CAREER: Coupled air-sea dynamics in offshore wind turbine flows with complex bathymetry

This project will develop new computational simulations to analyze the basic physical mechanisms underlying interactions between offshore wind turbines and flows at the air-water interface. Current design practices for offshore facilities rely on experience with land-based installations. However, the interplay between wind, wave, and underwater terrain that is unique to offshore installations poses new challenges to optimize energy generation. Offshore wind energy is expected to play a key role in renewable energy, especially in Puerto Rico with its abundant offshore wind potential. The data, models and knowledge generated in this project will advance offshore wind science and engineering and help localities meet wind energy goals. The integrated research and educational components of the project will provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to learn about wind energy and participate in research, thereby contributing to an expanded science and engineering workforce of the future. The specific technical objectives of this proposal are: (i) validate a coupled wind-sea numerical framework; (ii) characterize the dependence of turbine power and wake on the wave state; (iii) quantify the impact of bathymetry on wind-wave-wake interactions. The project will employ a two-way coupled air-water large-eddy simulation framework with actuator line/disk model and immersed boundary method to simulate offshore wind turbine flows in complex bathymetry. The numerical modeling will be complemented by experimental investigations in a combined wind-wave tunnel to methodologically address wind-wave-wake interactions and elucidate the key physical mechanisms, which remain to date relatively unexplored. The proposed research seeks capture the air-sea flow complexities that arise due to background turbulence across the water column and bathymetry features, moving beyond idealizations of the wave motion. The educational program of the project seeks to build a critical mass of skilled researchers and professionals at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez through various activities, including new graduate coursework, invited seminars, and hands-on research experiences for undergraduates. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.