Foundation damping for monopile supported offshore wind turbines: A review

Today, an important challenge for offshore wind energy is to design efficient and reliable offshore wind turbines (OWTs). The overall damping of OWTs plays an important role in the design process as it limits the amplitude of the OWT dynamic response at frequencies near resonance. Therefore, an accurate estimation of OWTs damping is necessary for the efficient design of these systems. The foundation damping is one of the main sources overall turbine damping and is the least well understood. This paper presents a critical review of recently published studies on foundation damping for OWTs on monopiles and explains how soil damping contributes to the total damping of OWTs. It also reviews the main methods that have been used for the estimation of foundation damping in numerical and experimental studies. In addition, the importance of damping to the OWTs fatigue life is discussed. Finally, a discussion is provided on the challenges to be overcome and recommendations for the accurate estimation of foundation damping.     

Static and dynamic loading behavior of a hybrid foundation for offshore wind turbines

Considering the deficiencies of the traditional monopile foundation for offshore wind turbines (OWTs) in severe marine environments, an innovative hybrid foundation is developed in the present study. The hybrid foundation consists of a traditional monopile and a wide–shallow bucket. A series of numerical analyses are conducted to investigate its behavior under the static and dynamic loading, considering various loading eccentricities. A traditional monopile with the same steel volume is used as a benchmark. Although the monopile outperforms the hybrid foundation in terms of the ultimate moment capacity under each loading eccentricity, the latter can achieve superior or the same performance with nearly half of the pile length in the design loading range. Moreover, the horizontal load and moment are mainly resisted by the bucket and the single pile in the hybrid foundation respectively. The failure mechanism of both the hybrid foundation and the monopile is excessive rotation. In the rotation angle of 0.05 rad, the rotation center is located at the depth of approximately 0.6–0.75 times and 0.65–0.75 times the pile length for the hybrid foundation and the monopile respectively. The increasing loading eccentricities can lead to increasing moment bearing capacity, increasing initial stiffness and upward movement of the rotation center of the two foundations, while decreasing load sharing ratio of the single pile in the hybrid foundation. Three scenarios are considered in investigating the dynamic loading behavior of the hybrid foundation. Dynamic response results reveal that addition of the bucket to the foundation can restrain the rotation and lateral displacement effectively. The superiority of the hybrid foundation is more obvious under the combined wave and current loading.     

A procedure for predicting the permanent rotation of monopiles in sand supporting offshore wind turbines

Foundations for Offshore Wind Turbines (OWTs) are designed following the limit state philosophy. One of the considered states is the Serviceability Limit State (SLS), which verifies that the permanent rotation of the foundation generated from accumulated strains in the soil is below a project specific criterion. Despite design codes requiring an estimation of the permanent rotation, there is not clear guidance on how to implement this. This paper describes a methodology to estimate the monopile permanent rotation for SLS and discusses its advantages and limitations. The methodology combines an accumulation method with results from 3D Finite Element Analyses (FEA) and a soil model that accounts for strain accumulation as a function of the number of cycles, relative density and load characteristics. The performance of the proposed methodology is compared against experimental centrifuge tests and results from advanced 3D FEA, indicating that it can predict the permanent rotation with satisfactory accuracy, and with a considerable reduction in computational effort. This is important for the design of OWTs, where different load histories might be required to be checked – often under tight time constraints – to find which load history leads to the largest permanent rotation, and therefore is more critical to SLS design.     

Ultimate load analysis of a 10 MW offshore monopile wind turbine incorporating fully nonlinear irregular wave kinematics

