Energy Research Projects

Dynamics of Offshore Wind Turbines

To use strong offshore wind, offshore wind turbines are necessary. However, to ensure efficient initial and sustained turbine energy generation and sufficient lifespan, accurate modeling of turbine dynamics is needed. Even further, harsh loading from stochastic aerodynamic and hydrodynamic forces in conjunction with complex nonlinearities from soil interactions highly affect turbine dynamics. 

Collectively these factors can result in significantly reduced turbine efficiency, making dynamic models of these wind turbines invaluable prior to designing and manufacturing the actual structure. In this research, we have developed novel dynamic models capable of capturing complex structure-soil-fluid interactions with computational efficiency and robustness, with applicability for modern offshore wind turbines among other systems exhibiting these phenomena. These dynamic models are specifically designed to capture nonlinear soil degradation while accounting for stochastic loading conditions.

Lithium-Ion Cell with Ultra Sound

Operating future hybrid autonomous vehicles in highly uncertain and uncontrolled environments requires a lot of restriction and high performance on their structure and power systems. The capabilities of dynamically changing the interface characteristics may significantly improve the structure of the autonomous vehicle and the adaptability of the power system. These capabilities can be realized by using a structure consisting of layers of the following materials, such as metal or composite sheets to be joined, the separator, and electrode layers of the batteries. The goal of our research is to develop ultrasound-enabled interface control during operation that enables enhanced battery adaptivity, readiness, large instant power, and high output capacity. 

The microjet generated by ultrasonic waves is used to remove a thin layer formed on the electrodes that degrades the performance, which lowers the internal resistance and improves the performance. Using ultrasound waves to control the interfacial layers in batteries can be relatively quickly applied to mass-produced commercial LIBs without any chemical or structural changes and can assist the management of the powertrain systems as well.