scholarly journals Improving the Installation of Offshore Wind Farms by the use of Discrete Event Simulation

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yohannes T. Muhabie ◽  
Jean-David Caprace ◽  
Cristian Petcu ◽  
Philippe Rigo

The offshore wind energy development is highly affected by the condition of the weather at sea. Hence, it demands a well-organized planning of the overall process starting from the producers’ sites until the offshore site where the turbines will finally be installed. The planning phase can be supported with the help of Discrete Event Simulation (DES) where weather restrictions, distance matrix, vessel characteristics and assembly scenarios are taken into account. The purpose of this paper is to simulate the overall transport, assembly and installation of the wind turbine components at sea. The analysis is carried out through DES considering both the real historical weather data (wind speed and wave height) and probabilistic approach. Results of the study, applied to the real Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) configuration, are showing a good agreement between the two proposed models. The results point out that the probabilistic\ approach is highly affected by the semi-random numbers used to model the stochastic behavior of the input variable so that several iterations (200 to 400) are required to reach the convergence of the simulation outputs. We suggest that seasonality of the outputs of both models are preserved, i.e. the variation of the results depending on the variation of the weather along the year. These findings provide a new framework to address risks and uncertainties in OWF installations.

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3778
Author(s):  
Stephan Oelker ◽  
Aljoscha Sander ◽  
Markus Kreutz ◽  
Abderrahim Ait-Alla ◽  
Michael Freitag

Weather conditions have a significant impact on the installation of offshore wind turbines. The rules for installation set clear limits. These limits are usually based on estimations of various experts and not on real assumptions and measurements on-site. When wind speeds and wave heights are too high, work cannot be carried out, and this leads to delays and additional costs. Therefore, we have carried out a measurement campaign during the installation of rotor blades to investigate to which extent the limits can be adjusted by using a tuned mass damper. The results from the measurement campaign—specifically empirically derived significant wave height limits—are used in a discrete event simulation. This study simulates delays resulting from weather conditions. Based on this, the total installation costs are considered. The results of the measurement campaign show that a safe installation with the use of a damper is possible at wave heights of up to 1.6 m. With the discrete event simulation, it is possible to prove that 17.9% can be saved for the costs of the installation vessel. In addition, the wind farm could be erected 32 days faster. Thus, it can be stated that the use of a tuned mass damper simplifies the installation from a technical point of view and is economical.


Author(s):  
Martina Kuncova ◽  
Katerina Svitkova ◽  
Alena Vackova ◽  
Milena Vankova

The year 2020 was very challenging for everyone due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people turn their lives upside down from day to day. Politicians had to impose completely unprecedented measures, and doctors immediately had to adapt to the huge influx of patients and the massive demand for testing. Of course, not all processes could be planned completely efficiently, given that the situation literally changes from minute to minute, but sometimes better planning could improve the real processes. This contribution deals with the application of simulation software SIMUL8 to the analysis of the COVID-19 sample collection process in a drive-in point in a hospital. The main aim is to create a model based on the real data and then to find out the suitable number of other staff (medics) helping a doctor during the process to decrease the number of unattended patients and their waiting times.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-27
Author(s):  
Juan Alexander Marin ◽  
Cristhian Camilo Mosquera ◽  
Yony Fernando Ceballos

The textile industry in Colombia is a source of employment for more than 200.000 people and more than 50% of this production is undertaken in Medellin. Modeling and improving textile processes allow this economic line to be competitive internationally. In this paper, we make a description about the use of discrete event simulation in a textile finishing company through the presentation of the results of four scenarios, which finally shows the potential of discrete simulations in productive environments and its high impact when modelling part of reality without the necessity of experimenting with the real system. The method used in this paper is summarized in three major stages: the first one is the simulation methodology, the second one is the data to support the simulation, and the final stage is an analysis of the results with the comparison of the four scenarios. The simulation was statistically validated and verified with the real behaviors of the company and it is executed by using software tools such as EasyFit®, Microsoft Excel® and Simul8®.


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