News & Events
Vortex-Induced Vibration for Aquatic Clean Energy
| Themes | Energy and the Environment |
|---|---|
| Campuses | UC Berkeley |
- March 12, 2008: 2:00pm - 4:00pm
- Location: 240 Bechtel Engineering Center, UC Berkeley
Director, Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory
Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
University of Michigan
Abstract:
The challenge facing our world today is sustainable generation and storage of clean and renewable energy at a competitive cost. Technology to harness marine energy is at its infancy. The VIVACE (Vortex induced Vibration for Aquatic Clean Energy) converter is a novel approach to harness hydrokinetic energy from currents even slower than 2 knots without using dams or turbines. The VIVACE takes the natural instability phenomenon of vortex induced vibration (VIV) of cylinders on elastic supports, classically a destructive phenomenon, enhances it instead, and harnesses the induced VIV energy. Enhancing high damping VIV for energy generation has spurred several new research activities at the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory of the University of Michigan. In this seminar, research and development issues are discussed along with some fascinating early findings.
Short Biography:
Professor Michael Bernitsas received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1979 and since then, has been on the faculty of the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the University of Michigan, including as Department Chair for 9 years. He has over 200 publications in offshore and marine mechanics. His research and teaching are in Dynamics, Structural Dynamics, Fluid-Structure Interaction, with applications to marine renewable energy, vortex-induced vibrations, mooring systems, marine risers, and structural topology evolution. He has served on ONR committees, NSF panels, the US-Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Committee. He is/was Associate Editor of ASME-OMAE Journal, Applied Ocean Research, Marine Structures, Journal of Waterways, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering, Marine Systems and Ocean Technology, and Ocean Engineering Journal. He was awarded the SNAME Blakely Smith Medal for outstanding accomplishment in Ocean Engineering in 2003.