Abstract This paper compares the predictions from three independent aerodynamic simulation tools modelling the time varying rotor thrust and shaft power of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) under different sea wave conditions. These include a Blade-Element-Momentum (BEM) model, a Free-Wake Vortex model (FWM) and a Navier-Stokes based Actuator Disc (AD) model. The study is based on the NREL 1 5 MW baseline FOWT installed on the OC4 DeepCWind semi-submersible platform. The rotor speed is maintained constant throughout the analysis, though different rotor tip speeds and sea wave heights and periods are considered. While the three aerodynamic models apply different approaches for modelling the wake, they are all based on a blade element theory (BET) approach for simulating the blade loads. A common set of static aerofoil data is used and corrections to the data for unsteady effects such as dynamic stall are ignored. Thus disparity between the predictions for the surging rotor is primarily due to the different numerical approaches used for modelling the FOWT wake. The time-averaged rotor thrust and power coefficients predicted by the three models were found to be in close agreement with one another at low tip speed ratios and the sea state was found to have marginal effect on these results. However, the disparity in such predictions between the three models was found to increase at high tip speed ratios, with the FWM and the AD models yielding the largest and smallest rotor thrust and power coefficients, respectively. Furthermore, the AD model was observed to exhibit the highest sensitivity to sea state, with a significant increase in the time averaged power coefficient being predicted at the most extreme wave condition. The amplitudes in the thrust and power expressed as a percentage of the corresponding time-averaged values estimated by the three aerodynamic models were found to be in close agreement with one another for the optimal and high tip speed ratios. However, at low tip speed ratios, the BEM predictions were significantly smaller than those estimated by the FWM and AD models.

Abstract This paper summarizes the assessment of the structural analysis and design of a floating foundation for offshore floating wind turbine (FWT) based on DNVGL standard and Eurocode in terms of economy and reliability. The wind loads are calculated using empirical equations. The wave loads are obtained and verified using various methods including hand calculation, AQWA and Flow-3D. It is found that the shell thickness could be reduced significantly by introducing the stiffeners (stringer or ring), which can decrease the weight of the hull and lower the cost. While DNVGL and Eurocode yield similar design solutions if using plane shell structures, Eurocode significantly underestimates the buckling resistance of stiffened cylindrical shells.

Abstract A pilot floating offshore wind turbine project of Korea was proposed for installing in the East Sea of Korea. The prototype is a semisubmersible platform supporting a 750-kW wind turbine. A scaled model was tested in the basin tank of the University of Ulsan at scale ratio 1:40. The 750-kW floating offshore wind turbine was modeled by using the NREL-FAST code. Numerical results were validated by comparing with those of the test model. This paper analyzes dynamic responses and loads of the wind turbine system under extreme environmental conditions. Extreme environmental conditions based on metocean data of East Sea Korea. Extreme responses and extreme loads are important data for designing the structure of the 750 kW semi-submersible floating offshore wind turbine.

Abstract Most of the existing floating offshore wind turbines (FOWT), whether in concept or built, host a single turbine. Structures that can host multiple turbines have received attention in recent years, mainly with the aim of reducing the overall cost of energy production and maintenance. A concept challenge of placing multiple wind turbines on a single floating platform is that under variable wind directions, the leading turbines may block the wind against the trailing turbines. In this work, concept design of a wind-tracing floating structure accommodating three wind turbines is presented. The triangular-shapefloating platform is made of pre-stressed concrete, and the turbines are located on the corners. The floating structure uses a single-point mooring system which allows for the entire structure to rotate in response to the change of wind direction. Due to the particular configuration of the floating structure, it is essential to consider the wind, wave and current loads, along with the response of the structure, simultaneously. Response of the FOWT to simultaneous environmental loads from different directions is studied by use of the constant panel approach of the Green function method, subject to constant wind loads on the turbines and linear mooring loads. We also consider the elasticity of the structure by use of finite element analysis, coupled with the hydro- and aero-dynamic loads and responses.

