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284 records · Page 16

Human‐induced salinity changes impact marine organisms and ecosystems

Abstract Climate change is fundamentally altering marine and coastal ecosystems on a global scale. While the effects of ocean warming and acidification on ecology and ecosystem functions and services are being comprehensively researched, less attention is directed toward understanding the impacts of human‐driven ocean salinity changes. The global water cycle operates through water fluxes expressed as precipitation, evaporation, and freshwater runoff from land. Changes to these in turn modulate ocean salinity and shape the marine and coastal environment by affecting ocean currents, stratification, oxygen saturation, and sea level rise. Besides the direct impact on ocean physical processes, salinity changes impact ocean biological functions with the ecophysiological consequences are being poorly understood. This is surprising as salinity changes may impact diversity, ecosystem and habitat structure loss, and community shifts including trophic cascades. Climate model future projections (of end of the century salinity changes) indicate magnitudes that lead to modification of open ocean plankton community structure and habitat suitability of coral reef communities. Such salinity changes are also capable of affecting the diversity and metabolic capacity of coastal microorganisms and impairing the photosynthetic capacity of (coastal and open ocean) phytoplankton, macroalgae, and seagrass, with downstream ramifications on global biogeochemical cycling. The scarcity of comprehensive salinity data in dynamic coastal regions warrants additional attention. Such datasets are crucial to quantify salinity‐based ecosystem function relationships and project such changes that ultimately link into carbon sequestration and freshwater as well as food availability to human populations around the globe. It is critical to integrate vigorous high‐quality salinity data with interacting key environmental parameters (e.g., temperature, nutrients, oxygen) for a comprehensive understanding of anthropogenically induced marine changes and its impact on human health and the global economy.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Design, Manufacture, and Testing of an Open-Source Benchmark Composite Hydrokinetic Turbine Blade: Preprint

In a trend toward clean energy alternatives, recent years have seen great strides in the marine energy space. Consequently, there is a pressing need for the design, development, and validation of novel energy harvesting technologies such as hydrokinetic devices, which capture kinetic energy from waves, tides, and currents. However, these devices span numerous concepts and designs that often lack solid benchmark research that can be freely referenced throughout their development. This work focuses on the design process of an open-source composite hydrokinetic turbine blade for a three-bladed marine turbine rotor assembly with a diameter of 2.5 m. The proposed blade consists of two structural composite skins that are bonded with an adhesive and filled with a foam core. This study also explores and contrasts the efficiency and resolution of low-fidelity rapid design methodologies and comprehensive high-fidelity approaches in the context of blade design, modeling, and analysis efforts, a key objective in this research. Blade hydrodynamic loads were modeled and applied to finite-element blade models to study deformations and potential failure. Ongoing and upcoming efforts will result in blade manufacture and structural testing at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In future work, multiple blades will be deployed at the Living Bridge site at the University of New Hampshire and will be compared to rigid aluminum blades of the same geometry, developed by Sandia National Laboratories. Ultimately, this research will lay foundational groundwork for researchers and manufacturers, establishing a baseline composite blade design that will serve as a benchmark in the development of future hydrokinetic turbine blades.

blade design↗

Effects of Coatings on Water Intrusion and Strain Gauge Durability in Submerged Fatigue Conditions: Preprint

Marine energy structures are typically made using composite materials and are repeatedly loaded by currents and waves. Submersion and repeated loading lead to two environmental effects: moisture intrusion and mechanical fatigue. To understand the combined effects of moisture intrusion and mechanical fatigue on marine energy structures, submerged fatigue testing can be used. Submerged fatigue testing often requires submerged instrumentation to validate component manufacturing methods and models. Measuring strain is critical for understanding marine energy component loads. One common method for measuring strain is by using foil strain gauges, but the durability of strain gauges in submerged fatigue conditions was not well-understood. To increase strain gauge durability and protection from contamination, delamination, and water intrusion, strain gauge coatings may be applied over strain gauges and wire connections. In this study, strain gauges were adhered to composite coupons, coated, and mechanically tested in a water tank. Cycles to composite failure, cycles to strain gauge failure, strains, and strain gauge failure modes were used to measure the effects of strain gauge coatings on composite fatigue life and strain gauge durability. The methods developed and measurements taken at the coupon scale in this study will be used to inform methods and designs for subsequent submerged subcomponent testing, full-scale testing, and standards development. The benefits of designing marine energy structures to informed standards and designs are decreased lifetime costs and increased reliability and energy production, ultimately leading to a sustainable and low-carbon energy system.

