Abstract
Fixed offshore wind turbines continue to be developed for high latitude areas where not only wind and wave loads need to be considered but also moving sea ice. Current rules and regulations for the design of fixed offshore structures in ice-covered waters do not adequately consider the effects of ice loading and its stochastic nature on the fatigue life of the structure. Ice crushing on such structures results in ice-induced vibrations, which can be represented by loading the structure using a variable-amplitude loading (VAL) sequence. Typical offshore load spectra are developed for wave and wind loading. Thus, a combined VAL spectrum is developed for wind, wave, and ice action. To this goal, numerical models are used to simulate the dynamic ice-, wind-, and wave-structure interaction. The stress time-history at an exemplarily selected critical point in an offshore wind energy monopile support structure is extracted from the model and translated into a VAL sequence, which can then be used as a loading sequence for the fatigue assessment or fatigue testing of welded joints of offshore wind turbine support structures. This study presents the approach to determine combined load spectra and standardized time series for wind, wave, and ice action.
Highlights
As the demand for sustainable development and renewable energy sources surges, so does the need to continually improve technologies, design, and safety in the renewable energy industry [1]
The current study focuses on the determination of a novel combined variable-amplitude loading (VAL) spectrum for an offshore wind energy support structure that accounts for wind, wave, and ice action
This study presented the development of combined load spectra and standardized stress-time sequences for offshore wind turbines (OWTs) that account for wind, wave, and ice action
Summary
As the demand for sustainable development and renewable energy sources surges, so does the need to continually improve technologies, design, and safety in the renewable energy industry [1]. Based on current climate change projections, the decline in icing frequency and sea ice extent will likely continue and benefit the wind energy industry [3,4]; while sea ice extents are decreasing, wind parks are progressively moving into the northern hemisphere. In this harsh environment, OWTs are subjected to severe loading. In this regard, standardized refers to the process of creating time series that represent a repeated sequence of loads, e.g., one flight journey, a year of loading of an offshore structure, etc
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