Abstract This paper presents the design of a compact gearbox for the DTU 10 MW reference offshore wind turbine. An innovative gearbox concept consisting of a fixed planetary stage with a differential compound epicyclic stage is proposed. Power splitting and compound epicyclic transmission technologies are employed, which could effectively reduce the gearbox’ size. Power transmission principle of the gearbox is described, and power distribution on two transfer paths is derived by the geometrical and mechanical relationships among the components. The gearbox is designed based on the design loads and criteria with reference to the relevant international standards, and all of the critical components, gears and bearings, are designed by performing fatigue limit state (FLS) check. A high fidelity drivetrain dynamic model, consisting of the compact gearbox and one four-point support drivetrain configuration, is established by means of multi-body system (MBS) approach. Then, validation of the power distribution is conducted by the comparison of the simulation results and design values. Resonance analysis of the drivetrain model is conducted by employing Campbell diagram, energy distribtuion of components and time domain simulation approach, and the results show that no resonance phenomenon appears in this drivetrain model during the normal operating conditions. In addition, load sharing performance of the MBS model is assessed, indicating the a favorable dynamic operating behavior of the gearbox. It is believed that such compact design could be good alternative for floating offshore wind turbines.

Abstract Presented here is a low specific mass, free-floating, open ocean, wind energy concept with nominal power capacity to 40 MW, on-board liquid fuels generation, and with operational and survival wave heights to 12 and 40 meters respectively. The estimated specific structural mass of 42 kG/kW p is about 1/3 of the specific mass of much smaller land-based turbines, and less than 6% of the specific structural mass of existing off-shore floating wind turbines. The turbine platform may be operated un-tethered in the open ocean using about 8% of the generated power, on average, for active station keeping. The generated energy may be stored on board via hydrogen electrolysis and liquification for periodic tanker unloading. Reduction of moment loads in the blades and nacelle support structure as well as the unique deep-water foundation result in the low specific mass and high stability.

Abstract Model testing of offshore structures has been standard practice over the years and is often recommended in guidelines and required in certification rules. The standard objectives for model testing are final concept verification, where it is recommended to model the system as closely as possible, and numerical code calibration. Model testing of floating offshore wind turbines is complex due to the response depending on the aero-hydro-servo-elastic system, but also due to difficulties to perform model tests in a hydrodynamic facility with correctly scaled hydrodynamic, aerodynamic and inertial loads. The main limitations are due to the Froude-Reynolds scaling incompatibility, and the wind generation. An approach to solve these issues is by use of hybrid testing where the system is divided in a numerical and a physical substructure, interacting in real-time with each other. Depending on the objectives of the model tests, parts of a physical model of a FOWT can then be placed in a wind tunnel or an ocean basin, where the rest of the system is simulated. In the EU H2020 LIFES50+ project, hybrid model tests were performed in the wind tunnel at Politecnico di Milano, as well as in the ocean basin at SINTEF Ocean. The model tests in the wind tunnel were performed with a physical wind turbine positioned on top of a 6DOF position-controlled actuator, while the hydrodynamic loads and the motions of the support structure were simulated in real-time. For the tests in the ocean basin, a physical floater with tower subject to waves and current was used, while the simulated rotor loads were applied on the model by use of a force actuation system. The tests in both facilities are compared and recommendations on how to combine testing methodologies in an optimal way are discussed.

Abstract An in-house computational tool, called MIST, has been developed to improve the accuracy of the aerodynamic loads predictions of floating wind turbines. MIST has an aerodynamic module based on a Free Vortex filament Method (FVM) for the wake combined with a Lifting Line (LL) model for the blades. This aerodynamic model has been validated, in this first instance, for an onshore configuration against well known experimental data. Different options for the critical parameters of the code have been analyzed to get a deeper understanding of the impact of certain assumptions of this kind of models.

