Centralized electricity generation in offshore wind farms using hydraulic networks

The work presented in this thesis explores a new way of generation, collection and transmission of wind energy inside a wind farm, in which the electrical conversion does not occur during any intermediate conversion step before the energy has reached the offshore central platform. A centralized approach for electricity generation is considered...

Extreme gusts and their role in wind turbine design

Wind turbines are the largest rotating machines on the planet, operating in some of the most remote and hostile areas. During a lifespan of several decades, they have to withstand storms, waves, and gusts (and preferably produce electricity in the process). Yet, designers cannot make them too strong. Every additional kilogram of mass has to be...

A tensor approach to linear parameter varying system identification

LQG and Gaussian process techniques: For fixed-structure wind turbine control

Wind turbines are growing bigger to becomemore cost-efficient. This does increase the severity of the vibrations that are present in the turbine blades, both due to predictable effects like wind shear and tower shadow, and due to less predictable effects like turbulence and flutter. If wind turbines are to become bigger and more cost-efficient,...

A free wake vortex model for floating wind turbine aerodynamics

In order to significantly increase the share of wind energy produced worldwide, wind energy technology is moving from onshore to offshore and from shallow water to deep water. Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) are expected to be economically better than bottom-mounted turbines when placed in water deeper than 60 metres. Despite key...