scholarly journals A fracture mechanics framework for optimising design and inspection of offshore wind turbine support structures against fatigue failure

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 677-699
Author(s):  
Peyman Amirafshari ◽  
Feargal Brennan ◽  
Athanasios Kolios
Keyword(s):  
Fracture Mechanics ◽  
Fatigue Failure ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Support Structures ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Support Structure ◽  
Service Inspection

Abstract. Offshore wind turbine (OWT) support structures need to be designed against fatigue failure under cyclic aerodynamic and wave loading. The fatigue failure can be accelerated in a corrosive sea environment. Traditionally, a stress–life approach called the S–N (stress–number of cycles) curve method has been used for the design of structures against fatigue failure. There are a number of limitations in the S–N approach related to welded structures which can be addressed by the fracture mechanics approach. In this paper the limitations of the S–N approach related to OWT support structure are addressed and a fatigue design framework based on fracture mechanics is developed. The application of the framework to a monopile OWT support structure is demonstrated and optimisation of in-service inspection of the structure is studied. It was found that both the design of the weld joint and non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques can be optimised to reduce in-service inspection frequency. Furthermore, probabilistic fracture mechanics as a form of risk-based design is outlined and its application to the monopile support structure is studied. The probabilistic model showed a better capability to account for NDT reliability over a range of possible crack sizes as well as to provide a risk associated with the chosen inspection time which can be used in inspection cost–benefit analysis. There are a number of areas for future research, including a better estimate of fatigue stress with a time-history analysis, the application of the framework to other types of support structures such as jackets and tripods, and integration of risk-based optimisation with a cost–benefit analysis.

scholarly journals A fracture mechanics framework for optimising design and inspection of offshore Wind Turbine support structures against fatigue failure

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peyman Amirafshari ◽  
Feargal Brenan ◽  
Athanasios Kolios
Keyword(s):  
Fracture Mechanics ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Fatigue Failure ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Support Structures ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Support Structure

Abstract. Offshore Wind Turbine (OWT) support structures need to be designed against fatigue failure under cyclic aerodynamic and wave loading. The fatigue failure can be accelerated in a corrosive sea environment. Traditionally, a stress-life approach called the S-N curve method has been used for design of structures against fatigue failure. There are a number of limitations in S-N approach related to welded structures which can be addressed by the fracture mechanics approach. In this paper the limitations of the S-N approach related to OWT support structure are addressed, a fatigue design framework based on fracture mechanics is developed. The application of the framework to a monopile OWT support structure is demonstrated and optimisation of in-service inspection of the structure is studied. It was found that both the design of the weld joint and Non-destructive testing techniques can be optimised to reduce In-service frequency. Furthermore, probabilistic fracture mechanics as a form of risk-based design is outlined and its application to the monopile support structure is studied. The probabilistic model showed to possess a better capability to account for NDT reliability over a range of possible crack sizes as well as providing a risk associated with the chosen inspection time which can be used in inspection cost benefit analysis. There are a number of areas for future research. including better estimate of fatigue stress with a time-history analysis, the application of framework to other types of support structures such as Jackets and Tripods, and integration of risk-based optimisation with a cost benefit analysis.

scholarly journals Guidelines and Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Structural Health Monitoring Implementation in Offshore Wind Turbine Support Structures

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Martinez-Luengo ◽  
Mahmood Shafiee
Keyword(s):  
Structural Health Monitoring ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Hardware Cost ◽  
Structural Health

This paper investigates how the implementation of Structural Health Monitoring Systems (SHMS) in the support structure (SS) of offshore wind turbines (OWT) affects capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) of offshore wind farms (WF). In order to determine the added value of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), the balance between the reduction in OPEX and the increase in CAPEX is evaluated. In this paper, guidelines for SHM implementation in offshore WF are developed and applied to a baseline scenario. The application of these guidelines consist of a review of present regulations in the United Kingdom and Germany, the development of SHM strategy, where the first stage of the Statistical Pattern Recognition (SPR) paradigm is explored, failure modes that can be monitored are identified, and SHM technologies and sensor distributions within the turbines are described for a baseline scenario. Furthermore, an inspection strategy where the different structural inspections to be carried out above and below water is also developed, together with an inspection plan for the lifetime of the structures, for the aforementioned baseline scenario. Once the guidelines have been followed and the SHM and inspection strategies developed, a cost-benefit analysis is performed on the baseline case (10% instrumented assets) and three other scenarios with 20%, 30% and 50% of instrumented assets. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to evaluate the effects of SHM hardware cost and the time spent in completing the inspections on OPEX and CAPEX of the WF. The results show that SHM hardware cost increases CAPEX significantly, however this increase is much lower than the reduction in OPEX caused by SHM. The results also show that an increase in the percentage of instrumented assets will reduce OPEX and this reduction is considerably higher than the cost of SHM implementation.

