Abstract
Lifetime extension is receiving increasing attention because of ageing asset bases, the need for efficient use of capital budgets, and the optimistic lifetime assumptions used at the project design stage. Based on the industrial attention and the overall observable reduction in subsidies for new investments and repowering, especially in onshore wind energy, lifetime extension is expected to become essential in the future. This contribution presents a methodology for life extension assessment of individual onshore wind turbine towers, as the key structural components, using the joint aeroeastic-finite element analysis and taking account of wind directionality and stress magnification around the tower door. The results demonstrate that the spread in the wind rose provide the potential for tower lifetime extension, however, the stress concentration around the tower door and site-wide variations of wind characteristics have to be also taken into account. The outcomes of this paper indicates that the wind rose dispersion can also provide a lifetime extension potential in addition to a more benign weather and operational conditions.
Highlights
IntroductionWind turbine lifetime extension has been receiving increasingly attention
Over the past years, wind turbine lifetime extension has been receiving increasingly attention
There is generally the potential for tower life extension under multidirectional wind as opposed to the unidirectional design assumption. This potential depends on the spread of the wind rose and the tower door alignment relative to the wind seen by the individual turbine
Summary
Wind turbine lifetime extension has been receiving increasingly attention. This is due to the fact that the European wind turbine fleet is aging and there are many farms with turbines close to the end of the design life. A useful review of the lifetime extension of the onshore wind turbines across Germany, Spain, Denmark and the UK can be found in [1]. The levelised cost of energy of onshore wind turbines and investment decision making for lifetime extension has been studied in [2]. The offshore fleet is comparatively younger than its onshore counterpart, the lifetime extension studies are not limited to the onshore sites [3],[4]
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