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Final report for WP4.3: Enhancement of design methods ... - Upwind

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UPWIND WP4: Offshore Support Structures and Foundations<br />

10. Conclusions<br />

The enhancement <strong>of</strong> <strong>design</strong> tools and <strong>methods</strong> and the development <strong>of</strong> dedicated international standards are<br />

essential <strong>for</strong> the progression <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>fshore wind industry. As water depths increase and support structure solutions<br />

become more complex, it is important that the <strong>design</strong> <strong>methods</strong> and standards are improved and updated<br />

to reflect this. Enhancing <strong>design</strong> tools and <strong>methods</strong> enables a more accurate and detailed prediction <strong>of</strong><br />

loads and dynamic response, which in turn leads to more optimised structures and there<strong>for</strong>e cost savings. Improved<br />

efficiency in the <strong>design</strong> process <strong>of</strong> complex support structures facilitates upscaling as it assists with the<br />

large-scale implementation <strong>of</strong> big <strong>of</strong>fshore wind farms in deep water. Reviewing and updating the international<br />

<strong>design</strong> standards to ensure they are in line with industry best practice improves the reliability <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fshore support<br />

structure <strong>design</strong>.<br />

The development <strong>of</strong> integrated <strong>design</strong> tools <strong>for</strong> both bottom-mounted and floating structures is presented.<br />

Benchmarking activities are also presented <strong>for</strong> these <strong>design</strong> tools. For the benchmarking <strong>of</strong> the bottommounted<br />

<strong>design</strong> tools Flex5-Poseidon, GH Bladed and AdCOS-Offshore, the mass and frequency comparisons<br />

and overall trends <strong>of</strong> time series show good agreement. Small shifts are found in phase and magnitude, which<br />

can be explained through differences in operating conditions and wave modelling. For the benchmarking <strong>of</strong><br />

floating <strong>design</strong> tools the results from Phase IV <strong>of</strong> the OC3 project are reviewed. Differences are found between<br />

some <strong>of</strong> the codes in their prediction <strong>of</strong> structural and aerodynamic damping, which can be explained through<br />

differences in modelling techniques. In one code a controller-induced instability in the surge mode was discovered<br />

at the surge natural frequency with no waves. With waves present this instability is damped out by wave<br />

radiation, indicating the importance <strong>of</strong> using potential flow based solutions <strong>for</strong> the analysis <strong>of</strong> floating support<br />

structures.<br />

An advanced technique <strong>for</strong> modelling joints in braced support structures, the super-element technique, is presented.<br />

A study is per<strong>for</strong>med using a wind turbine mounted on a tripod support structure, with comparisons<br />

drawn between a basic beam model <strong>of</strong> the tripod support structure and a model <strong>of</strong> the tripod including beams<br />

and super-elements. Results from a full system modal analysis show some <strong>of</strong> the important natural frequencies<br />

shifting towards the excitation ranges when super-elements are included. Results from time domain simulations<br />

show some increases and some decreases in DEL with super-elements included. However, the largest<br />

changes <strong>of</strong> DEL with significant values show a clear tendency <strong>of</strong> decreased moments using the super-element<br />

model.<br />

The development <strong>of</strong> advanced modelling techniques <strong>for</strong> the numerical simulation <strong>of</strong> aerodynamic, hydrodynamic<br />

and mooring line effects <strong>for</strong> floating wind turbines are presented.<br />

Regarding aerodynamics, improvements are required <strong>for</strong> simulation tools to capture all the possible relevant<br />

effects. BEM is used in the majority <strong>of</strong> floating simulation tools, but is insufficient since in theory BEM does not<br />

model aerodynamic effects such as wake interaction; yawed inflow; dynamic stall; and other aeroelastic effects<br />

such as flutter which are more important <strong>for</strong> floating wind turbines. Potential flow <strong>methods</strong>, CFD and improved<br />

BEM correction models tuned <strong>for</strong> floating wind turbines are investigated.<br />

Regarding hydrodynamics, potential flow theory must be used to take proper account <strong>of</strong> the influence <strong>of</strong> the<br />

floating body on the surrounding fluid. Second-order effects such as mean drift, slow drift and sum frequency<br />

<strong>for</strong>ces may also be more important. A comparison is per<strong>for</strong>med between first and second-order hydrodynamic<br />

excitation <strong>for</strong>ces <strong>for</strong> two floating wind turbine concepts, a spar-buoy and a semi-submersible. The results show<br />

that second-order effects are more important <strong>for</strong> the semi-submersible, as the structure is less hydrodynamically<br />

transparent. For this structure second order effects are dominant over first-order effects <strong>for</strong> all modes except<br />

heave, and are more important when waves are smaller and less steep.<br />

Regarding mooring line dynamics, a number <strong>of</strong> modelling <strong>methods</strong> are available including the look-up table<br />

approach, the quasi-static approach and the full dynamic approach. The central issue is whether or not it is acceptable<br />

to neglect the dynamic effects <strong>of</strong> mooring lines <strong>for</strong> floating wind turbines. Simulations are per<strong>for</strong>med<br />

comparing the quasi-static approach with a multi-body approach <strong>for</strong> a wind turbine mounted on a spar-buoy<br />

floating plat<strong>for</strong>m. Results show significant differences between the two <strong>methods</strong> due to additional non-linear<br />

hydrodynamic damping in the MBS approach.<br />

Recommendations are presented <strong>for</strong> the implementation <strong>of</strong> a reduced set <strong>of</strong> <strong>design</strong> load cases <strong>for</strong> the preliminary<br />

<strong>design</strong> <strong>of</strong> jacket support structures. Two <strong>methods</strong> are presented <strong>for</strong> the fatigue load analysis: a simplified<br />

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