Loads from storm waves can in some cases be dimensioning for offshore wind turbine substructures. Accurate determination of nonlinear wave loads is therefore important for a safe, yet economic design. In this paper, the fully nonlinear waves, realized by a fully nonlinear potential wave solver OceanWave3D, are incorporated into coupled aero-servo-hydro-elastic simulations for a reduced set of wave-sensitive design load cases, in comparison with the widely used linear and constrained waves. The coupled aero-elastic simulations are performed for the DTU 10 MW reference wind turbine on a large monopile at 33 m water depth using the aero-elastic code HAWC2. Effect of the wave nonlinearity is investigated in terms of the ultimate sectional moments at tower bottom and monopile mudline. Higher ultimate moments, 5% at tower bottom and 13% at monopile mudline as maximum, are predicated when the nonlinear waves are used. It could be explained by the fact that the extreme nonlinear waves, that are close to the breaking limit, can induce resonant ringing-type responses, and hereby dominate the ultimate load responses. However, the constrained wave approach shows marginal difference compared to the standard linear wave approach. It can be concluded at least for the present configuration that the industry standard approaches (linear and constrained wave approach) underestimate the ultimate load responses on offshore wind turbines in severe sea states.     

Study on a new method for installing a monopile and a fully integrated offshore wind turbine structure

This paper presents a preliminary technical feasibility study on a new methodology proposed for installing a monopile-based bottom supported offshore wind turbine structure. The concept is developed to address the problem of “waiting for a suitable weather window” which is commonly faced by the existing installation methods that uses a typical jack-up platform. In the methodology, a floating vessel along with a floatable subsea structure fitted with a hull on the top, hereafter named SSIP (subsea structure for installing a pile), is proposed first to install a monopile. Then the same structure is used to carry an FIUS (fully integrated upper structure) of an offshore wind turbine, which is characterized by a telescopic tower, and install it over the monopile by using an FOP (float-over-pulling) arrangement. Here, the installation methodologies are first briefly described along with the critical load cases associated with them. These load cases are then numerically studied for a significant wave height (H_S) of 2.5 m, and the results are summarized. For installing a fully integrated offshore wind turbine upper structure on a monopile foundation by the FOP method, two installation schemes are presented, and their dynamic characteristics are compared. It is shown that the proposed methodologies have potential to provide installation solutions which can be environmentally more robust compared to the existing method for installing an offshore wind turbine.     

Fitness-for-purpose assessment of cracked offshore wind turbine monopile

In this paper, the procedure for flaw acceptability assessment is examined through a case study of a semi-elliptical surface crack in an offshore monopile as it grows till it forms a through thickness crack. Using the procedure prescribed in an industrial standard (BS 7910), the fracture ratio, K_r is shown to increase monotonically with increasing crack depth. The load ratio, L_r, is initially insensitive to the crack depth. However, there is a rapid increase in L_r when the crack depth to thickness ratio exceeds 80%. L_r values obtained from detailed 3D FE limit analysis using elastic-perfectly-plastic material behaviour do not exhibit the asymptotic behaviour predicted by BS 7910 as the flaw transitions from deep crack to through-thickness crack. Furthermore, K_r predicted by BS 7910 is shown to be an over-estimation for the typical dimensions of offshore monopiles. The findings suggest that a structure with a deep flaw may be identified as unacceptable based on BS 7910 when it may still possess a non-trivial amount of structural residual life. This is a concern for monopiles where crack growth as a large flaw forms a significant part of the total life.     

牵索锚固式海上风机基础结构设计与分析

海上风电开发中随着水深增加,传统的固定式风机基础的劣势逐步显现,建造成本也显著增加。本文提出了一种适用水深范围广、结构简单、刚度可调的新型牵索锚固式海上风机基础结构。结合海上风电场设计实践和经验,归纳了牵索锚固式海上风机基础的设计重点。以3MW海上风力发电机组为例,分析不同牵索结构设计参数对基础结构的影响,通过计算发现,索缆根数、夹角对结构位移影响显著,而对应力影响微弱,索缆牵拉位置对结构应力位移影响都很显著。分析牵索锚固式风机基础结构在工作荷载和环境荷载耦合作用下的力学性能,计算结果显示,牵索锚固式海上风机基础结构不会发生强度破坏,但位移可能超过使用限制。     

