Offshore Wind Energy Engineering: Fundamentals and Application

Catalog description

This course is intended for engineering and science students and for anyone with a good background in math and physics who wants to learn about wind energy. This course is an overview of the basic principles to convert wind energy to electricity. It will cover a variety of engineering topics and will touch the economics aspects of wind energy technology. The course begins with an outline of the technology, describes the wind resource as renewable source, and its direct conversion to electricity. Discusses wind turbine design and offshore installation, covers in detail all the components of a turbine and explains how electric energy is produced and delivered. This course will also provide insights of blade structure and materials and explore methods on how nanostructured materials and coatings can improve their durability and extent their lifetime of offshore turbine. The course also covers the economics of wind technology and compares it to both traditional and other renewable forms of power generation and distribution. Several group projects to explore in depth offshore wind energy or turbine components will be assigned during the semester to be presented in class. No prerequisites. Basic knowledge of Physics, Chemistry, and Materials Engineering is required.