SeaWind

Abstract | Wind Turbines constitute a sustainable and effective solution for the production of energy using wind power. Offshore wind turbines especially are becoming of special interest. However, their design poses great challenges, since an offshore structure is subject to combined wind and wave dynamic loading that is characteristic of the site of installation. The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study of fatigue life assessment for the cross-section at mudline (foundation) of a standard offshore wind turbine with a monopile design, under a probabilistic framework and assuming the thickness of the examined cross-section as the design variable. Two potential sites of construction in the Aegean Sea of Greece were examined. A probabilistic approach was employed in order to determine the fatigue life based on anemological data at each of the two sites of interest. At its basis is an extensive Monte Carlo simulation of wind (velocity) and wave (height, period) characteristics. The results show the dependence of fatigue life on the local wind and wave conditions, the cross-section geometry (i.e. the thickness of the foundation’s pile) and the welded connection detail. All in all, the more benign conditions in the Aegean allow simpler connection details and smaller thickness of foundation pile’s cross-section to still have acceptable performance.

Abstract | Wind Turbines constitute a sustainable and effective solution for the production of energy using wind power. Offshore wind turbines especially are becoming of special interest. However, their design poses great challenges, since an offshore structure is subject to combined wind and wave dynamic loading that is characteristic of the site of installation. The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study of fatigue life assessment for the cross-section at mudline (foundation) of a standard offshore wind turbine with a monopile design. Two potential sites of construction in the Aegean Sea of Greece were examined. A probabilistic approach was employed in order to determine the fatigue life based on anemological data at each of the two sites of interest. At its basis is an extensive Monte Carlo simulation of wind (velocity) and wave (height, period) characteristics. The results show the dependence of fatigue life on the local wind and wave conditions, the crosssection size (e.g. diameter and thickness of the foundation’s pile) and the welded connection detail. All in all, the more benign conditions in the Aegean allow simpler connection details and smaller in size cross-section of foundation pile’s cross-section to still have acceptable performance.

Abstract | Wind Turbines constitute a sustainable and effective solution for the production of energy using wind power. Offshore wind turbines especially are becoming of special interest. The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study of fatigue life assessment for specific crosssections of a standard offshore wind turbine with a monopile design, under a probabilistic framework. Two potential sites of construction in the Aegean Sea of Greece were examined. The results show the dependence of fatigue life on the local wind and wave conditions, the cross-section geometry and the welded connection detailing. All in all, the more benign conditions in the Aegean allow simpler connection details to still have acceptable performance.

Abstract | Wind Turbines constitute a sustainable and effective solution for the production of energy using wind power. Offshore wind turbines especially are becoming of special interest. However, their design poses great challenges, since an offshore structure is subject to combined wind and wave dynamic loading that is characteristic of the site of installation. The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study of fatigue life assessment for the cross-section at mudline (foundation) of a standard offshore wind turbine with a monopile design, under a probabilistic framework and assuming the diameter and thickness of the examined crosssection as the design variables. Two potential sites of construction in the Aegean Sea of Greece (part of Mediterranean Sea) were examined. A probabilistic approach was employed in order to determine the fatigue life based on anemological data at each of the two sites of interest. At its basis is an extensive Monte Carlo simulation of wind (velocity) and wave (height, period) characteristics. The results show the dependence of fatigue life on the local wind and wave conditions, the cross-section size (e.g. diameter and thickness of the foundation’s pile) and the welded connection detail. All in all, the more benign conditions in the Aegean allow simpler connection details and smaller in size cross-section of foundation pile’s cross-section to still have acceptable performance.

Summary | Offshore wind turbines constitute a modern solution for the production of energy using wind power. However, they are subject to uncertain loads due to the combination of dynamic parameters, such as wind and waves. For this reason, the valid assessment and appropriate design against those parameters are real challenges for the engineers. The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology for the analysis of a standard offshore wind turbine sited at a specific area in the Aegean Sea. In specific, the loads due to the combination of wind and waves are calculated by statistically processing anemological and wave data of the area using appropriate software. Finally, the calculated loads are used in order to specify the annual fatigue damage and the predicted fatigue life of the structure.