运动海床对近海风机单桩基础的影响

以东海大桥海上风电场为研究背景,首先基于Biot固结理论求解了不同波况下多层非均质土体的位移、超孔压的分布,讨论了波浪荷载对海床运动的影响。而后基于土体位移计算结果,应用支座位移加载法与p-y曲线法相结合的方法,求解了运动海床作用下近海风机单桩基础的内力和变形,并将其结果与不考虑运动海床作用的结果进行了对比。对比结果显示:运动海床对桩身的变形影响显著,设计中有必要进行运动海床作用下的变形校核。     

Crack growth direction effects on corrosion-fatigue behaviour of offshore wind turbine steel weldments

In this study corrosion-fatigue tests have been conducted on fracture mechanics specimens extracted from an S355 G10+M structural steel welded plate. The tests have been performed on compact tension specimens with the crack tip located in the heat affected zone. The corrosion-fatigue test results from this study have been compared with the data available on the base metal as well as air tests on the same material. Moreover, the obtained results have been compared with the corrosion-fatigue data available in the literature on a wide range of steels and also the fatigue trends for welded joints in free-corrosion condition recommended in the BS7910 Standard. The effect of the specimen orientation, with respect to the weld region, is also examined in this study and it has been found that higher corrosion-fatigue crack growth rates are generally observed in the tests with 0° orientation. The results have also shown that the corrosive environment has significant effects on the fatigue crack growth acceleration at the beginning of the tests; however, as the crack propagates, the environmental damage effect on crack growth behaviour becomes less pronounced. The results presented in this study are discussed in terms of improvement in the structural integrity assessment of offshore wind turbine monopiles.     

Joint earthquake and wave action on the monopile wind turbine foundation: An experimental study

Offshore wind turbines in regions of active seismicity are under a potential threat caused by the joint earthquake and ocean wave action. Taking NREL-5MW monopile wind turbine as the prototype, this study is devoted to probe the joint action of strong earthquakes and moderate sea conditions. A series of shake table model tests of scale 30:1 have been carried out by the contemporary world unique facility (Earthquake, Wave and Current Joint Simulation System) to investigate the structural response in dry flume, low and high calm water levels, with and without regular or random waves. Particular interest has been in the nacelle acceleration subjected to strong ground motions as well as to random waves. The experimental results of nacelle peak accelerations and corresponding dynamic amplification factors show that the joint earthquake and wave action is important for the proper evaluation of structural response. Ignoring the effect of wave action in seismic analysis will lead to underestimation of structural response, especially when the monopile foundation is dynamically sensitive. The coupling of earthquake and wave actions is sourced not only from the relative velocity of vibration but also from the initial condition induced by waves. It has been also derived that the peak acceleration excited by a moderate sea condition is comparable to that by a moderate earthquake.     

Fatigue tests on grouted connection segment specimens in offshore wind turbine structures considering water ingression

Grouted connections (GCs) are widely used to connect superstructures and driven piles in offshore wind turbine structures. They resist fatigue loading in marine splash zones and even submerged environments. In this paper, six GC segment specimens were designed and tested under fatigue loading in both the air and water ingression conditions. The results in the air condition showed that for the specimens with lower loading ranges, the strain distributions and residual displacements stabilized after 20 thousand load cycles. These conditions persisted until the end of the test with two million cycles, with only a few tiny cracks appearing on the grout material surface. Meanwhile, wide cracks and grout material exfoliation were found in specimens with higher loading ranges. The residual displacement accumulated gradually, which eventually caused the termination of the test when it reached 5 mm after 1.3 million cycles. The results in the water ingression condition showed that the water had entered into the micro-cracks of the grout material, which severely degraded the fatigue behavior of the GC specimens. Even in lower loading ranges, specimens W-1 and W-2 only endured 0.264 million and 64 thousand load cycles before the displacement of the top clamp reached −10 mm. Compared with two specimens tested in the air, with a total displacement of less than −0.7 mm after two million load cycles, the severe deteriorating effect of water ingression on the fatigue behavior of GCs was apparent.     

