RESEARCH NEWS
£ 1m award for strip steel in offshore wind
A Wales-centred industrial collaboration , led by Swansea-based Marine Power Systems , has been awarded nearly £ 1 million of innovation funding . The project is to develop the use of low CO₂ steels from Tata Steel ’ s Port Talbot site to build platforms for floating offshore wind structures and strengthen local supply chains . The Launchpad project is a collaboration between Marine Power Systems ( MPS ); Tata Steel UK ; Swansea University ; Associated British Ports and engineering and fabrication company , Ledwood Engineering . The funding from Innovate UK , the UK ’ s Innovation Agency , is to further develop and optimise PelaFlex , Marine Power Systems ’ flexible floating offshore wind platform , for applications in the Celtic Sea . The project also aims to ensure that the material sourcing , fabrication , manufacture and product deployment is maximised through local supply chains .
Graham Foster , MPS Chief Technology Officer , commented : “ We are confident that , through this project , we will be able to optimise our platform design to increase the amount of local , low CO₂ steel used for each platform from around 10 % to over 50 %— that could be as much as 50,000 tonnes of steel each year , based on ongoing supply into Celtic Sea floating wind projects .”
The project will optimise the structural efficiency of MPS ’ s floating offshore wind platform , PelaFlex , paying particular attention to the challenging environment in the Celtic Sea whilst minimising both the cost of materials and deployment . That includes the use of strip steel manufactured in Port Talbot , the use of components fabricated by local suppliers and the assembly and roll-out using existing ports in southwest Wales .
Swansea University will provide design input by applying the latest developments in structural design modelling and Ledwood , based in Pembrokeshire , will provide feedback that will help maximise the extent to which
The PelaFlex , a flexible floating offshore wind platform . fabrication can be supported from local suppliers . Input from Associated British Ports and the Port of Milford Haven will ensure that the platform can be assembled and deployed from those locations whilst minimising the investment required to do so .
The UK Government , supported by the current 4.5GW licensing round for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea , has committed to delivering 5GW of floating offshore wind by 2050 . The Labour Party Manifesto 2024 states that to achieve clean power by 2030 , it would “ Pioneer floating offshore wind , by fasttracking at least 5GW of capacity .”
To listen to or watch the latest SteelCast podcast , where Tata Steel and MPS discuss the project in more detail , see : YouTube : https :// youtu . be / epkeUfycZ34 Podcast : https :// bit . ly / 3RuhBRg n
Flexible modelling of complex processes
From the automotive sector to production , simulations and digital twins are crucial to many companies . Because conventional software can sometimes be inadequate at modelling highly dynamic processes , researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM have developed a tool called MESHFREE . This solution works without a rigid computational grid and can save a great deal of time when simulating complex processes , as well as cutting costs .
“ The cloud of numerical points that is used can adapt flexibly to moving geometries . This saves time when simulating complex processes such as driving through water . Rigid specifications are seldom a good fit for agile processes , and what is true of organisations is doubly so for simulation methods . When modelling complex processes ( such as aquaplaning or virtual machining of metal ), it is not possible to predict the movements of all the components and set them up in a suitable computational mesh like those customarily used for simulations ,” explained Fraunhofer .
The team has developed the innovative mesh-free approach to meet this challenge . This new approach makes it possible to virtualise highly complex and dynamic situations , in some cases for the very first
Dr . Jörg Kuhnert and Dr . Isabel Michel are the recipients of the 2024 Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize . Image : © Piotr Banczerowski .
time . All the team ’ s research findings have since been incorporated into the MESHFREE software .
“ The result is a simulation tool with a unique selling proposition . Worldwide , no other tool makes the Generalised Finite Difference Method ( GFDM ) usable in industrial applications ,” said Fraunhofer .
Flexible method for dynamic processes
Traditionally , simulations use the finite element method , in which engineers design a mesh that fits the relevant geometry and use it as a basis for computing the changes in each individual element . The initial process of setting up the mesh structure is already highly time-consuming , and frequent adjustments are also required during the simulation .
The MESHFREE software , in contrast , combines the Generalised Finite Difference Method ( which it uses to solve the conservation equations of mass , momentum and energy ), with efficient algorithms for solving linear systems of equations . These were developed in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing SCAI .
The cloud of numerical points used can adapt flexibly to moving geometries . This eliminates the need for laborious subsequent corrections in the computational mesh . Kuhnert and Michel received the 2024 Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize for their development , which can replace real-world testing .
The award-winning method can be used for a wide spectrum of applications . One current focus is the automotive sector . In process engineering , MESHFREE has helped companies to optimise process parameters when working with molten glass and producing plastic parts .
This method can be used anywhere a substitute is needed for measurements or experiments , or where these methods do not work well or at all . n
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16 | ismr . net | ISMR July / August 2024