Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FLOATECH (Optimization of floating wind turbines using innovative control techniques and fully coupled open source engineering tool)
Período documentado: 2021-01-01 hasta 2022-06-30
The objective of WP2 (Quantification of uncertainty reduction gained through QBlade-Ocean) is first, to validate the new capabilities of QB and second, to quantify the achieved reduction of uncertainties. The former task has been carried out almost completely. Thereby, differing floater concepts are simulated in QB and compared to experimental results and/or state-of-the-art (SOTA) STs. The validation is performed on a variety of load cases. The second task will begin after the submission of this summary; however, some preliminary work has been conducted (the set of design load cases was defined).
WP3 (Feed forward wave-based control) focuses on the development of the novel feed forward wave-based controller to minimize oscillations and thus fatigue loads over the lifetime of a WT (A2). The necessary interface of the controller with QB was accomplished to feed future wave load information into the controller. This allows the prediction of wave forces that will act on the floater and thus, floater motion. As the wave prediction will be tested in experiments in reporting period 2, preparatory steps were taken for the full integration of the controller into a wave tank setup. One of them being a campaign in which wave data was collected with several wave gauges that will serve as a database used for validation. Furthermore, since the technology will partly be tested in realistic conditions near the shore of France on the Floatgen turbine, a radar system capturing the wave elevation information is already installed on the platform.
The second innovative control method in A2 is the application of wake mixing control strategies on floating offshore WTs in WP4 (Active wake mixing in floating wind turbine farms). To understand how and at which frequency the wake can be excited most efficiently, an investigation to better understand the physical phenomenon of the wake breakdown has been undertaken. Additionally, the effects of platform motion and atmospheric conditions on the breakdown were investigated. Based on these results, a design optimization of floating platforms for wind turbines is currently ongoing. The design objective is to find a configuration the favors the control strategy by maximizing the wake recovery with minimal control inputs
WP5 (LCOE and market value evaluation of proposed technologies and scale up) starts in reporting period 2.
In WP6 (Dissemination, Communication and Exploitation), several communication efforts towards the broader public were made, including the set up of a project website, LinkedIn and Twitter profiles. Interviews on radio broadcasts and publications in public oriented journals were also produced. Dissemination actions were carried out through participation at two WindEurope events, one including the co-organization of a side event. Aside from the above, the project was presented to peers through presentations at multiple scientific conferences.
WP7 (Management of the project) focused on the project management. Hence, a management structure is put into place, regularly occurring meetings on different levels are organized, the decision-making process is promoted when necessary, a quality management plan was implemented into the project and a cloud service was set up. Moreover, the project management team acts as an intermediary with the EC and is responsible of the periodic and continuous reporting duties.
A2 comprises two control strategies that both aim to surpass the current SOTA due to innovative solutions. Both technologies are under development and the main results will be analyzed in much more detail in the remainder of this project. The expected results can however already be mentioned. The active wave-based control allows damping of the wave-excited oscillations without causing considerable fatigue loads over the life-cycle of the turbine. Thus, CAPEX could be reduced as components may be designed more economically and turbines could be operated in more efficient conditions. The second control strategy uses the innovative pulse and helix concepts to apply wake mixing. Both concepts excite the wake of a turbine and thereby accelerate the breakdown of it. This leads to a quicker recovery of the wake velocity, allowing a downwind turbine to generate more power. Applying this concept to floating WTs may increase its effectiveness, since the additional degrees of freedom of the floating foundation could increase the positive effect of the wake mixing concept. The potential impact would be a more effective operation of wind parks, due to the increase of the capacity factor of downwind turbines.