Abstract Monopiles are nowadays the preferred substructure type for bottom-fixed offshore wind turbines at shallow to intermediate water depths. At these locations, the large waves that contribute to extreme loads are strongly nonlinear. Therefore they are not easily reproduced via the simple engineering models who are commonly used in the offshore industry. In the current approach, we develop a design pattern which improves this standard methodology. To retain nonlinearity in the force computations, we have precomputed a number of wave realizations by means of a potential fully-nonlinear code (OceanWave3D), for a wide span of nondimensional water depths and significant wave heights. The designer can then extract a wave kinematics time series from the precomputed set, scale it by the Froude law, and couple it with a suitable force model to compute loads. To complete the picture, slamming loads are calculated by means of the so-called pressure impulse model, recently developed at DTU. Rather than computing the time series of the slamming load, the model uses a few parameters, all except one determinable from the incident wave to calculate the pressure impulse. First comparisons with experimental results, obtained in the framework of the DeRisk project, are promising. The force and the wave elevation statistics from the precomputed simulations are in good agreement with the experiments. Some discrepancies are present, due to an imperfect scaling and to the differences in the physical and numerical domains. The computed loads from the slamming model match the experimental ones quite closely, when the wave celerity is extracted as the ratio between the time gradient and the x-wise space gradient of the surface elevation.

Abstract Second-order hydrodynamic loads can induce motions at the natural frequencies of a floating wind turbine. These resonant responses are highly dependent on the hydrodynamic damping, which is mostly introduced by viscous effects. Numerically, these viscous effects are often represented by a Morison drag term with relative velocity, which introduces forcing, sea state-dependent linear damping and amplitude-dependent quadratic damping. Recent literature shows that calibration of the Morison drag coefficients to decay tests is not sufficient to achieve an accurate response in the numerical models. In addition, calibration of the drag coefficient alone changes both forcing and damping. Hence, following common practice, additional damping terms are needed, which require calibration against operating conditions. In this study, we apply Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) to wave basin results for the TetraSpar floater of Stiesdal Offshore Technologies. The floater was tested at scale 1:60 with the DTU 10MW reference wind turbine, both in the semi and spar configurations. We identify the linearized damping ratio in surge and pitch for different environmental conditions and investigate its dependency on the sea state and the motion amplitude. Our preliminary results show that the damping of the pitch mode follows increasing trends with significant wave height and motion amplitude, whereas the damping in surge presents a less clear tendency. This is linked to the larger damping level, smaller natural frequency and larger OMA uncertainty for surge. The paper concludes with a discussion of the dependency of OMA estimates on the amount of data and its processing.

Abstract In recent years wind turbine down-regulation has been used or investigated for a variety of applications such as wind farm power optimisation, energy production curtailment and lifetime management. This study presents results from measurement data of tower loads and power obtained from two turbines located in the German offshore wind farm alpha ventus. The free streaming turbine, located closely to a fully equipped meteorological mast, was down-regulated to 50% for a period of 8 months, while the downwind turbine was operating normally. The results are compared to periods where both turbines were operated in normal conditions. Changes in loads and power are analysed according to incoming wind direction and magnitude. Results show a high reduction in the loads of the down regulated turbine, up to a level of 40%. For the turbine in wake the effects in loads are more prominent, showing a maximum reduction of 30%, compared to the effects in power and are seen in a wider sector of about 20° for loads and 10° for power.

Abstract Fatigue failure is one of the most common damage types of monopiles, which are widely used in offshore wind turbines (OWT). In this paper, a systematic study is performed to investigate the influence of stiffness matrix, sea states and wave directions on fatigue loads of monopiles. The stiffness matrix of the monopile determines natural frequency of the whole system and has great effect on fatigue loads. The influence of the pile diameter and length on the stiffness matrix are analyzed, which are calculated based on p-y curve of foundation. Then, three methods for selected sea states are compared. The dynamic response of the monopile using the different selection method under same wind condition are calculated and their contribution to the fatigue load is discussed. Finally, bending moment on the top of monopiles in vary wave direction are analyzed which shows significant on the fatigue. Several suggestions for design of monopile are given to avoid fatigue failure based on this study.

