Life Cycle Cost Analysis of a Floating Wind Farm Located in the Norwegian Sea

This thesis aims to investigate the levelized cost of energy of an offshore floating wind farm, as well as evaluate its financial feasibility. Thus, the research question is as follows: How to estimate the life cycle costs of a floating wind farm off the coast of Norway? The investigated wind farm is located off the coast of Norway, more specifically in the Troll field area west of Bergen. This area has a water depth of 325 m and a distance to shore of 65 km. The wind farm is set to consist of 50 wind turbines and has a lifespan of 25 years. The OC4 Deepwind semisubmersible floater developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, complemented with a 15 MW turbine, is used as the research model. To find the capital expenditures of the planned wind farm, the Offshore Renewables Balance-of-system and Installation Tool is used, while the operational expenditures are calculated based on the theoretical energy output. The total levelized cost of energy of the wind farm is calculated to be 100.69 $/MWh. Capital expenditure is the most prominent cost and constitutes 63.1 expenditures constitute the remaining 36.9 lifespan, capacity factor, and project discount rate are the factors with the most potential to influence the levelized cost of energy. The financial calculations show that the wind farm is not economically feasible as it has a computed net present value of negative$ 561 900 000. Finally, novel offshore wind energy solutions involving the utilization of shared substructures and mooring lines have been studied, and the findings suggest the possibility of a diminished levelized cost of energy

Life Cycle Cost Analysis of a Floating Wind Farm Located in the Norwegian Sea

This thesis aims to investigate the levelized cost of energy of an offshore floating wind farm, as well as evaluate its financial feasibility. Thus, the research question is as follows: How to estimate the life cycle costs of a floating wind farm off the coast of Norway? The investigated wind farm is located off the coast of Norway, more specifically in the Troll field area west of Bergen. This area has a water depth of 325 m and a distance to shore of 65 km. The wind farm is set to consist of 50 wind turbines and has a lifespan of 25 years. The OC4 Deepwind semisubmersible floater developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, complemented with a 15 MW turbine, is used as the research model. To find the capital expenditures of the planned wind farm, the Offshore Renewables Balance-of-system and Installation Tool is used, while the operational expenditures are calculated based on the theoretical energy output. The total levelized cost of energy of the wind farm is calculated to be 100.69 $/MWh. Capital expenditure is the most prominent cost and constitutes 63.1 expenditures constitute the remaining 36.9 lifespan, capacity factor, and project discount rate are the factors with the most potential to influence the levelized cost of energy. The financial calculations show that the wind farm is not economically feasible as it has a computed net present value of negative$ 561 900 000. Finally, novel offshore wind energy solutions involving the utilization of shared substructures and mooring lines have been studied, and the findings suggest the possibility of a diminished levelized cost of energy

Life Cycle Cost Analysis of a Floating Wind Farm Located in the Norwegian Sea

This thesis aims to investigate the levelized cost of energy of an offshore floating wind farm, as well as evaluate its financial feasibility. Thus, the research question is as follows: How to estimate the life cycle costs of a floating wind farm off the coast of Norway? The investigated wind farm is located off the coast of Norway, more specifically in the Troll field area west of Bergen. This area has a water depth of 325 m and a distance to shore of 65 km. The wind farm is set to consist of 50 wind turbines and has a lifespan of 25 years. The OC4 Deepwind semisubmersible floater developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, complemented with a 15 MW turbine, is used as the research model. To find the capital expenditures of the planned wind farm, the Offshore Renewables Balance-of-system and Installation Tool is used, while the operational expenditures are calculated based on the theoretical energy output. The total levelized cost of energy of the wind farm is calculated to be 100.69 $/MWh. Capital expenditure is the most prominent cost and constitutes 63.1$ 561 900 000. Finally, novel offshore wind energy solutions involving the utilization of shared substructures and mooring lines have been studied, and the findings suggest the possibility of a diminished levelized cost of energy

Dimensjonering av betongbruer i bruksgrensetilstand - Evaluering av beregningsgrunnlaget i Eurokode-systemet og norsk praksis

