Speakers
D. Todd Griffith, PhD
Dr. D. Todd Griffith is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he also serves as Deputy Director and co-founder of the UTD Center for Wind Energy. His research is in the areas of wind turbine design and structural dynamics; with a focus on developing new technologies to enable cost-effective, reliable, and large-scale wind energy systems including new wind turbine rotor designs for land-based and offshore siting. Prior to joining UT Dallas in Fall of 2017, Dr. Griffith was a researcher (Principal Member of the Technical Staff) at Sandia National Laboratories in the departments of Wind Energy, Water Power, and Structural Dynamics Research (from 2005-2017) serving as the Technical Lead for Sandia’s Offshore Wind Energy Program.
Presentation Description
A Vision for Future Offshore Wind Energy Technology: New Turbine Concepts and Opportunities for the Gulf Region and BeyondWind energy installations have shown strong growth in recent decades, especially on land while offshore deployments have been gaining momentum as well. Wind turbines are the largest rotating structures in the world (e.g., the GE Haliade X wind turbine produces 14MW with blades longer than a football field at 107 meters in length). Despite the progress, new research is needed to develop the next generation of large-scale, reliable wind energy systems, especially in new environments such as offshore siting. In this presentation, updates from research and development at the University of Texas at Dallas to develop new technologies for future wind energy systems will be presented. New turbine types (including floating vertical axis wind turbines and downwind rotors) and new technology solutions including active load control with plasma actuators, rotor segmentation, and digital twins will be presented along with a vision for future offshore wind systems in the Gulf of Mexico region and beyond.
