Using Nonlinear Wave Kinematics to Estimate the Loads on Offshore Wind Turbines in 3-Hour Sea States

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Bunnik ◽  
Erik-Jan de Ridder
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Nonlinear Wave ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Wave Model ◽  
Breaking Waves ◽  
Model Tests ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Wave Loads ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbines ◽  
Wave Basin

The effects of operational wave loads and wind loads on offshore mono pile wind turbines are well understood. For most sites, however, the water depth is such that breaking or near-breaking waves will occur causing impulsive excitation of the mono pile and consequently considerable stresses, displacements and accelerations in the monopile, tower and turbine. As has been shown in earlier, recent publications, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be used to accurately analyze wave impacts on offshore wind turbines. However, it is not yet well suited to study the statistical variability of wave impact loads in long-duration sea states, and thus estimate the ULS and ALS loads for which a wind turbine has to be designed. An alternative, simplified approach, is the use of a Morison model in which the kinematics (water particle velocities and accelerations) from a nonlinear wave model are used. For long-crested waves the nonlinear wave model can be run in a 2D mode and is therefore relatively cheap. In this paper model tests for steep and breaking waves on an offshore wind turbine are compared with results from the Morison model. First, a deterministic comparison is made between the wave loads from the model tests and the simulation model (simulating the same 3-hour wave realization as in the basin), which turns out to be difficult because of differences between wave reflections in the wave basin (a physical beach) and the numerical wave model (absorbing boundary condition). Second, a statistical comparison is made by comparing with different wave realizations measured in the wave basin.

Irregular Nonlinear Wave Simulation and Associated Loads on Offshore Wind Turbines

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Marino ◽  
H. Nguyen ◽  
C. Lugni ◽  
L. Manuel ◽  
C. Borri
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Nonlinear Wave ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Breaking Waves ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Wave Modeling ◽  
Linear Solution ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbines

The accuracy of predicted loads on offshore wind turbines depends on the mathematical models employed to describe the combined action of the wind and waves. Using a global simulation framework that employs a domain-decomposition strategy for computational efficiency, this study investigates the effects of nonlinear waves on computed loads on the support structure (monopile) and the rotor–nacelle assembly of a bottom-supported offshore wind turbine. The fully nonlinear (FNL) numerical wave solver is invoked only on subdomains where nonlinearities are detected; thus, only locally in space and time, a linear solution (and associated Morison hydrodynamics) is replaced by the FNL one. An efficient carefully tuned linear–nonlinear transition scheme makes it possible to run long simulations such that effects from weakly nonlinear up to FNL events, such as imminent breaking waves, can be accounted for. The unsteady nonlinear free-surface problem governing the propagation of gravity waves is formulated using potential theory and a higher-order boundary element method (HOBEM) is used to discretize Laplace’s equation. The FNL solver is employed and associated hydrodynamic loads are simulated in conjunction with aerodynamic loads on the rotor of a 5-MW wind turbine using the NREL open-source software, fast. We assess load statistics associated with a single severe sea state. Such load statistics are needed in evaluating relevant load cases specified in offshore wind turbine design guidelines; in this context, the influence of nonlinear wave modeling and its selection over alternative linear or linearized wave modeling is compared. Ultimately, a study such as this one will seek to evaluate long-term loads using the FNL solver in computations directed toward reliability-based design of offshore wind turbines where a range of sea states will need to be evaluated.

Design and Testing of Scale Model Wind Turbines for Use in Wind/Wave Basin Model Tests of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Fowler ◽  
Richard W. Kimball ◽  
Dale A. Thomas ◽  
Andrew J. Goupee
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Model Tests ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbines ◽  
Floating Offshore Wind Turbines ◽  
Wave Basin ◽  
Scale Design

Model basin testing is a standard practice in the design process for offshore floating structures and has recently been applied to floating offshore wind turbines. 1/50th scale model tests performed by the DeepCwind Consortium at Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) in 2011 on various platform types were able to capture the global dynamic behavior of commercial scale model floating wind turbine systems; however, due to the severe mismatch in Reynolds number between full scale and model scale, the strictly Froude-scaled, geometrically similar wind turbine underperformed greatly. This required significant modification of test wind speeds to match key wind turbine aerodynamic loads, such as thrust. To execute more representative floating wind turbine model tests, it is desirable to have a model wind turbine that more closely matches the performance of the full scale design. This work compares the wind tunnel performance, under Reynolds numbers corresponding to model test Froude-scale conditions, of an alternative wind turbine designed to emulate the performance of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5 MW turbine. Along with the test data, the design methodology for creating this wind turbine is presented including the blade element momentum theory design of the performance-matched turbine using the open-source tools WT_Perf and XFoil. In addition, a strictly Froude-scale NREL 5 MW wind turbine design is also tested to provide a basis of comparison for the improved designs. While the improved, performance-matched turbine was designed to more closely match the NREL 5 MW design in performance under low model test Reynolds numbers, it did not maintain geometric similitude in the blade chord and thickness orientations. Other key Froude scaling parameters, such as blade lengths and rotor operational speed, were maintained for the improved designs. The results of this work support the development of protocols for properly designing scale model wind turbines that emulate the full scale design for Froude-scale wind/wave basin tests of floating offshore wind turbines.

