Project Grant DESC0018885

This $311,000 National Science Foundation Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships project grant supports the development of a new class of low-power, plasma-based wind turbine icing protection systems at Iowa State University from February 1, 2022 to January 31, 2024. The university will develop novel dielectric-barrier-discharge plasma actuation integrated with state-of-the-art hydro-/ice-phobic coatings to actively repel ice accretion on wind turbine blades in critical regions and efficiently...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) award of $192,283 to Northeastern University supports collaborative research to model the influence of turbulence on flow-induced instabilities of large flexible structures, with a focus on wind turbine blades. The research aims to develop a novel dynamic model for fluid-structure interaction (FSI) systems that accounts for the effects of turbulence on the onset and post-critical behavior of aeroelastic instabilities in...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $249,994 Project Grant under its Office of International Science and Engineering (CFDA 47.079) program to Cornell University. The goal of this 2-year award is to reduce the cost of energy for wind-generated electricity and enhance the reliability of wind turbines by addressing leading edge erosion (LEE), a key challenge facing the wind energy industry. The researchers will take a multi-disciplinary approach to improve forecasting of LEE, advance...

The Department of Energy's Office of Science awarded Reliacoat Technologies, LLC a $199,847 Project Grant under the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program (CFDA 81.049) to develop "Multifunctional Thermal-Environmental Barrier Coatings for High Temperature Composites". This grant supports Reliacoat Technologies' research and development efforts to create advanced thermal spray coating solutions that enhance the durability and performance of high-temperature composite materials....

The National Science Foundation awarded Activecharge LLC a $256,000 Project Grant under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to develop an integrated, self-powered sensor node for wind turbine blade monitoring. The one-year project will address technical hurdles such as lack of reliable energy sources and logistical challenges replacing batteries inside blades. Activecharge will prototype a sensor node that reliably harvests electrical voltage from blade...

The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E, CFDA 81.135) awarded Perseus Materials Inc. a $498,767 Project Grant to develop a new composite fabrication process for manufacturing wind turbine blades. The goal is to create variable cross-sectional wind turbine blades using an innovative casting technique. This 2-year project, which started on October 19, 2023, aims to deliver a transformative solution that can enhance the efficiency and performance of wind...

This $416,670 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports a comprehensive research and educational initiative to deepen understanding of how ice impacts wind turbines during extreme winter weather events. The principal investigator will conduct icing tunnel experiments, field measurements, numerical simulations, and data-driven modeling to address three key objectives: establish and validate scaling metrics for assessing ice accretion and...

This five-year, $1.167 million project grant from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will fund research and educational activities to address gaps in understanding the impacts of downburst windstorms on buildings. Led by Florida International University, the award will support field measurements, physical simulations, and numerical modeling to characterize downburst wind flows and assess building vulnerability. Researchers will leverage domestic and international...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Grant award under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $365,447 to the University of Massachusetts to conduct research on modeling the influence of turbulence on flow-induced instabilities of large flexible structures, with a focus on wind turbine blades. The project aims to develop a novel dynamic model for fluid-structure interaction systems that can accurately account for the effects of turbulence on the onset and post-critical behavior...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $275,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program to Dmag USA LLC, a HUBZone-certified small disadvantaged business, to develop a novel nickel-boron-tungsten-carbon fullerene coating for aerospace applications. The coating is designed to improve the durability, safety, and reliability of aerospace systems by providing superior temperature resistance,...