New Silent Anchors for Floating Offshore Wind Turbines in Calcareous Sand . Reliable wind energy sites are in deeper waters and require offshore floating structures to harness the wind energy. Such floating structures require a reliable anchoring system that is secure and environmentally friendly. Calcareous sands, rich in carbonate content, pose unique challenges with their behaviour difficult to predict. In this project, a novel silent anchoring system is investigated that can be installed wit ....New Silent Anchors for Floating Offshore Wind Turbines in Calcareous Sand . Reliable wind energy sites are in deeper waters and require offshore floating structures to harness the wind energy. Such floating structures require a reliable anchoring system that is secure and environmentally friendly. Calcareous sands, rich in carbonate content, pose unique challenges with their behaviour difficult to predict. In this project, a novel silent anchoring system is investigated that can be installed with minimum noise and vibration compared to more traditional counterparts. Through the state of the art development in numerical modelling and centrifuge modelling, this project will advance Australian Science and Practice in designing floating wind turbines in carbonate rich soils offshore and help energy transition.Read moreRead less
Quantification, optimisation, and application of deep uncertainty. This project aims to develop a framework for deep uncertainty quantification. There is currently a fundamental gap between deep learning research and the methods required to quantify and manage uncertainties. The research will propose a novel distribution-free methodology to generate deep predictive uncertainty estimates to avoid the assumptions of existing methods. The quality of estimates will be enhanced by applying an interva ....Quantification, optimisation, and application of deep uncertainty. This project aims to develop a framework for deep uncertainty quantification. There is currently a fundamental gap between deep learning research and the methods required to quantify and manage uncertainties. The research will propose a novel distribution-free methodology to generate deep predictive uncertainty estimates to avoid the assumptions of existing methods. The quality of estimates will be enhanced by applying an interval-based adversarial training step. The project is expected to help data-driven Australian organisations and industries to better quantify and manage forecasting uncertainties. This project will provide them with significant cost savings through better decision making and more robust planning.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101478
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$422,998.00
Summary
Design Waves: a new basis for safer and more efficient offshore systems. This project will overcome a fundamental issue at the heart of ocean engineering design, impacting our oil, gas and renewables industries. Ocean waves are random, yet the best design tools for wave-structure interaction (model testing and computational fluid dynamics) require short, precisely-defined wave sequences. This project will establish a paradigm shift, bridging this gap via a new unified Design Wave methodology dev ....Design Waves: a new basis for safer and more efficient offshore systems. This project will overcome a fundamental issue at the heart of ocean engineering design, impacting our oil, gas and renewables industries. Ocean waves are random, yet the best design tools for wave-structure interaction (model testing and computational fluid dynamics) require short, precisely-defined wave sequences. This project will establish a paradigm shift, bridging this gap via a new unified Design Wave methodology developed for a diverse set of offshore systems, each with different criticalities. The new methodology will fuse advanced techniques in fluid mechanics, statistics and applied maths. The outcomes will create reductions in uncertainty and improvements in design and safety for facilities such as wind farms and gas platforms.Read moreRead less
Impact of roughness on adverse pressure gradient turbulent boundary layers. This project aims to develop a novel technique for measuring time-resolved fluid velocity vector fields in high-speed flows to investigate rough wall turbulence in adverse pressure gradient environments in unprecedented detail. By using this innovative instrument to study these widespread but poorly understood turbulent flows in power generation and transport, the project seeks to generate new knowledge. Expected outcome ....Impact of roughness on adverse pressure gradient turbulent boundary layers. This project aims to develop a novel technique for measuring time-resolved fluid velocity vector fields in high-speed flows to investigate rough wall turbulence in adverse pressure gradient environments in unprecedented detail. By using this innovative instrument to study these widespread but poorly understood turbulent flows in power generation and transport, the project seeks to generate new knowledge. Expected outcomes include the development of a new instrument and fundamental knowledge leading to improved designs with higher efficiencies in power generation and transport, resulting in significant benefits such as increased energy security, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and improved quality of life for individuals and society.Read moreRead less
Smart site investigation for offshore energy installations in sand . This project aims to develop a next generation tool for seabed site investigations. It will use free-fall penetrometers, advanced physical modelling and novel probabilistic methods to investigate fundamental science of sand responses at low stress level and generate new interpretation methods. Outcomes of this project include a scientific framework to predict soil design parameters at unsampled seabed locations. A game changer ....Smart site investigation for offshore energy installations in sand . This project aims to develop a next generation tool for seabed site investigations. It will use free-fall penetrometers, advanced physical modelling and novel probabilistic methods to investigate fundamental science of sand responses at low stress level and generate new interpretation methods. Outcomes of this project include a scientific framework to predict soil design parameters at unsampled seabed locations. A game changer in offshore site investigations, the project will provide cheaper and faster geotechnical site investigation in sand at a time of global increase in offshore energy installations (worth 4 trillion over the next decade).Read moreRead less
