Abstract
The use of load and structural performance measurement information is vital for efficient structural integrity management and for the cost of energy production with Offshore Wind Turbines (OWTs). OWTs are dynamically sensitive structures subject to an interaction with a control unit exposed to repeated cyclic wind and wave loads causing deterioration and fatigue. This study focuses on the quantification of the value of structural and environmental information on the integrity management of OWT structures, with the focus on fatigue of welded joints. By utilizing decision analysis, structural reliability methods, measurement data, as well as the cost-benefit models, a Value of Information (VoI) analysis can be performed to quantify the most beneficial measurement strategy. The VoI assessment is demonstrated for the integrity management of a butt welded joint of a monopile support structure for a 3 MW OWT with a hub height of approximately 71m. The conditional value of three-year measured oceanographic information and one-year strain monitoring information is quantified posteriori in conjunction with an inspection and repair planning. This paper provides insights on how much benefits can be achieved through structural and environmental information, with practical relevance on reliability-based maintenance of OWT structures.
Highlights
Offshore wind is a rapidly growing industry and to achieve reduction of operational costs of Offshore Wind Turbines (OWTs), it is important to choose optimal maintenance strategies to be implemented on the turbine components [1]
The scope of this paper aims to fill the gap of transforming the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) data into knowledge that contributes to decisions of structural integrity management
As described in the introduction, since the strain and wind monitoring information are already obtained at the time of decision-making, this paper focuses on the quantification of the conditional value of strain and wind monitoring information for planning the maintenance of OWT monopile support structures, with emphasis on fatigue of welded joints
Summary
Offshore wind is a rapidly growing industry and to achieve reduction of operational costs of Offshore Wind Turbines (OWTs), it is important to choose optimal maintenance strategies to be implemented on the turbine components [1]. This paper focuses on the quantification of the conditional value of strain and wind monitoring information for maintenance of OWT monopile support structures, with emphasis on fatigue of welded joints. A similar proposed approach is used with great success for decision making on inspection planning for fatigue critical details in offshore structures [11,12] and the work presented in this paper is an extension to application for offshore wind energy support structures and is extended to include SHM in general. Through quantifying the value of different SHM system information, the optimal lifecycle maintenance planning can be determined, which facilitates the reliability and safety in the assets management for offshore wind energy support structures and in turn ensures a costefficient energy generation for sustainable societal developments.
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