Abstract With their light weights, small components like braces and heave plates and steady trim angle caused by the wind loads acting on the rotor, semisubmersible foundations used as support platform for wind turbines exhibit a complex behaviour where viscous loading play an important role. The work done by the Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration Continued with Correlation (OC5) project has shown that standard engineering tools were not always able to predict accurately the motions of the DeepCwind semisubmersible that were measured in a basin. The correct amplitude of the motions at the natural periods of this system appeared to be difficult to obtain with simulations (especially the low frequency surge, and the pitch resonant motion). In view of the complexity of the system, it was not possible to clearly identify the causes of the differences between the simulations and the model-test results. A follow-on validation campaign was therefore performed at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) under the MARINET2 project with the same floating substructure, with a focus on better understanding the hydrodynamic loads and reducing uncertainty in the tests by minimizing the system complexity. The wind turbine was replaced by a stiff tower with resembling inertia properties. The mooring system was simplified by using taut-spring lines with equivalent linear stiffness in surge. This paper reviews the new tests done with the simplified set-up and examines the differences with previous tests done with more complex test set-ups. The main motivation of this work is to study how variations of an experimental set-up can affect the outcome of tests in a wave basin. To start with, the main parameters of the systems (inertia, hydrostatics, and mooring stiffness) for all set-ups are characterized to check how similar they are. Then the level of damping in all systems is compared. Finally, the paper looks at how well the motion responses of this semisubmersible in waves correlate between all these campaigns.

Abstract Recently, wind farm development has gained more traction in Asian countries such as Taiwan, which are seismically active. Compared to Europe, the offshore wind structures need to be designed for these additional extreme environmental conditions. For monopiles, these calculations can typically be performed in an integrated way in the wind turbine load calculation, but for jackets the superelement (SE) approach remains preferred. At the time of writing different approaches are being applied in the industry to apply the SE approach for seismic time domain analysis. This work explains and compares three different methods, based on calculations performed in offshore strength assessment tool Sesam and aeroelastic tool BHawC. When including additional interface nodes at the foundation model bottom into the SE to which the seismic accelerations can be applied in BHawC similarly as in the re-tracking run in Sesam, the results between BHawC and Sesam are nearidentical. Using a normal SE, which only includes an interface node for the connection to the wind turbine tower bottom, and including the response due to seismic displacements into the SE load file gives a match between BHawC and Sesam, and closely matches the results of the case with additional interface nodes. Doing the same but only including the dynamic response of the interface point relative to a frame of reference moving with the rigid body motions as caused by the seismic accelerations into the SE load file, significant differences occur. This is due to the lack of the loading effect of rigid body motions. The same conclusions on how these methods compare can be drawn when using different wind and wave cases. The presented results give insights into the differences between the methods and how the choice of method may influence the results.

Abstract This paper summarizes the results of the implementation and verification of a hydro-aero-servo-elastic load simulation model for a self-aligning floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) combined with a structural analysis methodology of this FOWT structure. The main focus is a comparison of a rigid and a flexible support structure representation in the load simulation. This investigation is part of the multiparty project for the ‘Hydrodynamic and Structural Optimization of a Semi-submersible Offshore Wind Turbine’ (HyStOH), joining partners from science and industry and financially supported by the German Ministry of Economics Affairs and Energy, BMWi (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie).

