Dynamics of Offshore Wind Turbine Platforms

风能现在被认为是最经济可行的替代能源形式--在某些情况下，风能的发电成本低于传统能源。风力涡轮机产生的能源也有一些缺点，包括不受当地利益集团的欢迎和反对。将风力涡轮机放置在海上可以克服其中的一些障碍：海上风力更强，更稳定，涡轮机基本上看不到，因此吸引的反对意见较少。迄今为止，所有海上风力涡轮机安装都是“固定底部”的：支撑平台刚性地锚定在20-30米深的海底。然而，人们越来越有兴趣将涡轮机放置在离岸更远的浮动平台上，深度达数百米。一种海上漂浮式风力涡轮机，包括位于高桅杆顶部的水平轴涡轮机。桅杆安装在浮力平台上，该平台有许多类型，并且该平台通过一系列电缆锚定到海底。由于涡轮机叶片、吊杆和系绳的柔性，这些系统的动力学是复杂的。这里提出的研究重点是这些多绳系海洋平台的动力学和设计。其目标是评估提出的设计，并最终提出新的设计，基于这些系统的分析。我们过去在类似的多绳系浮力系统方面的经验为我们提供了许多关于这些复杂系统行为的不寻常的见解。这些平台的巨大成本使得错误的代价极其高昂，因此施工前分析至关重要。该行业处于相对初期阶段，因此我们的结果有望产生重大影响。研究计划包括培养六名研究生。这些学生将受益于模拟和动力学分析的最新工具;以及麦吉尔智能机器中心的多学科环境。毕业后，我们小组的成员受到当地工业的高度追捧，在航空，机器人和风力工程领域，由于他们的相关研究技能。

Wind energy is now acknowledged to be the most economically viable form of alternative energy---in some cases producing power at lower cost than conventional sources. Energy produced by wind turbines also has certain drawbacks, including intermittency and opposition by local interest groups. Placing wind turbines offshore can overcome some of these obstacles: offshore wind is stronger and more consistent, and the turbines are largely out of sight, thus attracting less opposition. To date, all offshore wind turbine installations have been 'fixed-bottom': the supporting platform is rigidly anchored to the seabed, in depths of 20-30 m. However, there is increasing interest in placing turbines farther offshore on floating platforms, in depths of hundreds of meters. An offshore floating wind turbine is composed of a horizontal axis turbine atop a tall mast. The mast is mounted on a buoyant platform, of which there are many types, and that platform is anchored to the seabed by an array of cables. The dynamics of these systems is complex due to the flexibility of the turbine blades, the boom and the tethers. The research proposed here focuses on the dynamics and design of these multi-tethered offshore platforms. The goal is to evaluate proposed designs, and eventually to propose new designs, based on analysis of these systems. Our past experience in analogous multi-tethered buoyant systems provides us many uncommon insights into the behavior of these complex systems.The tremendous cost of these platforms makes mistakes extremely costly, and pre-construction analysis is therefore crucial. The industry is in relative infancy and so our results can be expected to have significant impact. The research plan includes the training of six graduate students. These students will benefit from an exposure to the latest tools in simulation and dynamics analysis; as well as a multidisciplinary environment in McGill's Center for Intelligent Machines. Upon graduation, members of our group are highly sought after by local industry, in the aeronautical, robotics and wind engineering fields, due to their relevant research skills.