iCOWE Project

The project is focused on enhancing the efficiency of offshore wind energy management by integrating physics-based and data-driven methods, including Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. It aims to develop models that can provide predictions much faster than traditional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods, enabling real-time monitoring and management of offshore wind farms.

01 Jan 2023 - 31 Dec 2026

Norwegian University of Life Sciences (Internal funding)

About the project

  • Background

    Global wind power is expected to grow three times over the next decade to avoid the worst impact of climate change. The wind power plants are constructed with turbines having large rotor diameters to allow maximum energy yield from the oncoming wind. Special attention is given to reducing the cost of energy and increasing profitability, and this is anticipated to be achieved by developing optimized design, analysis, prediction, and monitoring tools capable of simulating aerodynamic flows accurately in offshore wind farms. To this end, traditional analytical tools employed to model aerodynamic flows in a wind farm are fast but include simplifications that can compromise the overall integrity of solutions. On the other hand, high-fidelity flow models based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are more accurate but at the same time require significantly high computational resources to obtain meaningful results.

    The Ph.D. project aims to conduct research and innovation in flow simulation in offshore wind turbines by combining high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models with machine learning (ML) models. The developed state-of-the-art models are expected to be integrated into future digital twin technology to fulfill the industrial needs of computationally efficient tools and form a basis for condition monitoring, prediction, analysis, and maintenance of offshore wind turbines. Key research areas that will be exploited in the Ph.D. research project will be physics-based and data-driven Reduced Order Models (ROM) to simulate and predict wind farm flows, especially in the wake region. make it shortes as a background to project introduction

  • Objective

    The iCOWE project aims to revolutionize offshore wind farm operational management by developing innovative methods and systems that harness digital technologies. Central to this effort is the creation of a sophisticated toolbox that enables intelligent simulations for more accurate wind energy performance prediction, significantly reducing the need for human intervention. The project seeks to advance the use of digital twin technology, driving transformative research that redefines product lifecycle management within the offshore wind industry. By enabling smarter control and predictive capabilities for wind turbine operations, iCOWE aims to lower operational costs, enhance efficiency, and contribute to the sustainable growth of offshore wind energy.

  • Funding

    This project has received funding from the Internal PhD Scheme at Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

  • Participants
    Arvind Keprate

    Arvind Keprate

    Professor at OsloMet

Timeline

1st June 2024: Completed three-month research stay at Fraunhofer IWES, Oldenburg, Germany

During his time, the research was conducted on advancing and refining floating offshore wind turbine modeling and simulation using OpenFOAM, contributing to the cutting-edge research in this critical area of renewable energy technology. The financial support for this was provided from the internal funding scheme at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (project number 1211130114).

Publications

Highlights