A2 - Improved modelling tools for resource and loading assessment

A - Resource and Environment Characterisation

Status - published
Last updated on: 17/11/2023

Challenges/Opportunities

Existing models for predicting ORE resources and extreme loading on ORE facilities can be unreliable, particularly when extrapolating to extreme conditions, new regions, or when modelling new types of device or system.

Solution

Existing models need to be improved or further developed to become suitable tools for designing ORE systems under the full range of conditions, particularly frontier developments and new devices.

Context and Need

Better and more reliable prediction of ORE performance will improve confidence in project financial projections. ORE performance predictions depend on modelling of the resource, the interaction of the resource with the ORE structures and the effect of the ORE farm on the environment. Existing models for wind resource modelling need to be adapted to include the motion responses of floating offshore wind structures and the presence of future very large farms. Existing models for wave resource modelling need to be expanded to consider extreme load conditions. Better representation of ordinary and extreme onsite conditions and wakes are needed in wind and tidal turbine modelling, and better understanding of the interaction and coupling between device, array and farm scales of models. Better ways to represent wind, wave and tidal farms will help to raise the survivability and reliability of ORE systems. These will also raise confidence in regional scale models for the performance of interacting ORE systems. Integration with ecological modelling and with sediment dynamics models is needed to understand the environmental impact.

Summary

Improved modelling tools are needed for wave, wind and tidal power resource and extreme loading assessment and for farm planning and project design. Models are also needed that include multi-scale farm-resource interaction and allow the effect of the environment on the ORE structures to be modelled as well as the effect of the ORE farm on the environment.

Impact Potential

Impact on CAPEX as the interaction with resource and environmental conditions will be better understood and therefore design can have reduced uncertainty and potentially be less conservative.

Impact on OPEX as improved understanding of loading will better inform inspection and maintenance schedules, which together with improved prediction of available weather windows, will inform operations planning. Impact on all areas as a result of cost savings and better, more reliable predictions. Impact on ORE performance, survivability and reliability as fully-integrated and high-fidelity models will be built, leading to efficient predictions of the ORE structure responses under extreme and highly non-linear conditions associated with survivability and reliability issues.

Research Summary

ROMS, FAST, SWAN, WAMIT, SPH, RANS CFD etc. are used to model waves, currents and wind interactions between ORE structures and the environment. Regional scale models tend to have very simplistic representation of the turbine or wave energy device. Lacks the full coupled interaction with the environment. Conventional representations for responses of ORE structures and wind, wave farms are generally linear, which ignore the non-linearities that may be indispensable under extreme conditions or arrays.

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