid and Structure Analysis

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Program:
ATLANTIS
Award:
$1,576,872
Location:
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Status:
ALUMNI
Project Term:
01/20/2020 - 01/31/2023
Website:

Critical Need:

Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) are currently designed to be large and heavy to replicate more familiar onshore wind turbine dynamics, maintain stability, and survive storms. However, this approach fundamentally limits how inexpensive FOWTs can ever become. Radically new designs that do not require a massive floating platform—applying the control co-design (CCD) approach of substituting mass by control systems—are needed. CCD methodologies integrate all relevant engineering disciplines at the start of the design process, with feedback control and dynamic interaction principles as the primary drivers of the design. To design innovative, economically competitive FOWTs, researchers must overcome several significant technical barriers: insufficient current knowledge of how FOWT subsystem dynamics interact; insufficient computer tools for dynamic simulation; and a dearth of experimental data. ATLANTIS will address these technical barriers while exploring radically new FOWT design concepts that minimize mass and maximize productive rotor area to provide economical offshore wind power.

Project Innovation + Advantages:

A multidisciplinary team including Rutgers University, University of Michigan, Brigham Young University, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and international collaborators (Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Technical University of Denmark) will develop a computationally efficient CCD optimization software framework for floating offshore wind turbine design. They will focus on developing a modular computational framework for the modeling, optimization, and control of primary structures coupled to the surrounding air, water, and actuator dynamics. Their framework will integrate traditional aeroelastic models with higher fidelity simulation tools. This project will yield a modular and open-source framework that will be available to the other Phase 1 teams to support the broad mission of the ATLANTIS Program.

Potential Impact:

ATLANTIS projects will aim to develop new and potentially disruptive innovations in FOWT technology to enable a greater market share of offshore wind energy, ultimately strengthening and diversifying the array of domestic energy sources available to Americans.

Security:

Diverse, domestic energy resources can boost grid resiliency and reduce infrastructure vulnerabilities.

Environment:

Increased availability of affordable, reliable wind energy could lessen reliance on fossil fuels, reducing power sector emissions.

Economy:

Program developments in FOWTs could reduce the cost of wind energy production and provide an entirely new option for the offshore wind industry, as well as access to significant wind resources near major population centers on U.S. coastlines.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Mario Garcia-Sanz
Project Contact:
Dr. Onur Bilgen
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
o.bilgen@rutgers.edu

Partners

University of Michigan
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Brigham Young University

Related Projects

• General Electric (GE) Global Research - Control Co-design and Co-optimization of a Lightweight 12 MW Wind Turbine on an Actuated Tension Leg Platform
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - Ultraflexible SmartFLoating Offshore Wind Turbine (USFLOWT)
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - Wind Energy with Integrated Servo-control (WEIS): A Toolset to Enable Controls Co-Design of Floating Offshore Wind Energy Systems
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - The FOCAL EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM - Floating Offshore-wind and Controls Advanced Laboratory Experiment to Generate Data Set to Accelerate Innovation in Floating Wind Turbine Design and Controls
• Otherlab - AIKIDO: Advanced Inertial and Kinetic Energy Recovery Through Intelligent (co)-Design Optimization
• Principle Power (PPI) - Development, Experimental Validation and Operation of a DIGItal Twin Model for Full-scale FLOATing Wind Turbines (DIGIFLOAT)
• Rutgers University - Computationally Efficient Control Co-Design Optimization Framework with Mixed-Fidelity Fluid and Structure Analysis
• Sandia National Laboratories - ARCUS Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine
• University of Central Florida (UCF) - Model-Based Systems Engineering and Control Co-Design of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines
• University of Maine (UMaine) - The NASA Floater: 15 MW Ultra-light Concrete Hull with Sea-water Ballast Tuned Mass Dampers
• University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) - A Low-Cost Floating Offshore Vertical Axis Wind System
• WS Atkins - Scale Model Experiments for Co-Designed FOWTs Supporting a High-Capacity (15-MW) Turbine

Release Date:
08/08/2019