This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant will enable the University of Maine (UMaine), along with partners Sandia National Laboratories, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Maine Maritime Academy (MMA), to design, develop and construct a unique multidirectional Wind-Wave generating system, called W2. With a novel rotating open-jet wind tunnel positioned over a 30m long x 9m wide x 5m deep wave basin, W2 will use a programmable directional wave maker to simulate wave and wind environments typical of the Gulf of Maine, Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere. The pivoted wind generator will produce hurricane-speed winds, while allowing variation in wind direction from 0 -180 degrees relative to the wave. The wind environment will replicate wind shear effects, as well as turbine wake effects over water in the ocean, making possible new breakthrough research on ocean-related processes and energy harvesting devices.
W2 will provide a research platform for developing novel offshore wind concepts and software tools to optimize the performance of renewable energy devices and design of offshore and coastal infrastructure. Undergraduate and graduate students will use the facility for their capstone projects, internships and research. The instrumentation will also enhance the research team's participation in the NSF ADVANCE project and other university efforts to increase the participation of underrepresented minority and Native American students in doctoral STEM programs. The equipment will be used for K-12 outreach activities and by other users including the offshore oil and gas industry, ocean energy developers, coastal engineers, and oil spill management companies.
