The following is a visual presentation of my CV, research and previous work I have been involved in at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota.
1. Craig Hill
Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistant
Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering Department
St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
College of Science and Engineering – University of Minnesota
(E) hill.craig.s@gmail.com
Ph.D. Research Topic
Interactions between channel topography and hydrokinetic turbines:
Sediment transport, turbine performance and wake characteristics.
The following is a visual presentation of my CV, research and previous work I
have been involved in at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota.
Please contact me for an expanded publication/presentation list, references, or additional information.
Updated: April 22, 2015
2. St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
College of Science & Engineering – University of Minnesota
Website: http://safl.umn.edu/
St. Anthony Falls Laboratory is an interdisciplinary research laboratory at the
University of Minnesota focusing on energy, environmental, biological, and
geophysical engineering fluid dynamics problems. The laboratory collaborates
with many national and international academic institutions, government agencies
and laboratories, and industry companies on both basic and applied research
problems. Located along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, MN, the laboratory
provides a unique setting for advancing renewable energy technologies,
investigating aquatic species interaction with the geomorphic environment,
developing advanced hydraulic structures, and focusing on challenging fluid
dynamics problems on renewable energy, the environment, and human health.
The following slides show highlights from a few of the many projects I have been
an integral member of as either a Research Scientist and Research Engineer
(2006-2012) or during my Ph.D. program (2012-2015) at St. Anthony Falls
Laboratory. As a member of the Engineering Staff, I was responsible for proposal
writing, model mechanical system and instrumentation design, data acquisition
and analysis, and project publications. My research, leadership, and engineering
skills continued to develop during my Ph.D. tenure as I focused on researching
the interactions between MHK devices and complex topographic environments.
Examples of facilities and projects, clockwise from bottom-left:
Potomoc River water intake model (1), wind tunnel study on
wind turbine interactions (2), river delta dynamics in a
subsiding basin (3), Folsom Dam Spillway aeration model
(4), and scaled model testing of hydrokinetic turbines (5).
3
2
1
4
5
Updated: April 22, 2015
3. Wind Turbine:
Clipper Liberty 2.5MW
96m diameter rotor
420 feet tower
SCADA system
425’ Meteorological tower
Data/sensor systems:
Turbine systems
Blades
Wind and weather
LiDAR
Eolos wind turbine blade sensor data visualization
Eolos wind turbine data visualization during a storm
Eolos meteorological tower data visualization during a storm
On site during tower and rotor assembly.
Standing next to the blade during sensor installation on
interior of 46m blades.
Eolos Wind Energy Research Station
A full scale wind energy research station promoting collaboration among academia, industry, and government.
The UMN St. Anthony Falls Laboratory Eolos Wind Energy
Research Station was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy as
a research center for advancing wind energy and collaboration
among academic, industry, and government agencies.
I assisted in installing fiber optic strain gauges and accelerometers
along the interior of the 46m turbine blades used to monitor forces
experienced by each blade during turbine operation.
For examples of data collected from the turbine blades, foundation
sensors, and meteorological tower, please visit the links to the right.
Updated: April 22, 2015
4. Hill, C., Musa, M., Chamorro, L., Ellis, C., and Guala, M. (2014). “Local scour around a model hydrokinetic turbine in an erodible channel.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 140(8),
04014037.
Hill, C., Musa, M., and Guala, M. (2015). “Interactions between instream axial flow hydrokinetic turbines and uni-directional flow bedforms.” Under revision, Ren.
Energy.
Marine Hydrokinetic Energy
Interactions between hydrokinetic turbines, complex topography, and sediment transport.
Uncertainties surrounding the interactions between hydrokinetic devices and the
surrounding ecological and physical environment are one of the lengthy and costly barriers
that the burgeoning hydrokinetic energy industry faces. Through my research, I aim to
expand the understanding of the interaction between devices and the morphodynamic
environment, hopefully leading to accelerated environmental impact assessment processes
and fewer permitting barriers for the development of the MHK industry. My research has
also provided promising insights applicable for advanced device control in complex
energetic environments.
