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.
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Improved design and control of brushless doubly-fed reluctance machine generators for wind power applications. The growing importance of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the coming years is driving the increased usage of renewable energy sources such as wind power. Currently the cost of wind energy is considerably higher than fossil fuel energy sources. Part of the reason for this is the initial cost and ongoing maintenance of the wind turbines. The proposed research considers a n ....Improved design and control of brushless doubly-fed reluctance machine generators for wind power applications. The growing importance of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the coming years is driving the increased usage of renewable energy sources such as wind power. Currently the cost of wind energy is considerably higher than fossil fuel energy sources. Part of the reason for this is the initial cost and ongoing maintenance of the wind turbines. The proposed research considers a new kind of generator based on the Brushless Doubly Fed Machine (BDFRM) that has the potential to lower the initial cost of the generator/inverter hardware of the wind turbine, and also decrease the ongoing maintenance costs. If the research is able to show that the BDFRM is able to realise its potential, then this will aid the further use of wind energy.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
Computing transient inflow receptivity with application to high-lift airfoils. Applications of the research will lead to more efficient wind and gas turbines, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions in power generation and air transport. The project will provide high-level research training for a Research Fellow and a PhD student in an emerging area that links fundamental fluid mechanics, optimal control and optimal engineering design. Also the project will foster international collaboration w ....Computing transient inflow receptivity with application to high-lift airfoils. Applications of the research will lead to more efficient wind and gas turbines, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions in power generation and air transport. The project will provide high-level research training for a Research Fellow and a PhD student in an emerging area that links fundamental fluid mechanics, optimal control and optimal engineering design. Also the project will foster international collaboration with partner researchers and organizations in the United Kingdom.Read moreRead less
Harnessing the power of oceans: anchors for floating energy devices. This project aims to establish a geotechnical design framework for shared anchoring systems subjected to multidirectional cyclic loading for large integrated arrays of floating wind turbines and floating wave energy converters. This is expected to facilitate new, economic foundation solutions, generating radical cost savings to help unlock Australia's renewable ocean energy resources. The project aims to utilise a blend of stat ....Harnessing the power of oceans: anchors for floating energy devices. This project aims to establish a geotechnical design framework for shared anchoring systems subjected to multidirectional cyclic loading for large integrated arrays of floating wind turbines and floating wave energy converters. This is expected to facilitate new, economic foundation solutions, generating radical cost savings to help unlock Australia's renewable ocean energy resources. The project aims to utilise a blend of state-of-the-art centrifuge modelling techniques and numerical modelling, incorporating an energy-based method and yield envelopes. This innovative methodology aims to establish a validated framework for understanding and predicting foundation performance under the complex load histories arising in renewable ocean energy applications.Read moreRead less
Wide Speed Range, Inverterless, Constant Current Mode Alternator. Increasing auxiliary electric power demands in cars due to proposed new features such as electromechanical valves and active suspension has created a pressing need for a higher power car alternator. There has also been a continuing need for improved alternators for small-scale renewable energy generation such as wind turbines. These applications require the lowest possible cost solution which meets the challenging technical spec ....Wide Speed Range, Inverterless, Constant Current Mode Alternator. Increasing auxiliary electric power demands in cars due to proposed new features such as electromechanical valves and active suspension has created a pressing need for a higher power car alternator. There has also been a continuing need for improved alternators for small-scale renewable energy generation such as wind turbines. These applications require the lowest possible cost solution which meets the challenging technical specifications. Present research in this area is focussed on expensive inverter-based methods. We propose a low-cost, "inverterless" alternator configuration based on a specially-designed interior permanent magnet machine operating in a new current source mode.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882471
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$430,000.00
Summary
Three-Dimensional Optical Laser Velocimetry for the HRNBLWT (High Reynolds Number Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel). The experimental information that can be gained from this infrastructure would lead to significant advances in understanding turbulent flows, which would impact a broad range of engineering and geophysical fields. Some specific examples include the development of efficient turbulence control strategies for the reduction of skin-friction drag and improved combustion processes, resulting ....Three-Dimensional Optical Laser Velocimetry for the HRNBLWT (High Reynolds Number Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel). The experimental information that can be gained from this infrastructure would lead to significant advances in understanding turbulent flows, which would impact a broad range of engineering and geophysical fields. Some specific examples include the development of efficient turbulence control strategies for the reduction of skin-friction drag and improved combustion processes, resulting in not only better fuel efficiency for vehicles but also reduced CO2 and pollutant emissions. Significant advances could also be made in the area of understanding the dispersion of particles, including pollutants, in the atmosphere; wind turbine design and implementation strategies, and climate change modelling.Read moreRead less
Understanding and modifying vortex structures in wind turbine wakes. At a fundamental research level, Australia's active participation in this area of national priority and research strength will be advanced through our published research, which will increase our understanding of wind turbine wakes and their effects in wind farms. This understanding will then be used to produce improved methods of predicting wind turbine performance. Such methods are needed by wind energy designers to produce b ....Understanding and modifying vortex structures in wind turbine wakes. At a fundamental research level, Australia's active participation in this area of national priority and research strength will be advanced through our published research, which will increase our understanding of wind turbine wakes and their effects in wind farms. This understanding will then be used to produce improved methods of predicting wind turbine performance. Such methods are needed by wind energy designers to produce better wind farms. It will also be used to recommend how to improve the aerodynamic design of turbine components, such as the blades and hub. Numerical tools will be developed for industry use, and training will be provided to personnel, thereby increasing the capabilities of Australia's growing wind energy industry.Read moreRead less
Quantifying the impact of wind farm noise on rural communities. This project is directed at quantifying the level and character of wind farm noise experienced by rural communities, to gain an understanding of the likelihood of the emitted sound causing the medical symptoms experienced by these communities. The outcome will be an accurate prediction model that covers infrasound, the audio range and modulation.