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physics

VolturnUS

VolturnUS is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand VolturnUS rather than just read about it. In short: The VolturnUS is a floating concrete structure that supports a wind turbine, designed by the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center and deployed by DeepCwind Consortium in 2013. The VolturnUS can support wind turbines in water depths of 150 ft (46 m) or more.

VolturnUS — main illustration
VolturnUS — illustration

Key takeaways

  • VolturnUS belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect VolturnUS to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of VolturnUS from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The VolturnUS is a floating concrete structure that supports a wind turbine, designed by the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center and deployed by DeepCwind Consortium in 2013. The VolturnUS can support wind turbines in water depths of 150 ft (46 m) or more. The DeepCwind Consortium and its partners deployed a 1:8 scale VolturnUS in 2013. Efforts are now underway by Maine Aqua Ventus 1, GP, LLC, to deploy to full-scale VolturnUS structures off the coast of Monhegan Island, Maine, in the UMaine Deepwater Offshore Wind Test Site. This demonstration project, known as New England Aqua Ventus I, is planned to deploy two 6 MW wind turbines by 2020. The University of Maine announced in September 2017 that its VolturnUS design became the first floating offshore wind turbine to meet American Bureau of Shipping requirements for floating offshore wind turbines, demonstrating the feasibility of the VolturnUS concept. The design review was conducted against the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Guide for Building and Classing Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Installations.

History

North America’s first floating grid-connected wind turbine was lowered into the Penobscot River in Maine on 31 May 2013 by the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center and its partners. The VolturnUS 1:8 was towed down the Penobscot River where it was deployed for 18 months in Castine, ME, along with a UMaine-developed floating LiDAR. The prototype employs a 20 kW Renewegy VP-20 wind turbine with a 9.6 meters (31 feet) rotor. It is 65 feet (20 meters) tall - that is 1:8 the scale of a 6-megawatt (MW), 450 feet (140 meters) rotor diameter design. The VolturnUS design utilizes a concrete semi-submersible floating hull and a composite materials tower designed to reduce both capital and operation & maintenance costs, and to allow local manufacturing throughout the US and the world. The VolturnUS technology is the culmination of collaborative research and development conducted by the University of Maine-led DeepCwind Consortium. During its deployment, it experienced numerous storm events representative of design environmental conditions prescribed by the American Bureau of Shipping Guide for Building and Classing Floating Offshore Wind Turbines, 2013. It was taken out of the water in November 2014. VolturnUS' floating concrete hull technology can support wind turbines in water depths of 45 meters (148 feet) or more, and has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of offshore wind. With 12 independent cost estimates from around the U.S. and the world, it has been found to significantly reduce costs compared to existing floating systems. The design has also received a complete third-party engineering review.

Scaling up In June 2016, the UMaine-led New England Aqua Ventus I project won top tier status from the US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Technology Demonstration Program for Offshore Wind. This means that the New England Aqua Ventus project is now automatically eligible for an additional $39.9 million in construction funding from the DOE, as long as the project continues to meet its milestones. The developer asserts that the New England Aqua Ventus I project will likely become the first commercial scale floating wind project in the Americas. U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced in June 2016 that Maine’s New England Aqua Ventus I floating offshore wind demonstration project was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to participate in the Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration program. The project is opposed by Senator Dow with Bill LR1613. New England Aqua Ventus I is one of two leading projects that are each eligible for up to $39.9 million in additional funding over three years for the construction phase of the demonstration program. In 2020, UMaine expected costs to be $74/MWh by 2027 and $57/MWh by 2032. In 2021, Maine applied for an offshore test area.

See also Floating wind turbine DeepCwind Consortium UMaine Deepwater Offshore Wind Test Site Wind Power in Maine Offshore wind power in the United States List of offshore wind farms in the United States

References

External links Aqua Ventus I, wind farm website Advance Structures and Composites Center - VoluturnUS

Illustrations

VolturnUS: University of Maine's VolturnUS 1:8 was the first grid-connected offshore wind turbine in the Americas. The VolturnUS design utilizes a concrete semisubmersible floating hull and a composite materials tower designed to reduce both capital and Operation & Maintenance costs, and to allow local manufacturing. The VolturnUS technology is the culmination of more than a decade of collaborative research and development conducted by the Advanced Structures and Composites Center-led DeepCwind Consortium.[1]
University of Maine's VolturnUS 1:8 was the first grid-connected offshore wind turbine in the Americas. The VolturnUS design utilizes a concrete semisubmersible floating hull and a composite materials tower designed to reduce both capital and Operation & Maintenance costs, and to allow local manufacturing. The VolturnUS technology is the culmination of more than a decade of collaborative research and development conducted by the Advanced Structures and Composites Center-led DeepCwind Consortium.[1]
VolturnUS: On June 13, 2013, the University of Maine's VolturnUS 1:8 was energized and began delivering electricity through an undersea cable to the Central Maine Power electricity grid, making VolturnUS 1:8 the first grid-connected offshore wind turbine in the Americas.[1]
On June 13, 2013, the University of Maine's VolturnUS 1:8 was energized and began delivering electricity through an undersea cable to the Central Maine Power electricity grid, making VolturnUS 1:8 the first grid-connected offshore wind turbine in the Americas.[1]

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with VolturnUS

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what VolturnUS claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to VolturnUS before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about VolturnUS ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of VolturnUS

In research
VolturnUS appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses VolturnUS in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
VolturnUS is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Floating wind turbines, Offshore engineering, Renewable energy policy in the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for VolturnUS outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study VolturnUS in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what VolturnUS means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain VolturnUS out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is VolturnUS in simple terms?

The VolturnUS is a floating concrete structure that supports a wind turbine, designed by the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center and deployed by DeepCwind Consortium in 2013. The VolturnUS can support wind turbines in water depths of 150 ft (46 m) or more.

Why does VolturnUS matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study VolturnUS?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on VolturnUS.

Tags

  • Floating wind turbines
  • Offshore engineering
  • Renewable energy policy in the United States
  • University of Maine
  • Wind power in Maine

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