Alleviation of Fatigue in Renewable Energy Support Structures

Offshore renewable energy is experiencing an explosion of activity in response to ambitious renewable energy targets, however the drive to increase turbine size in deeper water whilst at the same time to reduce capex and installation costs in addition to the speed of development means there is a danger that structures may be designed and deployed that are inherently prone to fatigue. Offshore structures have come a long way since the pioneering early Oil & Gas jackets in the 1960s and 1970s. In forty years of designing and operating large Oil & Gas structures in the North Sea tremendous changes have occurred in development of advanced numerical modelling of stress, fatigue and loading in addition to vast improvements in steel quality/strength, manufacturing processes and inspection, monitoring and quality control. This paper addresses some of the fundamental areas where current design standards may not be appropriate for renewable energy support structures in this new era of advanced sensors and information systems. It will also discuss advanced fatigue alleviation techniques.