Through the use of multi-scale laboratory experiments, I investigate the local and far-field
effects MHK devices have on sediment transport, as well as how complex topography of all
sizes impacts device performance and wake characteristics, important quantities to
understand when design multi-turbine array power plants.
Local erosion and
deposition downstream of
an axial-flow marine
turbine.
Experimental instrumentation and setupStudying the effects of turbine spacing on erosion and deposition in clear water (below
left) and live bed (below right) sediment transport conditions, including how device
performance changes in mobile substrate environments.
Updated: April 22, 2015
5. Chamorro, L.P., Hill, C., Morton, S., Ellis, C., Arndt, R.E.A. and Sotiropoulos, F., (2013). “On the interaction between a turbulent open channel flow and an axial-flow
turbine,” J. Fluid Mech., 716: 658-670.
Neary, V.S., Gunawan, B., Hill, C., and Chamorro, L.P. (2013). “Near and far field flow disturbances induced by a model hydrokinetic turbine: ADV and ADP comparison.
Ren. Energy, 60: 1-6.
Chamorro, L.P., Hill, C., Neary, V.S., Gunawan, B., Arndt, R.E.A., and Sotiropoulos, F., (2015), “Effect of energetic coherent motions on the power and wake of an axial-
flow turbine,” under revision, Phys. Fluids.
Gunawan, B., Neary, V.S., and Hill, C. (2015), “Comparison of fixed and moving vessel ADCP measurements in a large laboratory flume,” under revision, J. Hydraul. Eng.
Marine Hydrokinetic Energy
Turbine response to energetic coherent turbulent inflow conditions.
I collected detailed velocity and performance measurements in
a large-scale open channel flume at SAFL to investigate
turbulent wake characteristics and performance of an axial-flow
turbine (color contour images at right).
In collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL),
obstacles of various diameters were positioned upstream of the
turbine to investigate the impact energetic coherent turbulent
eddies had on device performance, near-field wake
characteristics (i.e. tip vortex), and far-field wake velocity deficit
recovery (bottom right). Synchronous high resolution
measurements from acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) and
turbine torque and angular velocity provided insight into the
dynamics and response of turbines in the presence of large-
scale coherent eddies.
SAFL continues to develop partnerships with leading MHK
industry partners and emerging device developers. Currently
we are working with Verdant Power on their next-generation
device development and site-specific optimization for the
Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) Site through a project
funded by the National Science Foundation.
Updated: April 22, 2015
6. Marine Hydrokinetic Energy
U.S. Department of Energy Reference Model Testing Program.
I designed the mechanical system and instrumentation sensor integration for
scaled reference model axial flow turbine (1:40 scale, top right) and cross flow
turbine (1:15 scale, bottom right) using Solidworks. Detailed dimensioned
drawings for each component were required for fabrication.
The U.S. Department of Energy reference model program aims to accelerate
the development of marine and hydrokinetic turbines. I performed experiments
at SAFL using the dual-rotor models for both turbines. Measurements were
collected on detailed performance and wake velocity characteristics.
The robust dataset on device performance and wake velocity characteristics
serves as a extensive validation dataset for development of computational
models used for research and development of MHK technologies.
Cross flow turbine
Axial flow turbine
Experimental setup used to collect high resolution synchronous
measurements of turbine rotor torque, blade rotational velocity, and 3D flow
turbulence in an open-channel test facility at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory.
Updated: April 22, 2015
7. Marine Hydrokinetic Energy
CFD modeling of the U.S. Department of Energy reference model cross flow turbine
Far Wake
Volumetric
Control
Near Wake
Volumetric Control
Left & Right
Rotating Regions
Near Turbine
Volumetric Control
Main Water
Channel Region
Grid refinement in various
regions using polyhedral grid
• I performed Star-CCM+ computational fluid dynamics
modeling of the US Department of Energy reference model
cross flow turbine (RM2). For this project, I utilized Sandia
National Laboratories High Performance Computing (HPC)
resources.
• Completed grid dependence study to examine how blade lift,
drag, and torque characteristics changed over a range of
coarse to fine grid cell sizes.
• Used rotating reference frames to model counter-rotating
turbine rotors. Monitored blade forces, turbine performance,
and wake characteristics to compare to measured
experimental values from SAFL.
