Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Feasible and sustainable sources of power are a critical issue nowadays. Offshore wind farms (OWF) can be a solution to power generation problems, but it is relatively more expensive— their installation cost is more than twice of their comparable size onshore counterparts. The cost that matters most is the operations and maintenance (O&M) cost. Expensive and sophisticated transfer vehicles and highly skilled technicians are needed to conduct O&M activities, resulting in a remarkably higher O&M cost for an offshore wind farm project. Offshore wind turbines can capture more wind than onshore turbines because of their larger structure and location in more open offshore wind that incurs high installation and maintenance costs. Thus, the present generation of OWF must develop ways to reduce their O&M expenses to sell their electricity at competitive market pricing. This research relates to the optimization of a wind power production problem, specifically, the optimal strategy for facility location, transportation design, inventory management, and technician assignment for maintenance tasks to minimize overall O&M cost. As a part of the complete research, two mixed-integer nonlinear models (annual power production model and vessel fleet size and mix model) are developed to simulate the real-world supply chain of the wind energy production system, followed by two other problems on spare components inventory policy and skilled technician assignment. Firstly, a MINP (Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming) model is formulated to maximize the estimated annual power production (APP) from an offshore wind farm and then the estimated APP is calculated using the mathematical programming method and a simulation method. Secondly, an optimal vessel fleet size and mix model is developed to minimize the transportation cost of offshore wind farms. The third model has been developed on spare parts control strategies to reduce the inventory cost consisting of spare parts cost, warehouse xii cost, stockout cost, and some other costs associated with the total inventory cost. The fourth and final problem deals with wind turbine maintenance which determines the efficient plan to schedule and assign technician of different skill levels to various maintenance tasks.
Date
5-22-2024
Recommended Citation
Tusar, Md Imran Hasan, "OPTIMAL PLANNING AND DESIGN OF OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS FOR OFFSHORE WIND FARMS" (2024). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 6481.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/6481
Committee Chair
Bhaba R. Sarker