composite fatigue testing↗

Effects of Strain Gauge Coatings on Water Intrusion in Submerged Composite Coupon Testing

Marine energy structures are typically made using composite materials and are repeatedly loaded by currents and waves. Submersion and repeated loading lead to two environmental effects: moisture intrusion and mechanical fatigue. To understand their combined effects, submerged fatigue testing can be used. Submerged fatigue testing often requires submerged instrumentation to validate component manufacturing methods and models. Strain measurements are critical for understanding marine energy component loads. One common method for measuring strain is by using foil strain gauges, but the durability of strain gauges in submerged fatigue conditions is not well-understood. To increase strain gauge durability and protection from contamination, delamination, and water intrusion, strain gauge coatings may be applied over strain gauges and wire connections. In this study, strain gauges were adhered to composite coupons, coated, and mechanically tested in a water tank. Cycles to composite failure, cycles to strain gauge failure (SGF), strains, and SGF modes were used to measure the effects of strain gauge coatings on composite fatigue life and strain gauge durability. The coatings did not have significant effects on composite fatigue life or strain gauge durability. The methods developed and measurements taken at the coupon scale in this study will be used to inform methods and designs for subsequent submerged subcomponent testing, full-scale testing, and standards development. The benefits of designing marine energy structures to informed standards and designs are decreased lifetime costs and increased reliability and energy production, ultimately leading to a sustainable and low-carbon energy system.

composite materials↗

Ocean Energy: Markets - Currency - Impact. Dimension of & Choices in the Technology Development Space: Preprint

This paper presents considerations of the employment of ocean wave energy to support different energy demand side applications. The key aspect in these considerations is the wave energy supported achievable positive impact and associated tangible contribution in service of common societal good and of the natural commons. The level of impact that can be delivered is dependent on both, the level of contribution of the supported energy use application, and the compatibility and unique suitability of the wave energy resource and its characteristics with the needs of the application. Thus, a variety of ocean wave energy markets, the key value indicators or "currency' in which these markets trade the value delivered and the achievable positive impact, are reflected upon. Ocean wave energy supported acquisition of high quality ocean system data across a wide spectrum of system properties is identified as a highly impactful application enabling and/or improving a comprehensive range of impactful ocean system activities. The technology development process towards these markets and desired impacts requires relevant technology development progress guidance and metrics. Going beyond technology readiness levels and technology performance levels, the notion of further technology development progress scales towards high impact and high contribution are proposed. These scales and the associated technology properties can be regarded as additional technology development dimensions to span-up the technology development space in which desired system capability and functional requirement choices and subsequent ideation, innovation, research and technology development decisions can and are to be made.

data market↗

A feasibility assessment for co-locating and powering offshore aquaculture with wave energy in the United States

Offshore aquaculture and marine renewable energy (energy from waves, tides, currents, and ocean gradients) are two developing ocean-based industries. Aquaculture, an industry that has typically relied on diesel for power, is expected to grow globally, presenting an opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by switching to renewable sources as it expands. As the industry moves further offshore and is situated in more energetic environments, the prospect to co-locate offshore aquaculture with wave energy increases. To improve understanding of this potential, a feasibility assessment was completed to estimate the energy needs and wave resource required to power offshore finfish aquaculture operations. The study found it is possible to power offshore aquaculture operations entirely with wave energy. A spatial analysis was then performed to assess the suitability of co-locating offshore finfish aquaculture and wave energy off California and Hawaii. Suitable locations were identified offshore of O’ahu, Hawaii, and northern California. Southern California was also assessed, using a lower wave resource, based on study areas evaluated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to identify Aquaculture Opportunity Areas, and while limited there are suitable locations that may warrant further evaluation. This study presents an analysis into the potential to pair wave energy with offshore aquaculture, and how various factors can help determine suitable areas for co-location. The analyses developed in this study will support future identification of potential sites for development and decision-making to optimize the success of co-locating wave energy resources and offshore finfish aquaculture.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Characterizing Spatial and Temporal Variability of California’s Coastal Upwelling Using a Satellite-Derived CUTI Index

