A large number of wind farms is being built nowadays, in order to obtain more renewable energy. They are considered to be an essential part of the transition to renewable energy. Many new wind farms in Europe are constructed at sea (offshore). Before an offshore windfarm is constructed in such a turbulent and constantly varying weather environment, its construction, design and maintenance are assessed, to determine the output and lifetime of the wind turbines. Accurate prediction of forces influencing the turbines is crucial, because they affect the power output and lifetime directly.
Laurent van den Bos, PhD student at CWI’s Scientific Computing group, has developed new mathematical models that can speed up the calculations determining the lifetime and energy output of wind turbines. Currently, calculations that make predictions about the durability of the turbines take a lot of time, because massive amounts of data regarding different variables like wind speed and other weather conditions have to be processed and interpreted. Van den Bos received the predicate Cum Laude for his thesis "Quadrature Methods for Wind Turbine Load Calculations".
Van den Bos says: “Using the algorithms I present in my thesis, the calculations underlying the predictions will be generated faster and will be significantly more reliable than the current methods. In this way, the uncertainty involved in the construction of new wind farms can be assessed more accurately.” When combined with software used by the industry to make predictions about wind farms, the new methods could help energy suppliers to gain more insight in what would be the most optimal design of future wind farms.
EUROS
This research project is part of the Excellence in Uncertainty Reduction of Offshore Wind Systems (EUROS) research programme. It investigates the uncertainties associated with the design and installation of large-scale wind farms. This might prevent costly and unnecessary large safety measures due to poor understanding of uncertainties associated with wear and tear. This can reduce high costs of developing wind farms, making wind energy a more attractive source of renewable energy. The research programme is headed by the TU Delft and includes ECN, KNMI, Deltares, DNV GL, Ballast Nedam, Eneco and several others.
More information
- Laurent van den Bos
- Scientific Computing Group
- Link to thesis Quadrature Methods for Wind Turbine Load Calculations
Promotor: Prof. dr. G. J.W. van Bussel (TUD), Co-promotoren: dr.ir. W. A. A. M. Bierbooms (TUD) en dr.ir. B. Sanderse (CWI)