Bruksgrensedimensjonering er et viktig tema i BIA-prosjektet «DACS - Durability advanced concrete structures» (Kværner, Multiconsult, SVV). I den sammenheng er det blitt utført beregninger i bruksgrensetilstanden av en slakkarmert bru i betong i denne oppgaven. Brua var utført som en massiv tre spenns platebru, med en total lengde på 38,3 m. Brua hadde et hovedspenn på 16,3 m og var understøttet av to betongsøyler i hver akse, samt to sidespenn på 11 m. Formålet med denne oppgaven er å evaluere beregningsgrunnlaget for betongkonstruksjoner i dagens eurokoderegelverk i bruksgrensetilstanden. Evalueringen blir gjort ved å sammenligne oppførsel og målinger fra et be-lastningsforsøk på Smedstua bru, med beregninger etter nåtidens regelverk. I tillegg er det utført et litteraturstudium om bruksgrensedimensjonering av betongkonstruksjoner, og om skallteori for armerte betongelementer. Modellering og analyse ble utført i elementprogrammet Abaqus/CAE. Det ble benyttet skallelementer i modellen. Skivekreftene fra Abaqusmodel-len ble analysert med skallprogrammet BABE v1.0. På grunn av avvik i skallresultatene ble det valgt å gå videre med spenningene som ble bereg-net i Mathcad i henhold til lærebokmaterialet til Sørensen i stedet. Spenningsbegrensningen i EK2 konkluderte med at tverrsnittet vil risse opp på strekksiden i hovedfeltet og over søylene. Resultatet samsvarte med observasjonene i forsøket. Momentet fra egenvekten alene var 345 kNm i hovedfeltet, mens tverrsnittet vil risse opp ved 283 kNm i samme snitt iføl-ge beregningene. Spenningsbegrensningene ble oppfylt for samtlige snitt, sett bort ifra trykkspenningen i søylesnittet. Rissavstand- og rissviddebe-grensningene var tilfredsstilt for samtlige snitt, samt minimums armerings-mengde for rissbegrensning. Sammenligningen mellom nedbøyningsresulta-tene i forsøket og skallmodellen ga tilfredsstillende resultater. Jevnt over lå de opptredende tøyningene i forsøket nærmere beregnet stadium I-stivhet enn stadium II-stivhet, tross et opprisset tverrsnitt. Basert på analysen oppførte brua seg stivere under forsøket enn beregningene hentydet

Prediction of dynamic mooring responses of a floating wind turbine using an artificial neural network

Numerical simulations in coupled aero-hydro-servo-elastic codes are known to be a challenge for design and analysis of offshore wind turbine systems because of the large number of design load cases involved in checking the ultimate and fatigue limit states. To alleviate the simulation burden, machine learning methods can be useful. This article investigates the effect of machine learning methods on predicting the mooring line tension of a spar floating wind turbine. The OC3 Hywind wind turbine with a spar-buoy foundation and three mooring lines is selected and simulated with SIMA. A total of 32 sea states with irregular waves are considered. Artificial neural works with different constructions were applied to reproduce the time history of mooring tensions. The best performing network provides a strong average correlation of 71% and consists of two hidden layers with 35 neurons, using the Bayesian regularisation backpropagation algorithm. Sea states applied in the network training are predicted with greater accuracy than sea states used for validation of the network. The correlation coefficient is primarily higher for sea states with lower significant wave height and peak period. One sea state with a significant wave height of 5 meters and a peak period of 9 seconds has an average extreme value deviation for all mooring lines of 0.46%. Results from the study illustrate the potential of incorporating artificial neural networks in the mooring design process.publishedVersio

Mechanisms involved in PGE2-induced transactivation of the epidermal growth factor receptor in MH1C1 hepatocarcinoma cells.

