Modelling, Optimisation and Design of Conversion for Offshore Renewable Energy (UK-China MOD-CORE)

英国和中国都面临着对海上可再生能源（ORE）的巨大需求，但高风险阻碍了更快的发展。虽然英国海上风电的发电成本刚刚降至100英镑/兆瓦时（比政府计划提前4年），但进一步部署海上风电将增加资本和运营维护（O&M）成本。在中国，由于输电走廊拥挤，陆上风力发电受到严重限制。海上风电的开发将更好地匹配中国的人口分布，因此有强烈的动机开发这一矿石。为了加速这种发展，迫切需要新技术来提高成本，效率和可靠性（可用性）方面的性能。除海上风电外，其他形式的海洋可再生能源也将在未来的可再生能源结构中发挥不可或缺的作用。由于这些技术不太成熟，因此这种开发涉及更高的风险。到目前为止，没有一家波浪能发电公司在没有经济支助机制的情况下具有商业可行性。认识到所涉及的高风险和行业迫切需要的开发工作，该项目旨在进行基础建模和验证工作，以实现虚拟原型的能力。这种能力将大大加快工业开发工作并降低其风险。两国的互补专业知识相结合，以满足从ORE设备（风力和波浪）到电网的整体系统性能要求，并专注于决定设计决策的关键技术方面。这将通过多尺度（维度和时间方面）和多分辨率建模来实现，同时考虑到受最佳控制的设计系统中材料和组件的规格和使用。建模将涵盖设计的可制造性，并将考虑环境限制，包括对不同地点海洋生物的影响。随着未来矿石开发规模的扩大，这些将是重要的。研究成果将通过一系列案例研究来展示，包括大型风电场和波浪阵列系统，以及向离网岛屿提供能源的小型设备。项目成员在风力和海洋可再生系统的建模和组件设计方面拥有长期的记录。该项目允许研究人员进行交互并开展跨越不同工程学科边界的研究，从而实现高保真建模和虚拟原型。

Both the UK and China face great demands for offshore renewable energy (ORE) yet high risks have impeded faster development. While the cost of generated energy has just been reduced to £100/MWhr for offshore wind in the UK (4 years ahead of government schedule) deployment further offshore will increase both the capital and operational & maintenance (O&M) costs. in China, onshore wind power is severely curtailed due to crowded transmission corridors. Exploitation of offshore wind would better match the population distribution in China, and so hence there is a strong motivation to exploit this ORE. In order accelerate this development, new technologies are desperately needed to improve the performance in terms of cost, efficiency and reliability (availability). In addition to offshore wind, other forms of marine renewable energy will also play indispensable roles in the future renewable energy mix. Because these technologies are less mature, this development involves even higher risks. As yet none of the wave energy generation companies have shown to be commercially viable without economic support mechanisms. Recognising the high risks involved and the development work that is urgently needed in the industry, this project aims to carry out fundamental modelling and validating work that will lead to the capability of virtual prototyping. Such a capability will significantly accelerate and de-risk the development work in industry. Complementary expertise in the two countries are combined to address the requirements of overall system performance from ORE devices (wind and wave) to grid, and focuses on the critical technical aspects that will dictate the design decisions. This will be achieved through multiple scale (dimensional and time-wise) and multiple resolution modelling, taking into account the specifications and utilisation of materials and components in the designed systems subject to optimal control. The modelling will cover the manufacturability of the designs and will consider environmental constraints including impact on sea life in different locations. These will be important as ORE development is scaled up in the future. The outcome of research will be demonstrated through a series of case studies including both systems for large wind farms and wave arrays, and also small scale devices supplying energy to off-grid islands.The project members have long track records in modelling and design of components in wind and marine renewable systems. The project allows the researchers to interact and carry out studies cutting across the borders of different engineering disciplines, enabling hi-fidelity modelling and virtual prototyping.