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Theses/Dissertations

Offshore wind energy

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Full-Text Articles in Ocean Engineering

Simulating The Effects Of Floating Platforms, Tilted Rotors, And Breaking Waves For Offshore Wind Turbines, Hannah Johlas Oct 2021

Simulating The Effects Of Floating Platforms, Tilted Rotors, And Breaking Waves For Offshore Wind Turbines, Hannah Johlas

Doctoral Dissertations

Offshore wind energy is a rapidly expanding source of renewable energy worldwide, but many aspects of offshore wind turbine behavior are still poorly understood and are not accurately captured by low-cost engineering models used in the design process. To help improve these models, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can provide valuable insight into the complex fluid flows that affect offshore wind turbine power generation and structural loads. This research uses CFD simulations to examine three main topics important to future offshore wind development: how breaking waves affect structural loads for fixed-bottom wind turbines; how platform motions affect power generation, wake characteristics, …


Simulating The Hydrodynamics Of Offshore Floating Wind Turbine Platforms In A Finite Volume Framework, Maija Benitz Jul 2016

Simulating The Hydrodynamics Of Offshore Floating Wind Turbine Platforms In A Finite Volume Framework, Maija Benitz

Doctoral Dissertations

There is great potential for the growth of wind energy in offshore locations where the structures are exposed to a variety of loading from waves, current and wind. A variety of computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools, based largely on engineering models employing potential-flow theory and/or Morison's equation, are currently being used to evaluate hydrodynamic loading on floating offshore wind turbine platforms. While these models are computationally inexpensive, they include many assumptions and approximations. Alternatively, high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics models contain almost no assumptions, but at the cost of high computational expense. In this work, CFD simulations provide detailed insight into the …