Modeling & Simulation Case Study

Off-shore Wind Turbine Farm

A plan has been proposed within the Commonwealth of Virginia to build an off-shore wind driven turbine farm to generate electrical power to supplement the needs of the state and help reduce the burning of fossil fuels. This case should be broken down into a few smaller tasks that all build to the total solution.

  1. Problem Statement: Our country and planet have begun taking large steps to become more “green”. This stems from many areas including wasting resources to reducing the emissions that contribute to global warming. The problem with this is that the earth’s population keeps growing as does the demand for energy. Electrical power is continuously examined as a clean alternative to fossil fuels. In this lesson, the students will analyze the generation of electrical power in all facets – coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind turbine, solar, and geothermal. Each method will have the advantages and disadvantages evaluated. After the analysis of the various methods is complete, the students will choose one clean option for generating power and design, model, and simulate the installation and operation of their chosen option. The rest of this lesson is geared toward the use of wind turbine generators.
  2. Examine feasibility
  3. How much wind is necessary for these wind turbines to generate power.
  4. How tall do they have to be to work well?
  5. Will the height over land be the same as over the water? If not, why?
  6. How much power will one wind turbine generate?
  7. How many wind turbines will be necessary to make enough power to justify the project?
  8. Is it possible to build these windmills on land within the state of Virginia? Why or why not?
  9. To build these in the ocean, how deep will the water be?
  10. What forces in the ocean will affect the construction and stability of the units?
  11. What materials will the wind turbines have to be made of to withstand the forces of the ocean?
  12. How will each wind turbine be monitored and/or managed?
  13. Are there any environmental concerns? How will they be addressed?
  14. Are there any shipping/military/homeland security concerns? How will they be addressed?
  15. Models
  16. Generate the mathematical model that shows how much power a wind driven generator will create.
  17. Create a model of the computer network that will be used to monitor and manage the wind turbines.
  18. Create a model of a wind turbine using a software package like 3DSMax.
  19. Incorporate into the wind turbine model the ocean with its waves and currents.
  20. Expand the model to contain the number of wind turbines expected to be required.
  21. Analyze the models for strength and ability to withstand rogue waves and severe weather like hurricanes.