Advanced Microgrids for Residential, Commercial and Industry Buildings. The project aims to develop and commercialise an Advanced Microgrid Energy-Management System (AM-EMS) to enhance the energy efficiency of residential, commercial and industry buildings. It will allow the industry partner to integrate their existing products in AM-EMS with maximum returns. The intended outcome of the project is an AM-EMS with optimised energy scheduling and distribution, incorporating renewable energy sources ....Advanced Microgrids for Residential, Commercial and Industry Buildings. The project aims to develop and commercialise an Advanced Microgrid Energy-Management System (AM-EMS) to enhance the energy efficiency of residential, commercial and industry buildings. It will allow the industry partner to integrate their existing products in AM-EMS with maximum returns. The intended outcome of the project is an AM-EMS with optimised energy scheduling and distribution, incorporating renewable energy sources and battery storage systems. End-users will benefit from reduced energy costs, improved energy efficiency and reliability, with the added benefit of new and innovative clean energy technology. The research community will benefit from new knowledge that will underpin international improvements in energy efficiency.Read moreRead less
Securing Australian floating wind developments with helical anchors. This project will reduce the cost of offshore floating wind energy by uniting leading academic expertise and innovative industry partners to develop the knowledge and practical tools that will enable the deployment of helical anchors as a cheap and reliable anchoring system for floating wind. Helical anchors are seen as the most promising solution to anchor wind turbines, but their deployment has been limited by uncertainties a ....Securing Australian floating wind developments with helical anchors. This project will reduce the cost of offshore floating wind energy by uniting leading academic expertise and innovative industry partners to develop the knowledge and practical tools that will enable the deployment of helical anchors as a cheap and reliable anchoring system for floating wind. Helical anchors are seen as the most promising solution to anchor wind turbines, but their deployment has been limited by uncertainties associated with the torque and vertical force required for installation in complex seabeds, and their performance under environmental loading. The project will address these specific points through a combination of physical, numerical and analytical modelling, using data and design scenarios provided by industry.
Read moreRead less
Reducing geotechnical design conservatism to secure floating wind energy. The next frontier for offshore wind energy is moving further out to sea to avail of stronger and more consistent wind speeds. In these water depths, wind turbines are installed on floaters tethered to anchors in the seabed. Geotechnical design of anchors is inherently conservative, having been shaped by technical and economic considerations of oil and gas facilities. The offshore wind energy industry cannot afford to adopt ....Reducing geotechnical design conservatism to secure floating wind energy. The next frontier for offshore wind energy is moving further out to sea to avail of stronger and more consistent wind speeds. In these water depths, wind turbines are installed on floaters tethered to anchors in the seabed. Geotechnical design of anchors is inherently conservative, having been shaped by technical and economic considerations of oil and gas facilities. The offshore wind energy industry cannot afford to adopt such conservatism if floating wind is to become commercially viable. This project will, through numerical developments, geotechnical centrifuge modelling and field testing, develop the science that will lead to a reliability-based geotechnical design approach to make floating offshore wind energy economic and viable.Read moreRead less
Unlocking new generation physical modelling with realistic soil response. This project will improve the safety and efficiency of geo-structures associated with offshore wind developments by better characterising and replicating the behaviour of carbonate sediments. Novel characterisation techniques will be used to better understand the links between the chemical and structural composition of the sediments and their engineering properties relevant to geotechnical design, and how to better replica ....Unlocking new generation physical modelling with realistic soil response. This project will improve the safety and efficiency of geo-structures associated with offshore wind developments by better characterising and replicating the behaviour of carbonate sediments. Novel characterisation techniques will be used to better understand the links between the chemical and structural composition of the sediments and their engineering properties relevant to geotechnical design, and how to better replicate carbonate sediment behaviour in a laboratory – an outcome that has eluded researchers for decades. The main outcomes of the project will be the development of soil sample reconstitution techniques enabling high-fidelity physical modelling to be undertaken to assist in the design offshore wind turbine foundations.Read moreRead less
Machine Learning and Shape Optimisation of Fluid-Structure Interactions. This project aims to address vibrations of solid structures by utilising a combination of advanced experimental and computational methods. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of flow-induced vibrations utilising the new techniques of machine learning and evolutionary shape optimisation. Expected outcomes of this project include greatly accelerated discovery of mechanisms leading to structural vibratio ....Machine Learning and Shape Optimisation of Fluid-Structure Interactions. This project aims to address vibrations of solid structures by utilising a combination of advanced experimental and computational methods. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of flow-induced vibrations utilising the new techniques of machine learning and evolutionary shape optimisation. Expected outcomes of this project include greatly accelerated discovery of mechanisms leading to structural vibrations and optimising structure geometries to either enhance or suppress the vibrations. This should provide significant benefits, such as the design strategies for improved energy harvesters, such as current oscillators, or more stable structures, such as platforms for offshore wind turbines.
Read moreRead less