Offshore wind

Typical supporting structure (foundations): gravity

based; monopole (drilled or driven); jacket;
tripod; Tripiles; even floating is being considered
Key Statistics by the end of 2013
2080 Offshore Wind Turbines installed and grid
connected
Totalling 6562 MW
69 Wind Farms
11 European countries
Average offshore wind turbine size is 4 MW
2 Full-scale grid connected floating turbines
Trends in the Industry
Installed in deeper water
Larger turbines
Larger wind farms

Offshore Wind Farm Components

Supporting structure
MET mast (i.e. meteorological
mast or a measurement tower)
Placed 2-3 years before OWF i.e.
offshore wind farm
Map environmental conditions
Wind
Waves
Current
Electrical infrastructure
Infield transmission cables
Substation
Shore connection cables
Onshore substation/tie-in

Support Structures and Installation Support structures already listed above: monopole make

up 76%; gravity make up 12%; jackets 5%; tripods 5%; tripiles 2%;
Hub height: Elevation of hub above sea level
Interface level: Elevation of bottom tower flange above sea level
Support structure: Entire structure holding Rotor Nacelle
Assembly (RNA) in place (i.e. tower, substructure and foundation)
Tower: Tubular structure spanning distance between interface
and RNA
Substructure: Part of the structure spanning distance between
interface level and seabed
Foundation: Part of structure in direct contact with soil

Design objectives support structure

1. Survival extreme loads cyclic loads
2. Operation deformations accelerations
3. Optimization for cost reduction
4. Secondary aspects export of energy access and repair
Sources of excitation
1. Wind 2. Waves 3. Other harmonic sources

1. Wind: Need to consider vibration of the tower, blades,

torsion of the shaft, coupled modes. Critical frequencies

include:
1P = rotational frequency of rotor
3P = blade passing frequency (for three blade design)
The design of the tower is dominated by the stiffness requirement to avoid dangerous resonances with
the rotating blades. Therefore, the approach to structural stiffness in design has bearing on the
components weight and production cost. Furthermore, the flexibility of the structure affects the response
to the dynamic load cause by air turbulence. The main technical criteria which govern the structural
stiffness are the bending eigenfrequencies of the components which can be excited by the
rotational frequencies of the rotor.in the case of the 3 blade
turbine (3 per revolution hence 3P) excitation of the rotor is the
main source of a possible resonance oscillation. The most
important eigenfrequencies of the wind turbine are:
1. Flap 1st bending eigenfrequencies out of rotor plan
2. Lag 1st bending eigenfrequencies in rotor plan
3. 2. Flap 2nd bending eigenfrequencies out of rotor plan
The 1st bending eigenfrequencies of the towers are the lowest
resonances in the system.

2. Waves

3. Other harmonic sources?

Mass imbalance rotor Tower shadow Yaw misalignment Aerodynamic imbalances due to
1.wind shear and 2.blade pitch errors
Transformation to loads
Waves and currents (morrisson equation)
Wind (Blade element and momentum theory i.e BEM)
Dynamic interactions
Aerodynamic damping induced by operating rotor
Hydrodynamic forces and structural response
Soil and structure
Interactions between dynamics of different OWEC components

Monopile support structure: components

Foundation pile
Transition piece
Tower
Installation involves Seabed preparation / scour
Transition piece
protection installation Drilling or driving of pile
Grouted joints settlements...
Transition piece options... Tower sections bolted
Conical grouted joints with shear keys
New concepts:
Foundation pile
hammering on flange
Diameter of pile (D)~ 4.0 - 6.5 m
slip joint
thickness (t) ~ 45 110 mm
D/t ~ 80 - 90
Gravity-based support structures
Self weight of gravity base to resist overturning moment / slip
Extra ballast needed offshore (buoyancy forces)
Fabrication
Constructed (hollow) on land - crane lifting capacity
When taken offshore, lifted by crane into position
Ballasted and scour protection made

Multi-member structures (i.e. jacket, tripod and triple)

Why multi-member systems?

Deeper waters, larger turbines (1. thus length and mass increase, and
2. Natural frequency decreases)
For same environmental loading, we require:
- increase in EI, without significantly increasing (mass of support structure per
unit length)
- place material as far away from the neutral line as possible
Thus Large diameter piles OR

Multi-member structures

With deeper water, use of monopole becomes less economic or more impractical. Solutions
required with higher stiffness for equal mass, hence multi-member structures
1. Jackets
Disadvantages
fabrication and welding of many geometrically
complex joints (expensive)
weld details susceptible to higher stress
concentrations/fatigue (extra material requirements)
step down in width necessitates provision of
substantial transition section (heavy!)
piles needed to attach jacket to seabed

2. Tripods
Fabrication of elements and tripods; load out;
transportation; Lifting and landing (offshore); Pile
driving; Turbine installation; jacket load out;
transportation; installation;
3. Tripile
Higher lever arms. 3 grouted transition pieces.
Concept selection? Consider Structural design
(strength and fatigue); fabrication (onshore);
transportation to offshore site; Installation in-situ.
Keep operations & maintenance firmly in mind

Support structure optimization?

Computer-aided (vs manual) optimization widely used in automotive and aerospace industry,
but not for the design of offshore wind turbine structures. Why?
Large number of parameters
Complexity of working with many engineering disciplines, often using different assumptions
Uncertainty about soil conditions
Simplified models required (large number of load cases) etc.