Incorporating irregular nonlinear waves in coupled simulation and reliability studies of offshore wind turbines

Design of an offshore wind turbine requires estimation of loads on its rotor, tower and supporting structure. These loads are obtained by time-domain simulations of the coupled aero-servo-hydro-elastic model of the wind turbine. Accuracy of predicted loads depends on assumptions made in the simulation models employed, both for the turbine and for the input wind and wave conditions. Currently, waves are simulated using a linear irregular wave theory that is not appropriate for nonlinear waves, which are even more pronounced in shallow water depths where wind farms are typically sited. The present study investigates the use of irregular nonlinear (second-order) waves for estimating loads on the support structure (monopile) of an offshore wind turbine. We present the theory for the irregular nonlinear model and incorporate it in the commonly used wind turbine simulation software, FAST, which had been developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), but which had the modeling capability only for irregular linear waves. We use an efficient algorithm for computation of nonlinear wave elevation and kinematics, so that a large number of time-domain simulations, which are required for prediction of long-term loads using statistical extrapolation, can easily be performed. To illustrate the influence of the alternative wave models, we compute loads at the base of the monopile of the NREL 5MW baseline wind turbine model using linear and nonlinear irregular wave models. We show that for a given environmental condition (i.e., the mean wind speed and the significant wave height), extreme loads are larger when computed using the nonlinear wave model. We finally compute long-term loads, which are required for a design load case according to the International Electrotechnical Commission guidelines, using the inverse first-order reliability method. We discuss a convergence criteria that may be used to predict accurate 20-year loads and discuss wind versus wave dominance in the load prediction. We show that 20-year long-term loads can be significantly higher when the nonlinear wave model is used.     

Experimental and numerical investigations of monopile ringing in irregular finite-depth water waves

In storm conditions, nonlinear wave loads on monopile offshore wind turbines can induce resonant ringing-type responses. Efficient, validated methods which capture such events in irregular waves in intermediate or shallow water depth conditions are needed for design. Dedicated experiments and numerical studies were performed toward this goal. The extensive experimental campaign at 1:48 scale was carried out for Statoil related to the development of the Dudgeon wind farm, and included both a rigid model and a flexible, pitching-type, single degree-of-freedom model. Twenty 3-hour duration realizations for 4 sea states and 2 water depths were tested for each model. A high level of repeatability in ringing events was observed. Uncertainties in the experimental results were critically examined. The stochastic variation in the 3-hour maximum bending moment at the sea bed was significantly larger than the random variation in repetition tests, and highlighted the need for a good statistical basis in design. Numerical simulations using a beam element model with a modified Morison wave load model and second order wave kinematics gave reasonable prediction of the ringing response of the flexible model, and of the measured excitation forces on the rigid model in the absence of slamming. The numerical model was also used to investigate the sensitivity of the responses with respect to damping and natural period. A simple single degree-of-freedom model was shown to behave similarly to a fully flexible model when considering changes in natural frequency and damping.     

Effect of wave nonlinearity on fatigue damage and extreme responses of a semi-submersible floating wind turbine

Floating wind turbine has been the highlight in offshore wind industry lately. There has been great effort on developing highly sophisticated numerical model to better understand its hydrodynamic behaviour. A engineering-practical method to study the nonlinear wave effects on floating wind turbine has been recently developed. Based on the method established, the focus of this paper is to quantify the wave nonlinearity effect due to nonlinear wave kinematics by comparing the structural responses of floating wind turbine when exposed to irregular linear Airy wave and fully nonlinear wave. Critical responses and fatigue damage are studied in operational conditions and short-term extreme values are predicted in extreme conditions respectively. In the operational condition, wind effects are dominating the mean value and standard deviation of most responses except floater heave motion. The fatigue damage at the tower base is dominated by wind effects. The fatigue damage for the mooring line is more influenced by wind effects for conditions with small wave and wave effects for conditions with large wave. The wave nonlinearity effect becomes significant for surge and mooring line tension for large waves while floater heave, pitch motion, tower base bending moment and pontoon axial force are less sensitive to the nonlinear wave effect. In the extreme condition, linear wave theory underestimates wave elevation, floater surge motion and mooring line tension compared with fully nonlinear wave theory while quite close results are predicted for other responses.     