Abstract OpenFAST is an open-source, physics-based engineering tool applicable to the load analysis of land-based and offshore wind turbines, including floating offshore wind turbines. The substructure for a floating wind turbine has historically been modeled in OpenFAST as a rigid body with hydrodynamic loads lumped at a point, which enabled the tool to predict the global response of the floating substructure but not the structural loads within its individual members. This limitation is an impediment to designing floating substructures — especially newer designs that are more streamlined, flexible, and cost-effective. This paper presents the development plan of new capabilities in OpenFAST to model floating substructure flexibility and member-level loads, including the functional requirements and modeling approaches needed to understand and apply them correctly.

Abstract Wind turbines are subjected to dynamic loads during their service life. The yaw bearing is an important part which also bears these loads. In this study, a series of 5-megawatt (MW) wind turbines are analyzed for their dynamic response under normal operating conditions while exposed to turbulent wind. These models are Onshore, Monopile, ITI Barge, Spar, Tension-Leg Platform (TLP), Semi-Submerisible. TurbSim is used to prescribe turbulent-wind inflow and a time domain FAST code is applied in order to conduct the Aero-Hydro-Servo-Elastic coupled analysis on the yaw loads of the wind turbines. Three different average wind velocities are examined to compare the load response of the wind turbine to turbulent wind on the yaw bearing. A Gumbel distribution coupled maximum likelihood method is used to predict ultimate loads. And the rain flow counting algorithm, the linear cumulative damage law and S-N curve theory are used to predict the damage equivalent load. The results should aid the fatigue design of yaw bearing and the yaw control system according to different wind turbine design.

Abstract Offshore wind system encountered wind, wave, current, soil, and other environmental loads. The support structure is randomly loaded for a long time, which is more likely to cause fatigue damage. In this paper, the NREL 5MW wind turbine and OC4 jacket support structure is selected to perform the time domain fatigue analysis. Commercial software Bladed and SACS are used to perform the required structural responses and fatigue strength calculations. The Stress Concentration Factors (SCF) and S-N curves for the stress calculations of tubular joints are adopted based on the recommendation of DNV GL guidelines. The magnitude of the stress variation range and the corresponding number of counts are obtained by using the rain-flow counting algorithm. Finally, the Palmgren-Miner’s rule is adopted to calculate the cumulative damage ratio and the fatigue life can then be estimated. Fatigue damage ratio and structural fatigue life of each joint during 20 years of operation period are evaluated.

Abstract The structural and environmental challenges in the operation of marine fish cage structures, in particular in the open sea, can accurately be determined if the fluid dynamics in and around the whole system is studied. An important part of the system represents the porous net which encloses the fish. In this paper, a numerical model for the determination of the deformed shape of nets under consideration of hydrodynamic loads and elastic twines is elaborated. It is a quasi-static approach based on force equilibria at the knots and geometrical constraints. The missing time step restriction leads to an overall less costly computation. The fluid around the net is calculated using a two-phase CFD model. The focus of the research is on the calculation of fluid forces on the net and the analyses of the nets motion in current and waves.

Abstract A multi-purpose platform (MPP) is an offshore system designed to serve the purposes of more than one offshore industry. Indeed, over the past decades, a number of industries have expanded, or are expanding, from onshore to offshore locations (renewables, aquaculture, tourism, mineral extractions, etc.), and the research on these type of platform is increasing. In the present work, a MPP able to accommodate wind turbines, wave energy converters, and aquaculture systems are considered. This work presents the first part (Part A) of the analyses of the dynamics of the floating support structure for this MPP, focusing on the rigid body dynamic response, while its complementary hydroelastic analysis is presented in Part B (OMAE2019-96282). The aim here is to assess the dynamic response of the platform with respect to the preliminary requirements imposed by the wind turbine, the aquaculture system, and the other ancillary systems. After describing the platform analyzed, and explaining the aero-hydro coupled model of dynamics approach adopted, two independent analyses are conducted, one using the SESAM package by DNV-GL, and another using ANSYS AQWA, in order to verify the results, in absence of experimental data. Considering a severe, but still operational, load case, the preliminary results seem to demonstrate that the chosen platform can satisfy the dynamics constraints imposed by the payload systems.