Yuksel “Rudy” Alkarem, a doctoral candidate and research assistant at the ASCC, has won the Best Poster award at WindEurope’s Annual Event for his research; “On Building Predictive Digital Twin Incorporating Wave Predicting Capabilities: Case Study on UMaine Experimental Campaign – FOCAL,”. Alkarem, as well as researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and the University of Rhode Island, focuses on improving the performance of floating wind turbines (FWT) by creating a digital twin that accurately represents the physical turbine while being fast to compute.
Predicting waves for FWT is crucial because waveforms can change rapidly, affecting the turbine’s behavior. The study proposes a method called OpenFAST-informed State Space (OFiSS) that combines the accuracy of a medium-fidelity physics-based model with the speed of a low-fidelity linearized model. OFiSS improves accuracy significantly, particularly in how the turbine tilts, while being much faster than traditional methods. It only requires initial calibration, reducing the need for constant sensor monitoring.
Overall, this approach helps keep the digital twin synchronized with the real turbine, reducing the need for expensive sensors and lowering costs. By merging data science with renewable energy engineering, Alkarem and his colleagues offer promising innovation for the future of sustainable energy production.
Alkarem is a member of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC) Wind Energy team, has presented at events such as WindEurope and DeepWind in Spain, showcasing the excitement for this emerging technology.
Advanced Structures & Composites Center