Optimizing Stochastic Renewable Energy Systems

广泛采用风能和潮汐能等可再生能源的一个关键障碍是，它们的性质会随着时间的推移而波动。传统上，我们的电力系统是为水电、煤炭和天然气等传统能源而设计的，这些能源可以被命令随意运行，以满足系统所服务的负荷的波动。为了改变这种模式，并使更多的可再生能源整合到电网中成为可能，机器本身在设计时必须考虑到这些波动，既要最大化其在湍急的风和水流中的个人性能，也要在设计过程中考虑到波动的更大的系统影响。这一研究计划旨在开发能够解决这一问题的先进分析和优化工具。研究方法的第一个要素将是开发和验证先进的分析工具，这些工具能够随着时间的推移适当地模拟先进的机械概念，这些概念具有带有后掠和曲率的非标准叶片，以及可以诱导有益的弯曲来抵消非稳定气动载荷的纤维增强结构。研究的下一阶段将是调整分析工具，使其运行成本更低，方法是应用新的随机和概率分析方法，消除对纯粹基于时间的分析的需要。该计划的最后阶段将把这些计算工具与控制、成本和下游电气系统的工具结合在一起，在一个严格定义的框架内，以便能够进行全面的系统优化研究。净产出将是设计比目前可能的更具成本效益的风力和潮汐涡轮机的能力。已经在中小型风能和潮汐市场占有一席之地的加拿大机械制造商将在全球获得竞争优势。致力于下一代超大型风力涡轮机的设计师将能够以具有竞争力的成本为低风速场所创造更大转子的新概念，以帮助风能的广泛部署。新兴的潮汐涡轮机设计也将能够更好地承受恶劣的海洋环境。

A key obstacle to the widespread adoption of renewable energy, such as wind and tidal power, is that by their nature they fluctuate over time. Traditionally, our power systems have been designed for conventional power sources such as hydro, coal and gas which can be commanded to run at-will to supply the fluctuations in the load being served by the system. In order to change that paradigm and make it possible to integrate more renewables onto the grid, the machines themselves must be designed with these fluctuations in mind, both in terms of maximizing their individual performance in turbulent winds and currents, and also by considering the larger systemic effects of the fluctuations during design. This research program aims to develop advanced analysis and optimization tools capable of tackling this problem. The first element of the research method will be the development and validation of advanced analysis tools capable of properly simulating through time advanced machine concepts which have non-standard blades with sweep and curvature, as well as fibre-reinforced structures that can induce beneficial flexing to offset unsteady aerodynamic loads. The next stage in the research will be to adapt the analysis tools so that they are less expensive to run, by obviating the need for pure time-based analysis with the application of new stochastic and probabilistic analysis approaches. The final stage of the program will glue together these computational tools, together with ones for control, cost, and the downstream electrical system, in a rigorously defined framework so that full system optimization studies can be carried out. The net output will be a capability to design wind and tidal turbines that are more cost effective than what is possible today. Canadian machine manufactures who already have a defined presence in the small to medium scale wind and tidal market will gain a competitive advantage globally. Designers working on the next generation of very large wind turbines will be enabled to create new concepts for larger rotors at a competitive cost for low-wind sites, to aid the widespread deployment of wind energy. Emerging tidal turbine designs will also be better able to withstand the harsh marine environment.