Background It is important to understand the mechanisms by which the cells integrate signals from different receptors. Several lines of evidence implicate epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) in the pathophysiology of hepatocarcinomas. Data also suggest a role of prostaglandins in some of these tumours, through their receptors of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family. In this study we have investigated mechanisms of interaction between signalling from prostaglandin receptors and EGFR in hepatocarcinoma cells. Methods The rat hepatocarcinoma cell line MH1C1 and normal rat hepatocytes in primary culture were stimulated with EGF or prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and in some experiments also PGF2α. DNA synthesis was determined by incorporation of radiolabelled thymidine into DNA, phosphorylation of proteins in signalling pathways was assessed by Western blotting, mRNA expression of prostaglandin receptors was determined using qRT-PCR, accumulation of inositol phosphates was measured by incorporation of radiolabelled inositol, and cAMP was determined by radioimmunoassay. Results In the MH1C1 hepatocarcinoma cells, stimulation with PGE2 or PGF2α caused phosphorylation of the EGFR, Akt, and ERK, which could be blocked by the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib. This did not occur in primary hepatocytes. qRT-PCR revealed expression of EP1, EP4, and FP receptor mRNA in MH1C1 cells. PGE2 stimulated accumulation of inositol phosphates but not cAMP in these cells, suggesting signalling via PLCβ. While pretreatment with EP1 and EP4 receptor antagonists did not inhibit the effect of PGE2, pretreatment with an FP receptor antagonist blocked the phosphorylation of EGFR, Akt and ERK. Further studies suggested that the PGE2-induced signal was mediated via Ca2+ release and not PKC activation, and that it proceeded through Src and shedding of membrane-bound EGFR ligand precursors by proteinases of the ADAM family. Conclusion The results indicate that in MH1C1 cells, unlike normal hepatocytes, PGE2 activates the MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt pathways by transactivation of the EGFR, thus diversifying the GPCR-mediated signal. The data also suggest that the underlying mechanisms in these cells involve FP receptors, PLCβ, Ca2+, Src, and proteinase-mediated release of membrane-associated EGFR ligand(s)

Communication in Building Design Management: A Comparative Study of Norway and Germany

ABSTRACT First-rate communication between design and construction site teams is imperative for the successful completion of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) projects. Still, research carried out in Norwegian and German industry has identified a lack of literature and qualitative research in this area. Equally, there seems to be a tendency to underestimate the correlation between communication and efficiency in most construction projects. By addressing different factors affecting communication, reasons for communication, communication networks, communication channels and future needs in a comparative way, this paper aims to increase knowledge about and understanding of communication in the design-construction interface. An extensive literature review, a document study and indepth interviews were carried out, according to a qualitative approach. The findings are limited to the investigated cases. However, they do imply that there is a need for a better understanding of communication both in Norway and in Germany. Additionally, the research revealed a lack of knowledge and training in the use of ICT tools and team frameworks. By increasing the awareness of the communication challenges that exists, this study can help AEC practitioners and academics to solve communication problems between design and construction site teams

Role of protein kinase C and epidermal growth factor receptor signalling in growth stimulation by neurotensin in colon carcinoma cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neurotensin has been found to promote colon carcinogenesis in rats and mice, and proliferation of human colon carcinoma cell lines, but the mechanisms involved are not clear. We have examined signalling pathways activated by neurotensin in colorectal and pancreatic carcinoma cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Colon carcinoma cell lines HCT116 and HT29 and pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line Panc-1 were cultured and stimulated with neurotensin or epidermal growth factor (EGF). DNA synthesis was determined by incorporation of radiolabelled thymidine into DNA. Levels and phosphorylation of proteins in signalling pathways were assessed by Western blotting.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Neurotensin stimulated the phosphorylation of both extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and Akt in all three cell lines, but apparently did so through different pathways. In Panc-1 cells, neurotensin-induced phosphorylation of ERK, but not Akt, was dependent on protein kinase C (PKC), whereas an inhibitor of the β-isoform of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), TGX221, abolished neurotensin-induced Akt phosphorylation in these cells, and there was no evidence of EGF receptor (EGFR) transactivation. In HT29 cells, in contrast, the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib blocked neurotensin-stimulated phosphorylation of both ERK and Akt, indicating transactivation of EGFR, independently of PKC. In HCT116 cells, neurotensin induced both a PKC-dependent phosphorylation of ERK and a metalloproteinase-mediated transactivation of EGFR that was associated with a gefitinib-sensitive phosphorylation of the downstream adaptor protein Shc. The activation of Akt was also inhibited by gefitinib, but only partly, suggesting a mechanism in addition to EGFR transactivation. Inhibition of PKC blocked neurotensin-induced DNA synthesis in HCT116 cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>While acting predominantly through PKC in Panc-1 cells and via EGFR transactivation in HT29 cells, neurotensin used both these pathways in HCT116 cells. In these cells, neurotensin-induced activation of ERK and stimulation of DNA synthesis was PKC-dependent, whereas activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway was mediated by stimulation of metalloproteinases and subsequent transactivation of the EGFR. Thus, the data show that the signalling mechanisms mediating the effects of neurotensin involve multiple pathways and are cell-dependent.</p