Experimental Study on New Multi-Column Tension-Leg-Type Floating Wind Turbine

Deep-water regions often have winds favorable for offshore wind turbines, and floating turbines currently show the greatest potential to exploit such winds. This work established proper scaling laws for model tests, which were then implemented in the construction of a model wind turbine with optimally designed blades. The aerodynamic, hydrodynamic, and elastic characteristics of the proposed new multi-column tension-leg-type floating wind turbine (WindStar TLP system) were explored in the wave tank testing of a 1:50 scale model at the State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Tests were conducted under conditions of still water, white noise waves, irregular waves, and combined wind, wave, and current loads. The results established the natural periods of the motion, damping, motion response amplitude operators, and tendon tensions of the WindStar TLP system under different environmental conditions, and thus could serve as a reference for further research.     

畸形波作用下半潜浮式风机系泊失效停机响应分析

半潜浮式风机逐渐在深海风电开发中受到关注,建立风机、平台与系泊结构耦合数值计算模型,通过FAST与AQWA链接进行风机塔基荷载及平台运动响应相互耦合传递,基于随机波与极限波组合模型生成畸形波时程序列,进行半潜浮式风机系泊失效全过程时域模拟计算分析,得出系泊锚链张力、风机、塔筒和平台运动时程响应,探究系泊失效、风机停机和叶片变桨速率对浮式风机平台系泊结构动力响应的影响。结果表明：畸形波作用下浮式平台和系泊结构动力响应显著,系泊失效导致塔基剪力增加,平台纵荡和纵摇运动响应显著增大;风机停机会引起系泊锚链张力显著减小,转子推力、塔基剪力和叶尖挥舞位移响应逐渐衰减,平台纵荡、纵摇和横摇运动响应显著减小;随着叶片变桨速率增加,风机转子推力和塔基剪力波动幅值增大。     

Characteristics of breaking irregular wave forces on a monopile

The substructures of offshore wind turbines are subjected to extreme breaking irregular wave forces. The present study is focused on investigating breaking irregular wave forces on a monopile using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based numerical model. The breaking irregular wave forces on a monopile mounted on a slope are investigated with a numerical wave tank. The experimental and numerical irregular free surface elevations are compared in the frequency-domain for the different locations in the vicinity of the cylinder. A numerical analysis is performed for different wave steepness cases to understand the influence of wave steepness on the breaking irregular wave loads. The wave height transformation and energy level evolution during the wave shoaling and wave breaking processes is investigated. The higher-frequency components generated during the wave breaking process are observed to play a significant role in initiating the secondary force peaks. The free surface elevation skewness and spectral bandwidth during the wave transformation process are analysed and an investigation is performed to establish a correlation of these parameters with the breaking irregular wave forces. The role of the horizontal wave-induced water particle velocity at the free surface and free surface pressure in determining the breaking wave loads is highlighted. The higher-frequency components in the velocity and pressure spectrum are observed to be significant in influencing the secondary peaks in the breaking wave force spectrum.     

Experiment Study of Dynamics Response for Wind Turbine System of Floating Foundation

The floating foundation is designed to support a 1.5 MW wind turbine in 30 m water depth. With consideration of the viscous damping of foundation and heave plates, the amplitude-frequency response characteristics of the foundation are studied. By taking into account the elastic effect of blades and tower, the classic quasi-steady blade-element/momentum (BEM) theory is used to calculate the aerodynamic elastic loads. A coupled dynamic model of the turbine-foundation- mooring lines is established to calculate the motion response of floating foundation under Kaimal wind spectrum and regular wave by using the FAST codes. The model experiment is carried out to test damping characteristics and natural motion behaviors of the wind turbine system. The dynamics response is tested by considering only waves and the joint action of wind and waves. It is shown that the wind turbine system can avoid resonances under the action of wind and waves. In addition, the heave motion of the floating foundation is induced by waves and the surge motion is induced by wind. The action of wind and waves is of significance for pitch.     

