University of Bristol Tidal Energy Research & Opportunities for Collaboration

Bristol Tidal Energy Forum, February 2012Paul Harper (paul.harper@bristol.ac.uk)

Overview• Areas of specific tidal energy research and expertise where strong

potential for knowledge transfer exists: • Composite Materials• Offshore Foundation Design • Structural Dynamics & Health Monitoring• Electrical Energy Management• Fluid Dynamics • Systems Engineering

• Avenues for collaborating with the University

• Links to further information

• Devices subject to extreme static and fatigue loads, requiring minimum lifetimes of 20-25 years with minimal maintenance. This demands:

1. New resins and adhesives with high fatigue performance and resistance to seawater degradation

2. Design and failure analysis methods for thick carbon/glass fibre blade sections and bonded joints

EMEC

Wave Hub

Load

Time

Composite Materials

The Aviation Enterprises Ltd Tidal Blade Root DesignInternational patent application: PCT/GB2009/002870

Composite blade Metallic root fittings

Adhesive joint

• The University of Bristol’s Advanced Composite Centre for Innovation & Science (ACCIS) currently working with a range of industrial partners to address these challenges

• Two Technology Strategy Board (TSB) funded projects, NEW-MMEETT (2008-2011) and BMAX (2010-2013)

Wave Hub

Blade design and manufacture

Composites for marine applications

Materials characterisation

Numerical failure analysis

Work is co-funded by the Technology Strategy Board's Collaborative Research and Development programme, following an open competition. The Technology Strategy Board is an executive body established by the Government to drive innovation. It promotes and invests in research, development and the exploitation of science, technology and new ideas for the benefit of business - increasing sustainable economic growth in the UK and improving quality of life (www.innovateuk.org)

Composite Materials

• Tidal energy work forms part of a much wider body of research within ACCIS which has strong potential for knowledge transfer to tidal sector:

• Structural Blade Design

• Manufacturing Processes

• Blade Coatings

• Non-Destructive Testing

• Structural Health Monitoring

Composite Materials

• Range of existing industrial partners (e.g. Vestas Wind Systems, Rolls Royce, AgustaWestland) and strong links with the National Composites Centre

• Composites Doctoral Training Centre provides ideal platform for new industrial partnerships - 6 month projects due to begin in May 2012 with potential to extend to full PhD

Offshore Foundation Design

• Department of Civil Engineering has expertise linked to the design and analysis of both fixed offshore foundations and floating platforms

• Collaborative work currently in progress with RWE npower investigating a range of foundation designs for offshore wind turbines

• Analytical design work is coupled with dynamic testing in clay, sand and layered soils to understand the long-term stability of various foundation systems

• Strong potential for these design and analysis techniques to be used for tidal stream energy applications

Offshore Foundation Design

TetrapodMonopile Tripod Jacket

Floating

Experience of analysing and testing a range of foundation types:

Structural Dynamics & Health Monitoring

• Range of health monitoring and vibration control techniques are developed and validated within the University’s £20M BLADE (Bristol Laboratory for Advanced Dynamics Engineering) facility, using expertise in hybrid numerical-experimental test methods

• University Technology Centre (UTC) with AgustaWestland in Vibration Reduction and member of EPSRC Research Centre for Non-Destructive Evaluation

• Strong potential for knowledge transfer from aerospace rotor applications to tidal energy devices (e.g. New Knowledge Transfer Partnership recently established with Beran Instruments on Intelligent Health Monitoring Algorithms for Rotating Machinery)

Fluid Dynamics

• Recent work in partnership with GL GarradHassan has developed mathematical techniques to correct for bathymetry and headland variation in the assessment of tidal energy resource

Unsteady cavitation of a submerged aerofoil

• Wide range of expertise in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), including techniques for analysing the hydrodynamic performance of submerged aerofoils

Electrical Energy Management• Department of Electrical Engineering’s Energy Management Group has a variety of

expertise linked to the design of compact, high-efficiency generators, power electronics and the integration of renewable energy devices

Systems Engineering• Industrial Doctorate Centre in Systems hosts a range of applied research projects

linked to: Design, Product & Technology Development; Decision Support; and Process Development & Organisational Change

• A recent Engineering Doctorate project in partnership with Tidal Generation Limited has investigated the optimisation of tidal turbine devices to reduce through-life costs, focusing heavily on blade design

Financial Modelling• Mathematical modelling currently being

applied to assess the effectiveness of different renewable energy incentive schemes:

• Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC)

• Fixed Feed in Tariff (FiT)

• Premium FiT

• FiT with Contract for Difference (CfD)

• This includes research on‘learning curves’that model cost reductions as technologies develop and installed capacity increases

• The learning curves are incorporated into models for predicting future energy prices

Avenues for Collaboration• Undergraduate Research Projects: Good way to develop initial links with University.

No financial ties, good recruitment opportunity and often lead to more formal research partnerships.

• PhD and EngD Projects: 3-4 year research projects conducted by postgraduate student and supervised by relevant academic/s. Industrial Doctorate Centre in Systems Engineering and Doctoral Training Centre in Composites offer particulary good opportunities with a strong focus on needs of industrial partner.

• Knowledge Transfer Partnerships: Provide a full time researcher based in the company and supported by a relevant academic from the University for a period of 1-3 years.

• Collaborative Research Funding: The Research Councils (e.g. EPSRC), Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) are currently issuing a range of funding competitions focused on marine energy. These offer good opportunities for collaborative research with academia.

• Commercial Consultancy

Links to Further Information1. Areas of Research Expertise

• Composite Materials: www.bristol.ac.uk/composites

• Offshore Foundation Design & Analysis (Work currently being undertaken by Dr Suby Bhattacharya): www.bristol.ac.uk/civilengineering/person/s.bhattacharya.html

• Structural Dynamics & Health Monitoring: www.bris.ac.uk/engineering/research/dynamicscontrol

• Fluid Dynamics: www.bris.ac.uk/aerodynamics-research

• Electrical Energy Management: www.bristol.ac.uk/eeng/research/em

• Systems Engineering: www.bristol.ac.uk/eng-systems-centre

2. Avenues for Collaboration

• Composites Doctoral Training Centre: www.bristol.ac.uk/composites/dtc

• Industrial Doctorate Centre in Systems: www.bristol.ac.uk/eng-systems-centre/idc

• Knowledge Transfer Partnerships & other collaborative research schemes: www.bristol.ac.uk/red/knowtransfer/

• General Information for Business & Investors: www.bristol.ac.uk/red/business-invest

Thank You & Questions?

Please contact Paul.Harper@bristol.ac.uk for further information on areas of relevant research and

opportunities for collaboration