scholarly journals Development of Combined Load Spectra for Offshore Structures Subjected to Wind, Wave, and Ice Loading

Energies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 559
Author(s):  
Moritz Braun ◽  
Alfons Dörner ◽  
Kane F. ter Veer ◽  
Tom Willems ◽  
Marc Seidel ◽  
...  

Fixed offshore wind turbines continue to be developed for high latitude areas where not only wind and wave loads need to be considered but also moving sea ice. Current rules and regulations for the design of fixed offshore structures in ice-covered waters do not adequately consider the effects of ice loading and its stochastic nature on the fatigue life of the structure. Ice crushing on such structures results in ice-induced vibrations, which can be represented by loading the structure using a variable-amplitude loading (VAL) sequence. Typical offshore load spectra are developed for wave and wind loading. Thus, a combined VAL spectrum is developed for wind, wave, and ice action. To this goal, numerical models are used to simulate the dynamic ice-, wind-, and wave-structure interaction. The stress time-history at an exemplarily selected critical point in an offshore wind energy monopile support structure is extracted from the model and translated into a VAL sequence, which can then be used as a loading sequence for the fatigue assessment or fatigue testing of welded joints of offshore wind turbine support structures. This study presents the approach to determine combined load spectra and standardized time series for wind, wave, and ice action.

Author(s):  
Moritz Braun ◽  
Alfons Dörner ◽  
Kane Falco ter Veer ◽  
Tom Willems ◽  
Marc Seidel ◽  
...  

Fixed offshore wind turbines continue to be developed for high latitude areas where not only wind and wave loads need to be considered, but also moving sea ice. Current rules and regulations for the design of fixed offshore structures in ice-covered waters do not adequately consider effects of ice loading and its stochastic nature on fatigue life of the structure. Ice crushing on such structures results in ice-induced vibrations, which can be represented by loading the structure using a variable-amplitude loading (VAL) sequence. Typical offshore load spectra are developed for wave and wind loading. Thus, a combined VAL spectrum is developed for wind, wave, and ice action. To this goal, numerical models are used to simulate the dynamic ice-, wind-, and wave-structure interaction. The stress time-history at an exemplarily selected critical point in an offshore wind energy monopile support structure is extracted from the model and translated into a VAL sequence, which can then be used as a loading sequence for the fatigue assessment or fatigue testing of welded joints of offshore wind turbine support structures. This study presents the approach to determine combined load spectra and standardized time series for wind, wave, and ice action.


Author(s):  
Wenhua Wang ◽  
Zhen Gao ◽  
Xin Li ◽  
Torgeir Moan

Offshore wind turbines (OWTs) might be subjected to seismic loads with different peak accelerations during operation in the actively seismic regions. The earthquakes might be a potential risk for the OWTs due to its stochastic nature. Earthquake with wind and wave loads could act on OWT at the same time; thus, the structural responses of such OWTs should be analyzed taking into consideration the reasonable load combinations. Based on the hydro-elastic similarity, an integrated model of the combined National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5 MW wind turbine and a practical pentapod substructure is designed for testing. The governing equations of motion of the integrated OWT are established. The dynamic tests and numerical analysis of the OWT model are performed under different combinations of seismic, wind, and sea load conditions. The El Centro and American Petroleum Institute (API)-based synthesized seismic waves with different peak ground accelerations (PGAs) are considered in this study. The numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental ones. The coupling effect of the OWT structure under the combined load conditions is demonstrated from the experimental and numerical results. The results indicate that the interaction of earthquake, wind, wave, and current should be taken into account in order to obtain proper structural response, especially with small PGA.