Ocean upwelling off California is a wind-driven coastal process with complex interactions between spatial wind patterns and sea surface temperatures. Large-scale spatial and temporal upwelling characterizations are traditionally based on numerical models, while quantifying upwelling with direct observations is not straightforward. To complement model-based upwelling characterizations, here we use satellite estimates of winds, sea surface temperatures, and ocean currents along the California coast to calculate the coastal upwelling transport index (CUTI), originally calculated from a numerical ocean model. The CUTI framework accounts for both Ekman and geostrophic offshore-directed ocean transport, the latter of which is often neglected in satellite-based upwelling assessments. The approach yields the CUTI over a 30-yr period at a daily temporal and 0.25° spatial resolution to analyze upwelling patterns, with focus on potential Morro Bay and Humboldt wind energy areas. Morro Bay (CUTI median of 0.63 m 2 s −1 ) exhibits stronger, more consistent upwelling throughout the year, whereas Humboldt (CUTI median of 0.45 m 2 s −1 ) exhibits a pronounced seasonal cycle with strongest upwelling in the summer and occasional downwelling in winter. The cluster analysis of 1993–2022 satellite maps of CUTI identifies four characteristic spatial upwelling patterns along the coast, corresponding to distinct spatial distributions of sea surface temperature anomalies, Ekman transport, and geostrophic ocean water transport. This dataset provides an observation-based foundation for characterizing natural coastal upwelling off the California coast, showing good agreement with the original model CUTI while being based on satellite data and offering increased spatial resolution.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Design of a Two-Body Wave Energy Converter Featuring Controllable Geometry: Preprint

While the field of wave energy has been the subject of numerical simulation, scale model testing, and precommercial project testing for decades, wave energy technologies remain in the early stages of development and must continuing proving themselves as a promising modern renewable energy field. A wave energy converter (WEC) concept, currently being explored, is hoping to add an extra control option to WEC design is the variable-geometry WEC (VGWEC). These VGWECs attempt to incorporate controllable geometric features to adjust the floating body hydrodynamics to favor either power absorption, load shedding, or other operational goals. These variable geometry components have been proposed to be controlled on a sea-state-to-sea-state or wave-to-wave time scale depending on the force (or toque) and bandwidth limitations of the actuators required to manipulate just the controllable geometric hull features. The opportunities of having control over both the WEC geometry components and the power-take-off (PTO) have the potential to improve overall system performance and reliability if a cost-effective solution can be found for a given WEC architecture. This paper will present the recent developments and results of a VGWEC concept that incorporates variable geometry modules into a two-body WEC. In the proposed VGWEC concept, the variable geometry modules consist of air inflatable bags in the surface float and a water inflatable ring in the subsurface body. The surface float is tethered directly to the subsurface body through tether lines each connected to a separate PTO. Adjusting the geometry of both the surface and subsurface bodies along with the PTO coefficients can be shown to maximize power in design sea states while reducing motion response and PTO forces when transitioning to sea states where rated power is reached and load shedding is prioritized in hopes of increasing the sea state operational map.