海上风机吸力式桶形基础承载特性研究综述

风机基础作为海上风机整体结构的重要组成部分,承受着上部风机所受到的风浪流荷载,并且对风机的安全性及可靠性至关重要。吸力式桶形基础由于其安装简单和可重复利用等优点,在海洋平台基础中得到了广泛应用,并逐步应用于海上风机基础中。但由于海上风机与海洋平台在海洋环境中的荷载工况有一定的差别,仍需要通过对其承载特性研究现状进行全面认识,以实现吸力式桶形基础在海上风机基础中的可靠应用。文中通过总结和评价现有研究对桶形基础在不同土体条件以及荷载条件下进行试验及数值模拟分析得到的研究结果,综述了静荷载和循环荷载作用下砂土和黏土中的吸力式桶形基础的承载特性研究现状,以及海上风机吸力式桶形基础的相关研究。文章展望了目前应用于海上风机基础的桶形基础仍缺乏的研究,为海上风机吸力式桶形基础的可靠应用及后续研究提供重要参考。     

Modeling and Analyzing Dynamic Response for An Offshore Bottom-Fixed Wind Turbine with Individual Pitch Control

The asymmetric or periodically varying blade loads resulted by wind shear become more significant as the blade length is increased to capture more wind power. Additionally, compared with the onshore wind turbines, their offshore counterparts are subjected to additional wave loadings in addition to wind loadings within their lifetime. Therefore, vibration control and fatigue load mitigation are crucial for safe operation of large-scale offshore wind turbines. In view of this, a multi-body model of an offshore bottom-fixed wind turbine including a detailed drivetrain is established in this paper. Then, an individual pitch controller (IPC) is designed using disturbance accommodating control. State feedback is used to add damping in flexible modes of concern, and a state estimator is designed to predict unmeasured signals. Continued, a coupled aero-hydro-servo-elastic model is constructed. Based on this coupled model, the load reduction effect of IPC and the dynamic responses of the drivetrain are investigated. The results showed that the designed IPC can effectively reduce the structural loads of the wind turbine while stabilizing the turbine power output. Moreover, it is found that the drivetrain dynamic responses are improved under IPC.

     

Accumulated Rotation of A Modified Suction Caisson and Soil Deformation Induced by Cyclic Loading

Modified suction caissons (MSCs) acting as offshore wind turbine foundations will generate the accumulated rotation under cyclic loading resulted from waves. The accumulated rotation and the range of soil deformation around the MSC under long-term cyclic wave loading were studied using 3-D numerical simulations. The Morison equation was adopted to calculate the wave loadings. It was found that the MSC accumulated rotation increases linearly with the increase of the logarithm of cyclic number. The normalized expression was proposed to reflect the relationship between the accumulated rotation and cyclic number. The soil deformation range around the MSC increases when increasing the cyclic number and loading amplitude. It can also be concluded that the accumulated rotation increases rapidly with this change of excess pore pressure in the first 4000 cycles. The responses of the MSC to wave and wind loads were also investigated. Results show that the accumulated rotation of the MSC under both wave and wind loadings is larger than that under the wave loading only.     

新型半潜式海上风力机基础水动力特性研究

概念性地设计了一种新型半潜式海上风力机基础,确定了结构的型式和尺寸,对风浪联合作用下不同工况的风力机基础稳性进行了校核.考虑黏性阻尼和二阶波浪力的作用,计算分析了风力机基础的水动力系数、幅频运动以及动力响应特性.结果表明,经过改进的新型风力机基础具有良好的稳性和水动力性能,特别是在垂荡性能上有大幅的提升.波浪入射角度对垂荡的影响不大,但对其他自由度RAOs影响较大.垂荡、横摇和纵摇RAOs均存在一个主峰值和次峰值,但峰值周期均远离波能集中区.此外还发现,不同工况下风浪入射角对风机系统的动力响应和系泊力均有较大影响,相对于工作工况,极端工况下所受风荷载较小,但是系泊力更大.     