Author(s):  
Jose´ G. Rangel-Rami´rez ◽  
John D. So̸rensen

Deterioration processes such as fatigue and corrosion are typically affecting offshore structures. To “control” this deterioration, inspection and maintenance activities are developed. Probabilistic methodologies represent an important tool to identify the suitable strategy to inspect and control the deterioration in structures such as offshore wind turbines (OWT). Besides these methods, the integration of condition monitoring information (CMI) can optimize the mitigation activities as an updating tool. In this paper, a framework for risk-based inspection and maintenance planning (RBI) is applied for OWT incorporating CMI, addressing this analysis to fatigue prone details in welded steel joints at jacket or tripod steel support structures for offshore wind turbines. The increase of turbulence in wind farms is taken into account by using a code-based turbulence model. Further, additional modes t integrate CMI in the RBI approach for optimal planning of inspection and maintenance. As part of the results, the life cycle reliabilities and inspection times are calculated, showing that earlier inspections are needed at in-wind farm sites. This is expected due to the wake turbulence increasing the wind load. With the integration of CMI by means Bayesian inference, a slightly change of first inspection times are coming up, influenced by the reduction of the uncertainty and harsher or milder external agents.


Author(s):  
Wenhua Wang ◽  
Zhen Gao ◽  
Xin Li ◽  
Torgeir Moan ◽  
Bin Wang

In the last decade the wind energy industry has developed rapidly in China, especially offshore. For a water depth less than 20m, monopile and multi-pile substructures (tripod, pentapod) are applied widely in offshore wind farms. Some wind farms in China are located in high seismicity regions, thus, the earthquake load may become the dominant load for offshore wind turbines. This paper deals with the seismic behavior of an offshore wind turbine (OWT) consisting of the NREL 5MW baseline wind turbine, a pentapod substructure and a pile foundation of a real offshore wind turbine in China. A test model of the OWT is designed based on the hydro-elastic similarity. Test cases of different load combinations are performed with the environmental conditions generated by the Joint Earthquake, Wave and Current Simulation System and the Simple Wind Field Generation System at Dalian University of Technology, China, in order to investigate the structural dynamic responses under different load conditions. In the tests, a circular disk is used to model the rotor-nacelle system, and a force gauge is fixed at the center of the disk to measure the wind forces during the tests. A series of accelerometers are arranged along the model tower and the pentapod piles, and strain gauges glued on the substructure members are intended to measure the structural dynamic responses. A finite element model of the complete wind turbine is also established in order to compare the theoretical results with the test data. The hydro-elastic similarity is validated based on the comparison of the measured dynamic characteristics and the results of the prototype modal analysis. The numerical results agree well with the experimental data. Based on the comparisons of the results, the effect of the wind and sea loads on the structural responses subjected to seismic is demonstrated, especially the influence on the global response of the structure. It is seen that the effect of the combined seismic, wind, wave and current load conditions can not be simply superimposed. Hence the interaction effect in the seismic analysis should be considered when the wind, wave and current loads have a non-negligible effect.


Author(s):  
G. K. V. Ramachandran ◽  
H. Bredmose ◽  
J. N. Sørensen ◽  
J. J. Jensen

A dynamic model for a tension-leg platform (TLP) floating offshore wind turbine is proposed. The model includes three-dimensional wind and wave loads and the associated structural response. The total system is formulated using 17 degrees of freedom (DOF), 6 for the platform motions and 11 for the wind turbine. Three-dimensional hydrodynamic loads have been formulated using a frequency- and direction-dependent spectrum. While wave loads are computed from the wave kinematics using Morison’s equation, aerodynamic loads are modelled by means of unsteady Blade-Element-Momentum (BEM) theory, including Glauert correction for high values of axial induction factor, dynamic stall, dynamic wake and dynamic yaw. The aerodynamic model takes into account the wind shear and turbulence effects. For a representative geographic location, platform responses are obtained for a set of wind and wave climatic conditions. The platform responses show an influence from the aerodynamic loads, most clearly through a quasi-steady mean surge and pitch response associated with the mean wind. Further, the aerodynamic loads show an influence from the platform motion through more fluctuating rotor loads, which is a consequence of the wave-induced rotor dynamics. In the absence of a controller scheme for the wind turbine, the rotor torque fluctuates considerably, which induces a growing roll response especially when the wind turbine is operated nearly at the rated wind speed. This can be eliminated either by appropriately adjusting the controller so as to regulate the torque or by optimizing the floater or tendon dimensions, thereby limiting the roll motion. Loads and coupled responses are predicted for a set of load cases with different wave headings. Based on the results, critical load cases are identified and discussed. As a next step (which is not presented here), the dynamic model for the substructure is therefore being coupled to an advanced aero-elastic code Flex5, Øye (1996), which has a higher number of DOFs and a controller module.


