Optimizing the Energy Capture of Wind Propulsion Technologies with a Digital Twin Model

Decarbonization of the transportation sector is of paramount importance in the effort to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and anthropogenic climate change. If left unchecked, shipping will account for a significant portion of these GHG emissions in the future, and therefore there is substantial motivation to introduce technologies that can reduce the carbon intensity of the shipping industry. One such solution is the adoption of wind propulsion technologies (WPTs) that supplement the ship’s main propulsion engine with thrust generated from wind energy. This action reduces the amount of fuel consumed on a journey, necessarily decreasing the carbon emissions from the ship. The optimization of this energy capture process has the potential to dramatically reduce a ship’s carbon footprint. Therefore, the goal for this project is to design and implement a “digital twin” for two WPTs (a turbosail and a wingsail) that will be used to investigate WPT operation on real-world vessels and to develop an optimal control strategy for energy capture.