Dynamic Performance Investigation of A Spar-Type Floating Wind Turbine Under Different Sea Conditions

Both numerical calculation and model test are important techniques to study and forecast the dynamic responses of the floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT). However, both the methods have their own limitations at present. In this study, the dynamic responses of a 5 MW OC3 spar-type floating wind turbine designed for a water depth of 200 m are numerically investigated and validated by a 1:50 scaled model test. Moreover, the discrepancies between the numerical calculations and model tests are obtained and discussed. According to the discussions, it is found that the surge and pitch are coupled with the mooring tensions, but the heave is independent of them. Surge and pitch are mainly induced by wave under wind wave conditions. Wind and current will induce the low-frequency average responses, while wave will induce the fluctuation ranges of the responses. In addition, wave will induce the wavefrequency responses but wind and current will restrain the ranges of the responses.     

偏航工况下海上浮式风力机基础运动响应及锚泊载荷影响分析

海上浮式风力机受风、浪、流等外部载荷影响,运营期间经常处于偏航工况,给风力机基础运动响应和锚泊载荷带来重要影响.基于经典叶素动量理论及势流理论,建立海上浮式风力机水—气动力耦合分析模型,对在非定常风、不规则波浪联合作用下,风力机偏航时基础运动响应及锚泊载荷等进行分析.研究发现,额定风速工况下,风力机偏航对平台纵荡和纵摇运动影响较大,偏航30°时纵荡和纵摇平均值比偏航0°时分别下降20.68％和37.36％,垂荡运动响应受风力机偏航影响较小;锚泊载荷变化趋势与平台运动及锚链布置有关,平台纵荡对锚泊载荷影响较大,偏航30°时锚链#1有效张力平均值比偏航0°时下降12.98％.     

Dynamic Analysis of Turret-Moored FPSO System in Freak Wave

Freak wave is the common wave which has significant wave height and irregular wave shape, and it is easy to damage offshore structure extremely. The FPSOs (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) suffer from the environment loads, including the freak wave. The freak waves were generated based on the improved phase modulation model, and the coupling model of FPSO-SPM (Single Point Mooring) was established by considering internal-turret FPSO and its mooring system. The dynamic response characteristics of both FPSO and SPM affected by the freak wave were analyzed in the time domain. According to the results, the freak waves generated by original phase modulation model mainly affect the 2nd-order wave loads. However, the freak waves which are generated by random frequencies phase modulation model affect both 1st-order and 2nd-order wave loads on FPSO. What is more, compared with the irregular waves, the dynamic responses of mooring system are larger in the freak waves, but its amplitude lags behind the peak of the freak wave.     

Comparative Experimental and Numerical Study of Wave Loads on A Monopile Structure Using Different Turbulence Models

This study numerically and experimentally investigates the effects of wave loads on a monopile-type offshore wind turbine placed on a 1: 25 slope at different water depths as well as the effect of choosing different turbulence models on the efficiency of the numerical model. The numerical model adopts a two-phase flow by solving Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes(URANS) equations using the Volume Of Fluid(VOF) method and three different turbulence models. Typical environmental conditions from the East China Sea are studied. The wave run-up and the wave loads applied on the monopile are investigated and compared with relevant experimental data as well as with mathematical predictions based on relevant theories. The numerical model is well validated against the experimental data at model scale. The use of different turbulence models results in different predictions on the wave height but less differences on the wave period. The baseline turbulence model and Shear-Stress Transport(SST) turbulence model exhibit better performance on the prediction of hydrodynamic load, at a model-scale water depth of 0.42 m, while the laminar model provides better results for large water depths. The SST turbulence model performs better in predicting wave run-up for water depth 0.42 m, while the laminar model and standard model perform better at water depth 0.52 m and 0.62 m, respectively.     

Probabilistic analysis of offshore wind turbines under extreme resonant response: Application of environmental contour method

Offshore wind turbines can exhibit dynamic resonant behavior due to sea states with wave excitation frequencies coinciding with the structural eigenfrequencies. In addition to significant contributions to fatigue actions, dynamic load amplification can govern extreme wind turbine responses. However, current design requirements lack specifications for assessment of resonant loads, particularly during parked or idling conditions where aerodynamic damping contributions are significantly reduced. This study demonstrates a probabilistic approach for assessment of offshore wind turbines under extreme resonant responses during parked situations. Based on in-situ metocean observations on the North Sea, the environmental contour method is used to establish relevant design conditions. A case study on a feasible large monopile design showed that resonant loads can govern the design loads. The presented framework can be applied to assess the reliability of wave-sensitive offshore wind turbine structures for a given site-specific metocean conditions and support structure design.     