海上风机吊装运输船及其吊装方式的研究概况

介绍了国内外海上风电的发展情况和前景,风电场建设对风机吊装运输船的需求;阐述了海上风机吊装运输船的分类及风机安装方式的发展变化。     

Effects of structural flexibility on the dynamic responses of low-height lifting mechanism for offshore wind turbine installation

Installation complexities are one of the major challenges in the floating offshore wind turbine (OWT) industry. The modern concept introduced by the SFI-MOVE project is an effort to overcome the complexities by utilizing a low-height lifting mechanism. It is common to idealize a crane in the lifting mechanism as a rigid body since the structural deflections are smaller than the responses introduced by the other system components. However, structural flexibility can play an essential role in demanding offshore operations with smaller acceptable tolerances. In this study, lifting cranes are modeled using the finite element method and simplified by implementing equivalent 3D beam elements. Dynamic analysis is performed for various environmental conditions, and the responses of the crane structure and the OWT are calculated for each load case. This research reveals that crane structure flexibility influences the relative motion between a floating spar buoy and an OWT during mating operations. Crane structural flexibility contributes significantly to the OWT rotations. In addition, the response deviation between using rigid and flexible cranes increases as the excitation force increases. Therefore, it is recommended to consider the crane structural flexibility in the calculation when strict installation tolerances are needed.     

Estimation of natural frequencies and damping using dynamic field data from an offshore wind turbine

The dynamic characteristics of offshore wind turbines are heavily affected by environmental loads from wave and wind action and nonlinear soil behaviour. In the design of the monopile structures, the fatigue load due to wind and wave loading is one of the most important problems to consider. Since the fatigue damage is sensitive to the foundation stiffness and damping, increasing the accuracy of analysis tools used in the design and optimization process can improve the reliability of the structure and reduce conservatism, thereby leading to a more cost-efficient design. In this context, analysis of field data is important for calibrating and verifying purposes. This paper presents analysis of measured accelerations and strains from a wind farm in the North Sea with monopile foundations. Field data during idling conditions, collected over long periods of operation, are analysed and the natural frequencies are determined, and damping is estimated. The measured natural frequencies are compared to calculated values using an aero-servo-hydro-elastic code, showing a good agreement in the frequency range below 2 Hz. Variation of the natural frequencies with intensity of loading may indicate effect of soil nonlinearity on the overall OWT response. Since the first natural bending modes have the largest potential to mobilize soil reactions, they are of primary interest in this context. The effect of load (wave, wind and dynamic bending moment) on the first natural frequency is investigated using different analysis techniques in the frequency domain and time domain. A clear correlation between load level and first natural frequency is demonstrated. A simple nonlinear SSI model of the tower/soil system is employed to numerically investigate the observed changes in the measured first natural frequency with the level of loading and increased overall damping. The simulated results reproduce the general trends in the observed reduction in the first natural frequency and increased damping ratio with the load level. However, the effect of the load level is less than that observed in the measurements, indicating contribution also from other factors than soil nonlinearity.     

Bottom effects on the tower base shear forces and bending moments of a shallow water offshore wind turbine

In this paper the tower base shear forces and bending moments of a shallow water offshore wind turbine have been rigorously calculated by using a nonlinear simulation method taking into account the bottom effects. It has been found that nonlinearly simulated realistic waves with bottom effects should be used as inputs in the stochastic time domain simulation in order to design an un-conservative support structure for the offshore wind turbine. In order to further improve the simulation efficiency, a transformed linear simulation method has been utilized in this paper for generating equivalent waves as those obtained from the nonlinear simulation method. The accuracy and efficiency of the transformed linear simulation method have been convincingly substantiated through the subsequent calculation examples in this article.     

海上风力机安装技术研究(英文)

Wind power has made rapid progress and should gain significance as an energy resource, given growing interest in renewable energy and clean energy. Offshore wind energy resources have attracted significant attention, as, compared with land-based wind energy resources, offshore wind energy resources are more promising candidates for development. Sea winds are generally stronger and more reliable and with improvements in technology, the sea has become a hot spot for new designs and installation methods for wind turbines. In the present paper, based on experience building offshore wind farms, recommended foundation styles have been examined. Furthermore, wave effects have been investigated. The split installation and overall installation have been illustrated. Methods appropriate when installing a small number of turbines as well as those useful when installing large numbers of turbines were analyzed. This investigation of installation methods for wind turbines should provide practical technical guidance for their installation.     

