Integrated Numerical and Physical Modelling of Offshore Renewable Energy Systems

浮动的风能、波浪能和潮汐能系统是可再生能源发电的新领域。加拿大的机会是巨大的，芬迪湾拥有世界领先的潮汐潜力，近海包括五大湖在内的深水地区拥有强大的风力资源。世界各地的研究都在致力于开发这些技术，以实现商业上的准备。然而，从流动中提取能量的行为导致了难以预测的复杂运动和结构载荷。准确评估这些因素对于最大限度地提高效率、最大限度地降低成本和风险至关重要。为了更好地解决系统部件与周围环境之间的相互作用，并最终在设计过程中实现更大的直观性，无论是数值模拟还是大规模物理实验，都需要更多通用和关联的建模技术。拟议的研究计划的目标是开发这种技术。*工作将从三个方面进行。其中一个主题将扩展数值建模工具，以捕捉一起系泊的多个浮动结构之间的动态耦合，包括系泊绳索和波浪如何相互作用。另一个主题将继续开创性的工作，即如何将模拟和实验实时耦合在一起，以建立浮动风力涡轮机的模型。这涉及到寻找新的方法来测试波浪盆地中的浮动风力涡轮机，在那里，风荷载由模拟控制的驱动系统施加。第三个主题结合了其他两个主题，着眼于开发一个无处不在的耦合框架，以促进将不同的数值(可能还有物理)模型组合在一起，以便更好地模拟整个近海可再生能源系统。这样的框架可以将世界各地不同实验室的专门建模研究联系起来，并使在设备模拟的所有部分使用最佳工具的新可能性成为可能。归根结底，这类工作的目标是在如何进行离岸系统建模研究方面建立一个新的、更具协作性和关联性的范例。开发更多用途和联系的工具也将带来新的可能性，以便在设计过程中更好地整合先进的建模技术，以利于今后的设计。对加拿大来说，拟议的计划将有助于加速以成本效益的方式采用海上可再生能源，并提高国内在这一快速增长领域的能力。

Floating wind, wave, and tidal energy systems are a new frontier for renewable electricity generation. The opportunity in Canada is immense, with world-leading tidal potential in the Bay of Fundy and strong wind resources over the deep waters offshore, including the Great Lakes. Research around the world is engaged with developing these technologies toward commercial readiness. However, the action of extracting energy from moving flows makes for complex motions and structural loads that are difficult to predict. Accurately evaluating these is essential to maximizing efficiency and minimizing cost and risk. More versatile and connective modelling techniques are needed whether numerical simulations or scaled physical experiments in order to better resolve the interactions between system components and the surrounding environment, and to ultimately enable greater intuition in the design process. The goal of the proposed research program is to develop such techniques.******Work will proceed along three fronts. One theme will expand numerical modelling tools to capture the dynamic coupling between multiple floating structures that are moored together, including how the mooring lines and the waves interact. Another theme will continue pioneering work on how simulations and experiments can be coupled together in real time to model floating wind turbines. This involves finding new ways to test floating wind turbines in wave basins where the wind load is applied by a simulation-controlled actuation system. The third theme, which integrates the other two, looks at developing a ubiquitous coupling framework to facilitate combining different numerical (and possibly physical) models in order to better simulate entire offshore renewable energy systems. Such a framework could bridge specialized modelling research in different laboratories around the world and enable new possibilities for using the best tools in all parts of device simulation. Ultimately, the goal of such work is to build towards a new, more collaborative and connective paradigm in how offshore systems modelling research is done. The development of more versatile and connective tools will also raise new possibilities for greater integration of advanced modelling techniques in the design process to the benefit of future designs. For Canada, the proposed program will contribute to accelerated cost-effective adoption of offshore renewable energy sources and enhance domestic capacity in this rapidly-growing sector.