垂荡板对浮式风机水动—气动耦合性能影响研究

随着风电产业向深远海发展,浮式风机已经成为海上风机未来的发展趋势.由于复杂的风浪联合环境载荷作用,浮式风机作业时通常会产生大幅度的运动响应,这一方面会使得浮式风机系统受到的水动力载荷更加复杂,另一方面会影响浮式风机的输出功率.因此,如何有效地抑制浮式风机系统的运动响应就成为了设计的关键.基于非稳态致动线模型和两相流求解器naoeFOAM-SJTU,进行了带垂荡板的浮式风机耦合性能研究.首先在OC3-Hywind Spar平台上附加垂荡板,并结合NREL-5 MW风力机建立带垂荡板的浮式风机模型.其次对比不同形状的垂荡板对Spar-5 MW型浮式风机气动—水动耦合结果,分析相同风浪联合作用条件下垂荡板形状对浮式风机耦合响应的影响.研究结果表明:垂荡板能够减小纵荡和垂荡等运动响应幅值,但是对纵摇运动响应影响较小;当垂荡板直径和吃水位置相同时,相同风浪条件下圆形垂荡板能使浮式风机的气动平均功率增大约0.844％,而正方形垂荡板却使平均功率减小1.492％,这说明圆形垂荡板对浮式风机系统的作用效果整体而言优于正方形.     

Wave run-up on cylindrical and cone shaped foundations for offshore wind turbines

During the last decade, several offshore wind-farms were built and offshore wind energy promises to be a suitable alternative to provide green energy. However, there are still some engineering challenges in placing the foundations of offshore wind turbines. For example, wave run-up and wave impacts cause unexpected damage to boat landing facilities and platforms. To assess the forces due to wave run-up, the distribution of run-up around the pile and the maximum run-up height need to be known. This article describes a physical model study of the run-up heights and run-up distribution on two shapes of foundations for offshore wind turbines, including both regular and irregular waves. The influence of wave steepness, wave height and water depth on run-up is investigated. The measured run-up values are compared with applicable theories and previous experimental studies predicting run-up on a circular pile.     

Numerical simulation of irregular wave overtopping against a smooth sea dike

Based on the filtered Navier-Stokes equations and Smagorinsky turbulence model,a numerical wave flume is developed to investigate the overtopping process of irregular waves over smooth sea dikes.Simulations of fully nonlinear standing wave and regular wave’s run-up on a sea dike are carried out to validate the implementation of the numerical wave flume with wave generation and absorbing modules.To model stationary ergodic stochastic processes,several cases with different random seeds are computed for each specified irregular wave spectrum.It turns out that the statistical mean overtopping discharge shows good agreement with empirical formulas,other numerical results and experimental data.     

支撑结构频率对海上风机动力响应的影响机理研究

海上支撑结构的优化设计是海上风机技术发展的必然趋势,降低支撑结构的载荷是保证风机安全运行的有效途径。海上支撑结构受到风浪复杂环境荷载作用,风、浪载荷决定着塔底承受较大的剪力和倾覆力矩,同时风浪的随机性和周期性会影响塔架的疲劳载荷。基于海上风机支撑结构频率对载荷影响的研究,分析海上支撑结构频率对叶片根部挥舞和摆振响应的影响,探究频率对风机响应的影响机理。研究表明：波浪频率诱导是基础疲劳载荷响应的主要原因;开展单桩基础设计,当整机频率确定时,基础变径段可设置于浪溅区下部区域范围;叶片摆振响应受1P频率影响较大,在风机设计时可增加叶片摆振方向的阻尼;当整机频率邻近3P频率时,塔筒刚度变化对基础载荷响应的影响大于基础刚度变化;海上支撑结构设计时可优先考虑塔筒刚度。