Model test investigation of a spar floating wind turbine

Several floating wind turbine designs whose hull designs reflect those used in offshore petroleum industry have emerged as leading candidates for the future development of offshore wind farms. This article presents the research findings from a model basin test program that investigated the dynamic response of a 1:50 scale model OC3 spar floating wind turbine concept designed for a water depth of 200 m. In this study the rotor was allowed to rotate freely with the wind speed and this approach eliminated some of the undesirable effects of controlling wind turbine rotational speed that were observed in earlier studies. The quality of the wind field developed by an array of fans was investigated as to its uniformity and turbulence intensity. Additional calibration tests were performed to characterize various components that included establishing the baseline wind turbine tower frequencies, stiffness of the delta type mooring system and free decay response behaviour. The assembled system was then studied under a sequence of wind and irregular wave scenarios to reveal the nature of the coupled response behaviour. The wind loads were found to have an obvious influence on the surge, heave and pitch behaviour of the spar wind turbine system. It was observed from the experimental measurements that bending moment at the top of the support tower is dominated by the 1P oscillation component and somewhat influenced by the incoming wave. Further it was determined that the axial rotor thrust and tower-top shear force have similar dynamic characteristics both dominated by tower’s first mode of vibration under wind-only condition while dominated by the incident wave field when experiencing wind-wave loading. The tensions measured in the mooring lines resulting from either wave or wind-wave excitations were influenced by the surge/pitch and heave couplings and the wind loads were found to have a clear influence on the dynamic responses of the mooring system.     

Experimental study on seismic vibration control of an offshore wind turbine with TMD considering soil liquefaction effect

Wind energy is clean and sustainable. Taiwan is establishing offshore wind farms using wind turbines in the Taiwan Strait. However, these are located in an earthquake-prone area with sandy seabed conditions. To ensure their safety and reliability, the turbines’ support structure must be protected against wind, waves, and seismic loads. Tuned mass dampers (TMDs) are commonly employed to reduce structural vibrations. A TMD is more simply incorporated into turbine structures than are other energy dissipation devices. In this study, a 1:25-scale test model with a TMD was constructed and subjected to shaking table tests to experimentally simulate the dynamic behavior of a typical 5-MW wind turbine with a jacket-type support structure and pile foundation. The scaled-down wind turbine model has a nacelle without rotating blades; therefore, the aerodynamic and rotational effects due to the rotating blades were ignored in this study. A large laminar shear box filled with saturated sandy ground was used to simulate the typical seabed conditions of Taiwanese offshore wind farms. The TMD system was designed to be tuned the first-mode frequency of the test model. Two ground accelerations, selected by considering wind farm site condition and near-fault characteristics, were used for excitation in the test. The responses of the test model with and without the TMD system were compared, and the influence of soil liquefaction on the effectiveness of TMD vibration control was addressed.     

基于stokes波浪理论的近海风电基础波浪荷载变化规律

针对近海风电基础所处的环境特点,参考实测资料,选取Stokes波浪理论,对作用在风电基础上的非线性波浪荷载进行了研究。计算得出了波浪特征参数确定时波浪的速度势函数、速度场函数和加速度场函数,通过分析其变化规律,计算出作用于基础的总波浪荷载的变化特征;在利用BP神经网络对波浪特征参数变量和周期内波浪荷载极值变量进行预测的基础上,获得了波浪荷载极值分布的概率密度函数。     

海上风机基础防撞设计初探

从分析风机基础可能遭遇的船舶撞击的风险出发,提出了船舶撞击风机基础的概率计算方法。在此基础上提出通过防护成本和撞击损失的比较分析确定撞击标准的方法。进而提出了海上风机基础防撞设计的基本思路,并就风机基础防撞设计所涉及的船舶撞击力的计算方法和风机基础防撞设施的设计和使用进行了阐述。初步阐明了海上风机基础防撞标准的确定方法和海上风机基础防撞设计的思路,可供海上风机基础设计参考。