scholarly journals The Effect of the Second-Order Wave Loads on Drift Motion of a Semi-Submersible Floating Offshore Wind Turbine

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 859
Author(s):  
Thanh-Dam Pham ◽  
Hyunkyoung Shin
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Wave Loads ◽  
Hydrodynamic Loads ◽  
Drift Motion ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbines ◽  
Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

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.

Experimental Study on the Wave Loads on Monopile and Jacket Type Support of Offshore Wind Turbines

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Qin Liu ◽  
Xing Hua Shi ◽  
C. Guedes Soares
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Nonlinear Wave ◽  
Wave Force ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Wave Forces ◽  
Wave Loads ◽  
Morison Equation ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbines

As the offshore fixed wind turbine developed, more ones will be installed in the sea field with the depth 15–50 meters. Wave force will be one of the main forces that dominate the design of the wind turbine base, which is calculated using the Morison equation traditionally. This method can predict the wave forces for the small cylinders if the drag and inertia coefficients are obtained accurately. This paper will give a series scaled tests of monopile and jacket type base of the offshore wind turbine in tank to study the nonlinear wave loads.

On the Modeling of Nonlinear Waves for Prediction of Long-Term Offshore Wind Turbine Loads

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Agarwal ◽  
L. Manuel
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Return Period ◽  
Wave Model ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbines ◽  
Irregular Wave ◽  
Inflow Turbulence

In the design of wind turbines—onshore or offshore—the prediction of extreme loads associated with a target return period requires statistical extrapolation from available loads data. The data required for such extrapolation are obtained by stochastic time-domain simulation of the inflow turbulence, the incident waves, and the turbine response. Prediction of accurate loads depends on assumptions made in the simulation models employed. While for the wind, inflow turbulence models are relatively well established, for wave input, the current practice is to model irregular (random) waves using a linear wave theory. Such a wave model does not adequately represent waves in shallow waters where most offshore wind turbines are being sited. As an alternative to this less realistic wave model, the present study investigates the use of irregular nonlinear (second-order) waves for estimating loads on an offshore wind turbine, with a focus on the fore-aft tower bending moment at the mudline. We use a 5MW utility-scale wind turbine model for the simulations. Using, first, simpler linear irregular wave modeling assumptions, we establish long-term loads and identify governing environmental conditions (i.e., the wind speed and wave height) that are associated with the 20-year return period load derived using the inverse first-order reliability method. We present the nonlinear irregular wave model next and incorporate it into an integrated wind-wave-response simulation analysis program for offshore wind turbines. We compute turbine loads for the governing environmental conditions identified with the linear model and also for an extreme environmental state. We show that computed loads are generally larger with the nonlinear wave modeling assumptions; this establishes the importance of using such refined nonlinear wave models in stochastic simulation of the response of offshore wind turbines.

scholarly journals Nonlinear Wave Loads on Offshore Wind Turbines: Extreme Statistics and Fatigue

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Paul D. Sclavounos
Keyword(s):  
Nonlinear Wave ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Wave Loads ◽  
Extreme Statistics ◽  
Support Structure ◽  
Nonlinear Load ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbines ◽  
Floating Offshore Wind Turbines ◽  
The Time Domain

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.

Comparison of Three Different TLPs for Wind Turbines by Tank Tests and Calculated Results

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Adam ◽  
T. Myland ◽  
F. Dahlhaus ◽  
J. Großmann
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Dynamic Behavior ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Main Part ◽  
Natural Frequencies ◽  
Type Structure ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Wave Loads ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbines ◽  
Short Overview

This paper will give a short overview of the path of development of the so called GICON® - Tension Leg Platform (TLP) for offshore wind turbines. The main part of the paper will provide a summary as well as insights from three different model basin tests. Furthermore, the comparison of a truss like structure (first concept) with a shell type structure (third concept) deduced from the measured results and also by comparison of the natural frequencies will be presented. Both structures were tested in wave tanks in a scale of 1:25. The results also include a focus on the overall dynamic behavior of the structure. In addition to the two 1:25 models, a 1:37 model was also tested at MARIN, utilizing the MARIN stock wind turbine. This model is also included in the comparison. Therefore the different scales are considered but the comparison is presented exclusively for wave loads as only the 1:37 model was tested under wind and wave conditions.