Comparison between simulations and measured
experimental values of torque vs. angle during rotation.
Updated: April 22, 2015
8. Wave Energy Conversion
Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark – Modeling and Control of WECs
WaveStar, a full-scale
WEC device visited in
Hanstholm, Denmark
Laboratory facilities used for testing control
strategies for model point-absorber WECs
Comparing numerical vs. experimental results for heave
motion of model point-absorber WEC (shown below).
Two-week training in Control and Modeling of Wave Energy Converters
at Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
Work included small-scale modeling, control algorithm development,
numerical modeling of WEC control and motion, and observation of multi-
scale WEC research and development.
Course topics: WEC power estimation, production and analysis, wave
measurements and analysis, wave theory, wave-to-wire numerical
modeling, floating body response, and laboratory experimental
techniques.
Updated: April 22, 2015
9. Khosronejad, A., Hill, C., Kang, S., and Sotiropoulos, F. (2013), “Computational and experimental investigation of scour past laboratory models of stream restoration rock
structures,” Adv. Water Res., 54: 191-207.
Kang, S., Lightbody, A., Hill, C., and Sotiropoulos, F., (2011), “High-resolution numerical simulation of turbulence in natural waterways,” Adv. Water Res., 43: 98-113.
Khosronejad, A., Kozarek, L.J., Diplas, P., Jha, R., Hill, C., and Sotiropoulos, F. (2015). “Simulation-based approach for in-stream structure design: Rock-vanes.” Under
review, J. Hydraul. Eng.
Personal Training in Stream Restoration:
Certificate in Stream Restoration Science and Engineering,
2008. National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics through the
University of Minnesota.
Rosgen Training Level 1 (Applied Fluvial Geomorphology) and 2
(River Morphology and Applications) through Wildland
Hydrology.
Instream Flow Control and Stream Restoration Structures
Improving flow and erosion control structures using a multi-scale scientific approach.
Large-scale
experiments
Small-scale laboratory
experiments
Field
measurements
Numerical simulations
Funded by the National Cooperative Highway Research
Program (NCHRP), the project aimed to develop design
guidelines for flow-control structures commonly used in
streambank stabilization projects, for example, rock vanes,
J-hook vanes, cross vanes, W-weirs, and bendway weirs.
Multi-scale physical and computational models were
employed (images at right), including small-scale laboratory
measurements, large-scale measurements in the SAFL
Outdoor StreamLab, field-scale site measurements, and
numerical validation and simulations for multiple scales.
I was the lead research engineer for the indoor laboratory
experiments, measurements, and analysis, as well as the
field site measurements.
Updated: April 22, 2015
10. River Delta Dynamics
Modeling river delta dynamics to understanding delta formation, restoration, and preservation
Experimental river delta studies to investigate the surface
processes and channel sedimentation and avulsion dynamics.
Managed oil industry consortium courses on shallow and
deep water fluvial-deltaic environments, including course
planning and coordination, data collection and analysis, and
participation in teaching course participants.
Created sub-surface stratigraphic records preserved during
experiments to measure delta growth rate, sediment retention
capabilities, and mark sequence stratigraphic boundaries to
compare to surface processes and surface topography
recorded during the experiments.
Wax Lake Delta, Louisiana
The above images show the type of high resolution elevation data I
would collect from experimental delta research projects. The 2mm by
2mm grid elevation data provided opportunities to monitor channel
overbank and in-channel sedimentation processes. These data along
with field measurements from deltas such as the Wax Lake Delta in
Louisiana provide datasets for numerical model validation to improve our
understanding of delta growth and sediment redistribution processes.
Updated: April 22, 2015
11. Remote Southwest Alaska Fieldwork
Mineral assessment of the Aniak Mining District, SW Alaska
• Field geologist for the Bureau of Land Management,
Alaska, assisting with mineral assessment of remote SW
Alaska.
• Daily work included monitoring communication
equipment to base camp area, extended daily field site
visits via helicopter and hiking, and identification and
reporting of mineralogical findings each day.
Setting up communications instrumentation in the field
Field site visits in remote SW Alaska
Daily mode of
transportation
Updated: April 22, 2015