geometry control↗

Design of a Two-Body Wave Energy Converter Featuring Controllable Geometry

While the field of wave energy has been the subject of numerical simulation, scale model testing, and precommercial project testing for decades, wave energy technologies remain in the early stages of development and must continue to prove themselves as a promising modern renewable energy field. A wave energy converter (WEC) concept currently being explored is the variable-geometry WEC (VGWEC), which aims to add an extra control option to WEC design. VGWECs attempt to incorporate controllable geometric features to adjust the floating body hydrodynamics to favor either power absorption, load shedding, or other operational goals. These variable geometry components have been proposed to be controlled on a sea-state-to-sea-state or wave-to-wave time scale depending on the force (or torque) and bandwidth limitations of the actuators required to manipulate just the controllable geometric hull features. Having control over both the WEC geometry components and the power takeoff (PTO) offers the potential to improve overall system performance and reliability if a cost-effective solution can be found for a given WEC architecture. This paper will present the recent developments and results of a VGWEC concept that incorporates variable-geometry modules into a two-body WEC. In the proposed VGWEC concept, the variable-geometry modules consist of air-inflatable bags in the surface float and a water inflatable ring in the subsurface body. The surface float is tethered directly to the subsurface body through tether lines, each connected to a separate PTO. Adjusting the geometry of both the surface and subsurface bodies along with the PTO coefficients can maximize power in design sea states while reducing motion response and PTO forces when transitioning to sea states where rated power is reached and load shedding is prioritized. The ability to transition between operating condition is expected to increase the sea state operational map and power capacity.

geometry control↗

Unlocking the Potential of Marine Energy Using Hydrogen Generation Technologies

Marine energy, including ocean waves, ocean currents, ocean thermal gradients, tides, and river currents, is a vast and untapped resource that can be harnessed to help enable the transition to renewable energy. Marine energy is an attractive renewable resource because of its energy density, predictability, and persistence. Further, marine energy has the potential to provide energy for utility-scale applications, remote and distributed applications, and rapidly expanding maritime industries, such as aquaculture and shipping. Marine energy technologies are, however, at a nascent stage of development, and a significant amount of the resource is located far from population centers and transmission infrastructure. Accordingly, to unlock the full potential of marine energy, efficient methods of storing and transporting captured marine energy are needed so that the energy can be used when and where it is needed. A promising solution to these energy storage and transportation challenges is to combine marine energy and hydrogen generation technologies. Herein, we provide a high-level analysis of the unique value proposition and technical challenges of combining marine energy and hydrogen technologies. First, we review marine energy technologies, electrolysis technologies, and hydrogen storage methods. Next, we consider specific applications and opportunities for combining the two technologies. Finally, we identify critical R&D challenges that must be overcome to successfully combine marine energy and hydrogen generation technologies. As part of our fact-finding effort in this area, we held a workshop attended by marine energy and hydrogen technology experts from industry, academia, national labs, and government entities to explore the technical challenges and opportunities for combined marine energy and hydrogen generation systems. Our intent is that this document and the report from the workshop can be used in conjunction to help identify and direct research and development that is needed to realize the potential of marine energy-hydrogen systems.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Efficient and Reliable Power Takeoff for Ocean Wave Energy Harvesting

The project goal is to significantly improve the current ocean wave energy harvesting through innovative Power Take-off (PTO) design, advanced power electronics, and novel wave capture structures. The objective of the project is to design and demonstrate system-agnostic components for application across multiple MHK systems, and complete component designs, build scaled prototypes, and perform testing and analysis for metric validation of 25% increase in component rating/per unit cost and 50% reduction in failure rate. The major innovation of the PTO is the Mechanical Motion Rectifier (MMR) mechanism that rectifies the bi-directional oscillatory motion of the input from waves into a steady unidirectional rotation output to directly drive the electrical generator. Through this mechanism, the efficiency and the fatigue life of the PTO can be significantly improved to benefit the energy absorption and lifespan of the wave energy converters (WEC). During the period of performance, the component and system design are completed, the scaled prototypes are developed and performed testing. It is validated that the 25% increase in a component rating/per unit cost. The 50% reduction in failure rate is not directly validated by experiments, however, it can be explained qualitatively with analysis. Besides, 8 journal articles, 13 conference proceedings, 1 patent, 3 Master thesis and two Ph.D. dissertations are published based on the work related to this project. The list of all the publications can be found at the end of the project as an appendix. Over 30 students and postdocs were trained through this project. Three prototypes of 100W and 500W WECs and 10KW PTO were designed, built, and tested in ocean wave tank and using the NREL dynamometer. This project demonstrated 50-80% PTO efficiency, 90-98% power electronics efficiency, up to 66% capture width ratio in irregular waves, and 34% overall efficiency in regular waves.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Hexagonal Distributed Embedded Energy Converters (HexDEECs)

