Project description
A novel computational approach to modelling wind turbine damage by incident particles
Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PARTIMPACT project will pioneer a multi-physics computational framework to accurately model the damage caused to wind turbine blades by solid and liquid particles. This new approach, which is a better alternative to state-of-the-art semi-empirical computational fluid dynamics approaches, should increase understanding of the erosion impact of incident particles such as hailstones or rain droplets. Project findings will have far-reaching implications: from reducing wind energy costs to meet the EU target of 240–450 GW wind power by 2050 to raising public awareness of the importance of wind energy and ageing infrastructure asset management.
Objective
"The main focus of this proposal is to accurately model the damage to the wind turbine blades due to impacts by solid (e.g. hailstone) or liquid (e.g. rain droplet) ""particles"". The applicant will pioneer a new multi-physics computational framework to transform the current semi-empirical computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based approaches. This new research tool will then be used to answer the main research question which is to understand the dynamical role of impinging particles – liquid or solid – in the erosion process, enabling quantitative prediction of the erosive impact of particles and mass removal rate from the surfaces. The main modeling challenge is to present both solid and liquid particles in a unified theoretical framework. Therefore, the applicant will develop a generalised peridynamics theory to predict the damage by both solid and liquid particles and implement it in a validated opensource Software platform. The applicant will collaborate with Strathclyde University (STRATH) and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) to deliver the objectives, expand his professional network, and exchange knowledge with industrial stakeholders.
The impact of the project is far-reaching: from reducing the costs of wind energy by preventing catastrophic turbine failure to meet the EU target of 240-450 GW of wind energy by 2050, to increasing public awareness on the importance of wind energy and asset management of aging infrastructures.
The host (University of Edinburgh), the supervisor, and the project partners STRATH and the MTC are dedicated to the research and will provide all the necessary equipment, software licenses, and office space so ensure the delivery of the objectives. Furthermore, they will provide training in the required technical and soft skills to prepare the applicant to become a leader in modeling erosion due to particle impact, particle-laden and multiphase flow systems, and more broadly in wind energy."
Fields of science
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftware
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energywind power
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesclassical mechanicsfluid mechanicsfluid dynamicscomputational fluid dynamics
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencescomputational sciencemultiphysics
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
EH8 9YL Edinburgh
United Kingdom