Review and analysis of the failure risk mitigation via monitoring for monopile offshore wind structures

Abstract

Structural health monitoring systems are gaining more attention in the offshore wind industry as they offer valuable insights into the integrity status of operating assets. Whilst most Class Society Rules and International Standards recognise the importance of implementing a condition-based maintenance strategy, they only provide theoretical guidance. Ultimately, it is the asset owner’s responsibility to determine how to integrate this strategy into their broader operation and maintenance planning, including identifying which components to monitor and which monitoring techniques to employ. The present paper applies the Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality methodology to identify the most critical failure modes to prioritise for monopile offshore wind structures. Hence, the potential benefits of incorporating structural health monitoring systems within a condition-based maintenance strategy and exploiting lifetime extension possibilities are assessed. To achieve this, a novel 4-step methodology is introduced, involving understanding failure mechanisms (time-dependent behaviour and pattern), current regime (inspections at intervals), monitoring options (both direct and indirect), improvement potential evaluation through 5 key performance indicators relevant for optimal O&M, which is more comprehensive and realistic than considering only monetary consequence of failure. The study addressed the prevailing failure modes in 5 categories, namely fatigue, corrosion, deformation, buckling and displacement, and connection failure, aiming to demonstrate potential improvement in terms of risk mitigation against these failure modes. The results of this study can significantly help offshore wind developers optimise where and how to allocate their resources for structural health monitoring, resulting in long-term cost reduction opportunities.