The HexDEEC is a small, characteristic length approximating a centimeter, energy transducer that converts the dynamic deformations of its elastomer housing into electricity through a variable capacitance charging-discharging cycle. This device is a type of Distributed Embedded Energy Converter Technology (DEEC-Tec), a new domain for marine renewable energy research that utilizes a conglomeration of small distributed embedded energy converters (DEECs) that, in aggregate, form larger metamaterial frameworks. These resulting DEEC-Tec metamaterials can then, in turn, be used to construct flexible ocean wave energy converters called flexWECs, which can utilize a broad band of ocean wave frequencies and lack highly loaded rigid bodies. These systems also provide new avenues of wave energy harvesting such as actively transforming topologies (e.g., shape and form) and morphologies (e.g., stiffness and damping throughout its entire structure) in real time. Presented, is one specific type of DEEC: the HexDEEC, which is currently being developed by the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This transducer shows promise in aiding the adoption and further development of the DEEC-Tec domain. The following presentation focuses on the promise of this technology and current work being done to analyze the performance of an individual HexDEEC design. The HexDEEC is composed of a hyperelastic hexagonal housing, nominally silicon rubber, with six electrodes on its inner faces. The upper three electrodes share the same charge while the lower three electrodes oppose the upper electrode charges. Externally, the HexDEEC has two arms extending away from the middle vertices of the hexagon. Via principles governing the relationship between electrical capacitance and electrical potential (voltage and charge), electricity is generated when the HexDEEC's arms are dynamically pulled or released under tensile loading, as doing so causes the distance between the upper and lower sets of electrodes to change - varying the energy converter's overall capacitance. Analytical and numerical modeling is being used to evaluate the mechanics and electrical energy generated by the HexDEEC. Equations to describe the capacitance and electrostatic forces acting on this unique system have been developed and implemented into the numerical modeling software STAR-CCM+, along with models to describe its hyperelastic material, such as the Mooney-Rivlin 3-parameter model. So far, an initial design has been analyzed and we plan to further optimize it to increase power production. Individual HexDEECs have been fabricated by drawing uncured liquid silicon rubber into molds via vacuum pressure. To simplify manufacturing, HexDEEC sub-components - e.g., electrodes, wires - can be placed within those molds such that they are directly embedded into the hexagonal housing during the curing process. Furthermore, DEEC-Tec metamaterials can be created by interweaving or sequentially layering multiple HexDEEC strands together. The HexDEEC based metamaterial could then generate electricity through its gross deformations. Ultimately, HexDEECs represent a specific type of energy transducer that can be leveraged, by the DEEC-Tec domain, to create metamaterials used to construct novel flexWECs.

DEEC-Tec↗

Online Monitoring of Medium Voltage Cable Systems with Spread Spectrum Time Domain and Frequency Domain Reflectometry

In-service failures of wave energy convertor (WEC) cable systems can have a significant cost and power availability impact. Close parallel research 2019 data showed > 1B£ and 9 Terra-Watt-Hours associated with global off-shore wind (OSW) cable failures (Strang-Moran 2020). OSW is a closely related technology but currently is significantly cheaper than WEC technology. For wave energy to compete, the problem of reliable cable transmission must be mitigated. This project develops isolation technology to allow online high frequency reflectometry testing of medium voltage cables (1 to 10 kV and higher) without arcing or damage to the test instrument. Online spread spectrum time domain reflectometry (SSTDR) testing has been established for low voltage cable systems in the aircraft and rail industry and the ability to detect and locate cable flaws of interest is well understood. Extending reflectometry testing to medium voltage systems could enable detection of cable damage before failures occur thereby allowing repair and replacement of damaged cable segments to be scheduled and managed. The seedling project succeeded to pass and receive high frequency SSTDR signals onto a cable up to 1 kV using a parallel trace isolation circuit board that can be connected onto the test cable. The approach used a novel circuit design for which an invention disclosure has been filed. A proposed sapling project would extend the technology toward the higher operating voltages used by WEC systems, thereby enabling online SSTDR cable monitoring. The goal of the seedling project was to extend the capability of the ARENA cable/motor test bed to address medium voltages and to develop a high pass filter isolation architecture to protect the reflectometry instrument from the low frequency (DC – 60 Hz) line voltage while allowing the high frequency diagnostic signal to pass to and from the test instrument to the live line. Initial efforts focused on passive LCR filter circuits to reduce 60 Hz levels below 10 volts from a 10 kV line while allowing the MHz high frequency chirps to pass onto the cables and for mV signals to be detected. We discovered that the parasitic loss behavior of real high voltage components precluded this approach from working. An alternate approach was adapted for the electric field to couple between two parallel traces on a printed circuit board much like a radio-frequency coupler. The challenge here was and is to have the parallel traces close enough to each other to effectively pass the high frequency chirp onto the live line and receive any reflected signal from any encountered impedance change along the cable. This reflected signal will be in the mV range. The traces however must be far enough apart to not allow arcing on the board. A design with 3 mm spacing was determined to allow the high frequency signal to pass onto the live line and receive the mV signal back into the instrument while reducing the 60 Hz voltage amplitude by >80 dB (more than a factor of 10,000) without allowing arcing from across the parallel traces. This was confirmed by simulation and test.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Flexoelectricity and New Phenomena