Author(s):  
Chinsu Mereena Joy ◽  
Anitha Joseph ◽  
Lalu Mangal

Demand for renewable energy sources is rapidly increasing since they are able to replace depleting fossil fuels and their capacity to act as a carbon neutral energy source. A substantial amount of such clean, renewable and reliable energy potential exists in offshore winds. The major engineering challenge in establishing an offshore wind energy facility is the design of a reliable and financially viable offshore support for the wind turbine tower. An economically feasible support for an offshore wind turbine is a compliant platform since it moves with wave forces and offer less resistance to them. Amongst the several compliant type offshore structures, articulated type is an innovative one. It is flexibly linked to the seafloor and can move along with the waves and restoring is achieved by large buoyancy force. This study focuses on the experimental investigations on the dynamic response of a three-legged articulated structure supporting a 5MW wind turbine. The experimental investigations are done on a 1: 60 scaled model in a 4m wide wave flume at the Department of Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. The tests were conducted for regular waves of various wave periods and wave heights and for various orientations of the platform. The dynamic responses are presented in the form of Response Amplitude Operators (RAO). The study results revealed that the proposed articulated structure is technically feasible in supporting an offshore wind turbine because the natural frequencies are away from ocean wave frequencies and the RAOs obtained are relatively small.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 195-202
Author(s):  
Jeong Seon Park

Offshore wind turbine (OWT) receive a combined vertical-horizontal- moment load by wind, waves, and the structure’s own weight. In this study, the bearing capacity for the combined load of the suction foundation of OWT installed on the sandy soil was calculated by finite element analysis. In addition, the stress state of the soil around the suction foundation was analyzed in detail under the condition that a combined load was applied. Based on the results of the analyses, new equations are proposed to calculate the horizontal and moment bearing capacities as well as to define the capacity envelopes under general combined loads.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Mancini ◽  
Koen Boorsma ◽  
Marco Caboni ◽  
Marion Cormier ◽  
Thorsten Lutz ◽  
...  

Abstract. The disruptive potential of floating wind turbines has attracted the interest of both industry and scientific community. Lacking a rigid foundation, such machines are subject to large displacements whose impact on the aerodynamic performance is not yet fully acknowledged. In this work, the unsteady aerodynamic response to an harmonic surge motion of a scaled version of the DTU10MW turbine is investigated in detail. The imposed displacements have been chosen representative of typical platform motions. The results of different numerical models are validated against high fidelity wind tunnel tests specifically focused on the aerodynamics. Also a linear analytical model, relying on the quasi-steady assumption, is presented as a theoretical reference. The unsteady responses are shown to be dominated by the first surge harmonic and a frequency domain characterization, mostly focused on the thrust oscillation, is conducted involving aerodynamic damping and mass parameters. A very good agreement among codes, experiments and quasi-steady theory has been found clarifying some literature doubts. A convenient way to describe the unsteady results in non-dimensional form is proposed, hopefully serving as reference for future work.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Auraluck Pichitkul ◽  
Lakshmi N. Sankar

Abstract Wind engineering technology has been continuously investigated and developed over the past several decades in response to steadily growing demand for renewable energy resources, in order to meet the increased demand for power production, fixed and floating platforms with different mooring configurations have been fielded, accommodating large-scale offshore wind turbines in deep water areas. In this study, the aerodynamic loads on such systems are modeled using a computational structural dynamics solver called OpenFAST developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory, coupled to an in-house computational fluid dynamics solver called GT-Hybrid. Coupling of the structural/aerodynamic motion time history with the CFD analysis is done using an open File I/O process. At this writing, only a one-way coupling has been attempted, feeding the blade motion and structural deformations from OpenFAST into the fluid dynamics analysis. The sectional aerodynamic loads for a large scale 5 MW offshore wind turbine are presented, and compared against the baseline OpenFAST simulations with classical blade element-momentum theory. Encouraging agreement has been observed.


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