Wind/Wave Misalignment Effects on Mooring Line Tensions for a Spar Buoy Wind Turbine

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigia Riefolo ◽  
Fernando del Jesus ◽  
Raúl Guanche García ◽  
Giuseppe Roberto Tomasicchio ◽  
Daniela Pantusa
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Wind Wave ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Mooring Line ◽  
Ultimate Limit State ◽  
International Electrotechnical Commission ◽  
Wave Loads ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbines ◽  
Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

The design methodology for mooring systems for a spar buoy wind turbine considers the influence of extreme events and wind/wave misalignments occurring in its lifetime. Therefore, the variety of wind and wave directions affects over the seakeeping and as a result the evaluation of the maxima loads acting on the spar-buoy wind turbine. In the present paper, the importance of wind/wave misalignments on the dynamic response of spar-type floating wind turbine [1] is investigated. Based on standards, International Electrotechnical Commission IEC and Det Norske Veritas DNV the design of position moorings should be carried out under extreme wind/wave loads, taking into account their misalignments with respect to the structure. In particular, DNV standard, in ‘Position mooring’ recommendations, specifies in the load cases definition, if site specific data is not available, to consider non-collinear environment to have wave towards the unit’s bow (0°) and wind 30° relative to the waves. In IEC standards, the misalignment of the wind and wave directions shall be considered to design offshore wind turbines and calculate the loads acting on the support structure. Ultimate Limit State (ULS) analyses of the OC3-Hywind spar buoy wind turbine are conducted through FAST code, a certified nonlinear aero-hydro-servo-elastic simulation tool by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s). This software was developed for use in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Offshore Code Comparison Collaborative (OC3) project, and supports NREL’s offshore 5-MW baseline turbine. In order to assess the effects of misaligned wind and wave, different wind directions are chosen, maintaining the wave loads perpendicular to the structure. Stochastic, full-fields, turbulence simulator Turbsim is used to simulate the 1-h turbulent wind field. The scope of the work is to investigate the effects of wind/wave misalignments on the station-keeping system of spar buoy wind turbine. Results are presented in terms of global maxima determined through mean up-crossing with moving average, which, then, are modelled by a Weibull distribution. Finally, extreme values are estimated depending on global maxima and fitted on Gumbel distribution. The Most Probable Maximum value of mooring line tensions is found to be influenced by the wind/wave misalignments. The present paper is organized as follows. Section ‘Introduction’, based on a literature study, gives useful information on the previous studies conducted on the wind/wave misalignments effects of floating offshore wind turbines. Section ‘Methodology’ describes the applied methodology and presents the spar buoy wind turbine, the used numerical model and the selected environmental conditions. Results and the corresponding discussion are given in Section ‘Results and discussion’ for each load case corresponding to the codirectional and misaligned wind and wave loads. Results are presented and discussed in time and frequency domains. Finally, in Section ‘Conclusion’ some conclusions are drawn.

On the Modeling of Nonlinear Waves for Prediction of Long-Term Offshore Wind Turbine Loads

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Agarwal ◽  
L. Manuel
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Return Period ◽  
Wave Model ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbines ◽  
Irregular Wave ◽  
Inflow Turbulence

In the design of wind turbines—onshore or offshore—the prediction of extreme loads associated with a target return period requires statistical extrapolation from available loads data. The data required for such extrapolation are obtained by stochastic time-domain simulation of the inflow turbulence, the incident waves, and the turbine response. Prediction of accurate loads depends on assumptions made in the simulation models employed. While for the wind, inflow turbulence models are relatively well established; for wave input, the current practice is to model irregular (random) waves using a linear wave theory. Such a wave model does not adequately represent waves in shallow waters where most offshore wind turbines are being sited. As an alternative to this less realistic wave model, the present study investigates the use of irregular nonlinear (second-order) waves for estimating loads on an offshore wind turbine with a focus on the fore-aft tower bending moment at the mudline. We use a 5 MW utility-scale wind turbine model for the simulations. Using, first, simpler linear irregular wave modeling assumptions, we establish long-term loads and identify governing environmental conditions (i.e., the wind speed and wave height) that are associated with the 20-year return period load derived using the inverse first-order reliability method. We present the nonlinear irregular wave model next and incorporate it into an integrated wind-wave response simulation analysis program for offshore wind turbines. We compute turbine loads for the governing environmental conditions identified with the linear model and also for an extreme environmental state. We show that computed loads are generally larger with the nonlinear wave modeling assumptions; this establishes the importance of using such refined nonlinear wave models in stochastic simulation of the response of offshore wind turbines.

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