Strength Assessment of Jacket Offshore Wind Turbine Support Structure Accounting for Rupture1

2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Baran Yeter ◽  
Yordan Garbatov ◽  
C. Guedes Soares
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Low Cycle Fatigue ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Support Structures ◽  
Support Structure ◽  
Strength Assessment ◽  
High Stress Concentration

The objective of the present work is to carry out the strength assessment of jacket offshore wind turbine support structures subjected to progressive rupture. A defect existing in a structure made during the fabrication may turn into a small-scale rupture and because of the high-stress concentration and low-cycle fatigue load. Therefore, the ultimate load-carrying capacity of the support structure is analyzed accounting for the progress of the rupture until the leg component experiences a full rupture along its circumference. The effect of imperfection severity is also investigated. The moment–curvature relationship of the structure concerning the studied cases is presented. Furthermore, the jacket support structures, at different water depths, are also analyzed and discussed. Finally, some of the leg components are removed one by one to study the redundancy of the jacket support structure at 80-m water depth.

scholarly journals Some Aspects of Cost/ Benefit Analysis for In-Service Inspection of PWR Steam Generators

1981 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. Zima ◽  
G. H. Lyon ◽  
P. G. Doctor ◽  
G. R. Hoenes ◽  
S. E. Petty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Steam Generators ◽  
Service Inspection

Strength Assessment of Jacket Offshore Wind Turbine Support Structure Accounting for Rupture

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baran Yeter ◽  
Yordan Garbatov ◽  
C. Guedes Soares
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Low Cycle Fatigue ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Support Structures ◽  
Support Structure ◽  
Strength Assessment ◽  
High Stress Concentration

The objective of the present work is to carry out the strength assessment of jacket offshore wind turbine support structures subjected to progressive rupture. A defect existing in a structure made during the fabrication may turn into a small-scale rupture and because of the high-stress concentration and low-cycle fatigue load. Therefore, the ultimate load-carrying capacity of the support structure is analysed accounting for the progress of the rupture until the leg component experiences a full rupture along its circumference. The effect of the severity of the imperfection is also investigated through 3 case studies that are created by varying the amplitude of the waves. The moment-curvature relationship of the structure with respect to the studied cases is presented. Furthermore, the jacket support structures, at different water depths, are also analysed and discussed. Finally, some of the leg components are removed one by one to study the redundancy of the jacket support structure at 80-m water depth.

scholarly journals Cost Benefit Analysis of Mothership Concept and Investigation of Optimum Chartering Strategy for Offshore Wind Farms

2015 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 63-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yalcin Dalgic ◽  
Iraklis Lazakis ◽  
Iain Dinwoodie ◽  
David McMillan ◽  
Matthew Revie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms

Reliability of Offshore Wind Turbine Support Structures Subjected to Extreme Wave-Induced Loads and Defects

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baran Yeter ◽  
Yordan Garbatov ◽  
C. Guedes Soares
Keyword(s):  
Service Life ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Crack Growth ◽  
Low Cycle Fatigue ◽  
Limit State ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Cycle Fatigue ◽  
Support Structures ◽  
Support Structure

The probability of existence of defects, fatigue damage and crack growth in the offshore wind turbine support structures subjected to extreme waves and wind-induced loads is very high and may occur at a faster rate in a low cycle fatigue regime and crack growth, leading to a dramatic reduction in the service life of structures. It is therefore vital to assess the safety and reliability of offshore wind turbine support structures at sea. The aim of the present study is to carry out a low cycle fatigue and crack growth reliability analysis of an offshore wind turbine support structure during the service life. The analysis includes different loading scenarios and accounts for the uncertainties related to the structural geometrical characteristics, the size of the manufacturing and during the service life defects, crack growth, material properties, and model assumed in the numerical analyses. The probability of failure is defined as a serial system of two probabilistic events described by two limit state functions. The first one is related to a crack initiation based on the local strain approach and the second one on the crack growth applying the fracture mechanic approach. The first and second order reliability methods are used to estimate the reliability index and the effect of low cycle fatigue and crack growth on the reliability estimate of the offshore wind turbine support structure. The sensitivity analysis is performed in order to determine the degree of the significance of the random variables and several conclusions are derived.

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