It is easy to miss the scientific implications of our recent work on Triboelectricity. Everyone knows that rubbing and contact can produce static electricity; less appreciated is that the thermodynamic driver has been an open question since static electricity was first observed by Thales of Miletus around 585 BC. People think they understand it, for instance one common explanation that can still be found in the current literature is that differences in the work function drives charge transfer, often called the Volta-Helmholtz hypothesis. As summarized in 1967 by Harper, this fails to explain many experimental observations, for instance that charging can occur when two pieces of the same material are rubbed against each other. We are the first to place triboelectricity on a solid foundation rooted in quantum mechanics – the flexoelectric effect. We were able to explain a significant number of previously unexplained phenomena: 1) Bipolar tribocurrents associated with stick-slip, due to the change in sign of the strain gradients. 2) A one-third power scaling of tribocurrents with indentation force. 3) Tribocharging when two identical materials are used, these being due to local variations in the asperities so there are usually local potential differences. 4) Inhomogeneous charging of insulators, related to the statistical nature of asperities. 5) An experimentally observed reversal in the sign of charge transfer for negative and positive curvature, which is related to a change in the sign of the strain gradient. Exploiting our DOE prior funded work on flexoelectricity, we obtained semi-quantitative matching to existing experimental measurements of the surface charge in triboelectric experiments. The work has been well received in the literature. The work has been the focus of a number of popular science press articles, and also formed the basis for a Podcast for children 6-10 “The Rise and Fall of Static Man” posted in December 2019 by NPR as part of their “Wow in the World” series. I was also briefly interviewed by the Chicago PBS station in January 2020. This work are significant for a wide range of energy applications; to quote from an independent source: "Triboelectric power has plenty of potential, says Wenzhuo Wu, an assistant professor of engineering at Purdue. If the basics of static electricity are better understood, we could maximize the efficiency of wind or wave power generators, Wu says. The body's own movement could be used to power internal medical devices. Imagine being able to create a roof shaped to harness the power of a raindrop — the friction of the rain passing over the surface — to generate triboelectricity, powering the building below it." This is the start of new science, some of which we already partially understand such as the role of band bending in charge transfer. We need to understand charge transfer combining elasticity, quantum mechanics, band bending and defect states. These directly involve several of the DOE Grand Challenges: "How do we control material processes at the level of electrons? How do remarkable properties of matter emerge from complex correlations of the atomic or electronic constituents and how can we control these properties? How do we characterize and control matter away—especially very far away— from equilibrium?" I will argue that this work truly falls into the class of disruptive science; it is not just a simple extension, linear science. Not everyone will accept the approach. Since we explain far more about triboelectricity than anyone before, the preponderance of evidence supports the model. The feedback I have received is that many agree with the work, to quote: "The model makes sense, says Michael McAlpine, a professor of engineering at the University of Minnesota. "It's such a simple explanation, I was surprised I didn't put my finger on that," McAlpine says." The proposal received strong reviews. It was also publicized on the Department of Energy Web Site.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