Interaction of Load Analysis and Structural Design of Offshore Wind Turbines

Author(s):  
Kimon Argyriadis ◽  
Marcus Klose

The paper presents the necessary considerations for the determination of design loads for offshore wind turbines (OWTs) and OWT support structures. The design of OWTs strongly depends on the environmental conditions such as wind and wave data, ambient temperatures and soil conditions. Load analyses for OWTs are generally done using sophisticated simulation tools which consider the turbulent wind conditions as well as the structural dynamics and the operational behavior of the turbine. Compared to wind turbines onshore, wave loads are an additional element that needs to be considered. Experience shows that the natural frequencies of the support structure highly influence the design loads on the system due to excitation by the rotor. Therefore, the load analysis in combination with optimization of the support structure is an iterative process. A close cooperation between the designing engineers of turbine and support structure is definitely required. The calculation procedure will be presented as well as results from a sample calculation for a typical configuration.

Author(s):  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Paul D. Sclavounos

Abstract The development is presented of an analytical model for the prediction of the stochastic nonlinear wave loads on the support structure of bottom mounted and floating offshore wind turbines. Explicit expressions are derived for the time-domain and frequency-domain nonlinear exciting forces in a seastate with significant wave height comparable to the diameter of the support structure based on the fluid impulse theory. The higher order moments of the nonlinear load are evaluated from simulated force records and the derivation of analytical expressions for the nonlinear load statistics for their efficient use in design is addressed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Paul D. Sclavounos

Abstract The development is presented of an analytical model for the prediction of the stochastic nonlinear wave loads on the support structure of bottom-mounted and floating offshore wind turbines. Explicit expressions are derived for the time-domain and frequency-domain nonlinear exciting forces in a seastate with a significant wave height comparable to the diameter of the support structure based on the fluid impulse theory. The higher-order moments of the nonlinear load are evaluated from simulated force records, and the derivation of analytical expressions for the nonlinear load statistics for their efficient use in design is addressed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pasin Plodpradit ◽  
Van Nguyen Dinh ◽  
Ki-Du Kim

This paper presents theoretical aspects and an extensive numerical study of the coupled analysis of tripod support structures for offshore wind turbines (OWTs) by using X-SEA and FAST v8 programs. In a number of site conditions such as extreme and longer period waves, fast installation, and lighter foundations, tripod structures are more advantageous than monopile and jacket structures. In the implemented dynamic coupled analysis, the sub-structural module in FAST was replaced by the X-SEA offshore substructure analysis component. The time-histories of the reaction forces and the turbine loads were then calculated. The results obtained from X-SEA and from FAST were in good agreement. The pile-soil-structure interaction (PSSI) was included for reliable evaluation of OWT structural systems. The superelement concept was introduced to reduce the computational time. Modal, coupled and uncoupled analyses of the NREL 5MW OWT-tripod support structure including PSSI were carried out and the discussions on the natural frequencies, mode shapes and resulted displacements are presented. Compared to the uncoupled models, the physical interaction between the tower and the support structure in the coupled models resulted in smaller responses. Compared to the fixed support structures, i.e., when PSSI is not included, the piled-support structure has lower natural frequencies and larger responses attributed to its actual flexibility. The models using pile superelements are computationally efficient and give results that are identical to the common finite element models.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 859
Author(s):  
Thanh-Dam Pham ◽  
Hyunkyoung Shin

Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) have been installed in Europe and Japan with relatively modern technology. The installation of floating wind farms in deep water is recommended because the wind speed is stronger and more stable. The design of the FOWT must ensure it is able to withstand complex environmental conditions including wind, wave, current, and performance of the wind turbine. It needs simulation tools with fully integrated hydrodynamic-servo-elastic modeling capabilities for the floating offshore wind turbines. Most of the numerical simulation approaches consider only first-order hydrodynamic loads; however, the second-order hydrodynamic loads have an effect on a floating platform which is moored by a catenary mooring system. At the difference-frequencies of the incident wave components, the drift motion of a FOWT system is able to have large oscillation around its natural frequency. This paper presents the effects of second-order wave loads to the drift motion of a semi-submersible type. This work also aimed to validate the hydrodynamic model of Ulsan University (UOU) in-house codes through numerical simulations and model tests. The NREL FAST code was used for the fully coupled simulation, and in-house codes of UOU generates hydrodynamic coefficients as the input for the FAST code. The model test was performed in the water tank of UOU.


Author(s):  
Jason M. Jonkman ◽  
Rick R. Damiani ◽  
Emmanuel S. P. Branlard ◽  
Matthew Hall ◽  
Amy N. Robertson ◽  
...  

Abstract OpenFAST is an open-source, physics-based engineering tool applicable to the load analysis of land-based and offshore wind turbines, including floating offshore wind turbines. The substructure for a floating wind turbine has historically been modeled in OpenFAST as a rigid body with hydrodynamic loads lumped at a point, which enabled the tool to predict the global response of the floating substructure but not the structural loads within its individual members. This limitation is an impediment to designing floating substructures — especially newer designs that are more streamlined, flexible, and cost-effective. This paper presents the development plan of new capabilities in OpenFAST to model floating substructure flexibility and member-level loads, including the functional requirements and modeling approaches needed to understand and apply them correctly.


