| Project Detail |
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in collaboration with the University of Maine (UMaine) will develop and execute the Floating Offshore-wind and Controls Advanced Laboratory (FOCAL) experimental program. The projects goal is to generate the first public FOWT scale-model dataset to include advanced turbine controls, floating hull load mitigation technology, and hull flexibility. Current FOWT numerical tools require new capabilities to adequately capture advanced designs based upon control co-design methods. The FOCAL experimental program will generate critical datasets to validate these capabilities from four 1:60-scale, 15-MW (megawatt) FOWT model-scale experimental campaigns in the UMaine Harold Alfond W2 Wind-Wave Ocean Engineering Laboratory. The experiments will generate data for FOWT loads, motion, and performance, while operating with advanced turbine and platform controls in realistic wind and waves. |