Author(s):  
Martin L. Pollack ◽  
Brian J. Petersen ◽  
Benjamin S. H. Connell ◽  
David S. Greeley ◽  
Dwight E. Davis

Coincidence of structural resonances with wind turbine dynamic forces can lead to large amplitude stresses and subsequent accelerated fatigue. For this reason, the wind turbine system is designed to avoid resonance coincidence. In particular, the current practice is to design the wind turbine support structure such that its fundamental resonance does not coincide with the fundamental rotational and blade passing frequencies of the rotor. For offshore wind turbines, resonance avoidance is achieved by ensuring that the support structure fundamental resonant frequency lies in the frequency band between the rotor and blade passing frequencies over the operating range of the turbine. This strategy is referred to as “soft-stiff” and has major implications for the structural design of the wind turbine. This paper details the technical basis for the “soft-stiff” resonance avoidance design methodology, investigates potential vulnerabilities in this approach, and explores the sensitivity of the wind turbine structural response to different aspects of the system’s design. The assessment addresses the wind turbine forcing functions, the coupled dynamic responses and resonance characteristics of the wind turbine’s structural components, and the system’s susceptibility to fatigue failure. It is demonstrated that the design practices for offshore wind turbines should reflect the importance of aerodynamic damping for the suppression of deleterious vibrations, consider the possibility of foundation degradation and its influence on the support structure’s fatigue life, and include proper treatment of important ambient sources such as wave and gust loading. These insights inform potential vibration mitigation and resonance avoidance strategies, which are briefly discussed.


Author(s):  
Atsushi Yamashita ◽  
Kinji Sekita

For the design of offshore wind turbines exposed to wind and wave loads, the method of combining the wind load and the wave load is significantly important to properly calculate the maximum stresses and deflections of the towers and the foundations1). Similarly, for the analysis of the fatigue damage critical to the structural life, the influences of combined wind and wave loads have not been clearly verified. In this paper fatigue damage at the time of typhoon passing is analyzed using actually recorded data, though intrinsically long-term data more than 10years should be used to properly evaluate the fatigue damage. This paper concludes that the fatigue damage of the tower caused by the wave load is not substantial and, thus, the fatigue damage by the combined wind and wave load is only 2–3% larger than the simple addition of the independent fatigue damages by the wind and the wave loads. The fatigue damage of the tower top, which is required to reduce the diameter in order to minimize the aerodynamic confliction with blades, is larger than that of the tower bottom. The fatigue damage at the foundation by the combined wind and wave load is 25% larger than the simple addition of the wind and wave damages, as the foundation is directly exposed to the wave load. For the foundation, the proper structural section can be designed in order to improve the structural performance against fatigue.


Author(s):  
Xiaohong Chen ◽  
Qing Yu

This paper presents the research in support of the development of design requirements for floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs). An overview of technical challenges in the design of FOWTs is discussed, followed by a summary of the case studies using representative FOWT concepts. Three design concepts, including a Spar-type, a TLP-type and a Semisubmersible-type floating support structure carrying a 5-MW offshore wind turbine, are selected for the case studies. Both operational and extreme storm conditions on the US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) are considered. A state-of-the-art simulation technique is employed to perform fully coupled aero-hydro-servo-elastic analysis using the integrated FOWT model. This technique can take into account dynamic interactions among the turbine Rotor-Nacelle Assembly (RNA), turbine control system, floating support structure and stationkeeping system. The relative importance of various design parameters and their impact on the development of design criteria are evaluated through parametric analyses. The paper also introduces the design requirements put forward in the recently published ABS Guide for Building and Classing Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Installations (ABS, 2013).


2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios G. Pavlou

Abstract The structural design of offshore wind turbines is based on the consideration of coupled dynamic phenomena. Wave loads cause the dynamic oscillation of the monopile, and the dynamic oscillation of the monopile affects the wave loads. The boundary conditions of the gravity-based foundation-monopile-turbine system are mostly affected by the flexural stiffness of the foundation plate, the elastic and creep behavior of the soil, and the inertia (translational and rotational) of the wind turbine mass. The design of the foundation should consider the dynamic response of the soil and the monopile, and the dynamic response of the soil and the monopile is affected by the design parameters of the foundation. The initial conditions of the system yield transient dynamic phenomena. A braking wave at t = 0 causes different dynamic response than the steady-state conditions due to a harmonic wave load. In the present work, an integrated analytical model simulating the above dynamic phenomena is proposed. With the aid of double integral transforms and generalized function properties, a solution of the corresponding differential equations for the monopile-soil-foundation system and the boundary and initial conditions is derived. A parametric study is carried out, and results of the effect of the design parameters and soil properties are presented and discussed.


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