Innovative fatigue prediction model for improved fatigue performance of welded steel connections in offshore wind turbine jackets
article
Offshore Wind power is considered one of the fastest growing maritime sectors and the most promising sources of ‘clean’ energy towards meeting the European targets for 2020 and 2050. The growth of the sector has also been mirrored in other continents like China and US. The technology keeps rapidly growing and the top offshore turbine makers in the industry, Siemens and MHI Vestas, are already developing wind turbines with power ratings up to 7.0 MW and 8.0 MW, respectively. The combination of increasing wind tower heights, rotor blade diameters and water depths, needed for the multi-megawatt wind turbines, makes the need for complex jacket support structures inevitable. As the design of jacket support structures is fatigue driven, the challenge is to balance fatigue performance, structural weight and the operating and maintenance (O&M) strategies in order to reduce the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and the Operating Expenditure (OPEX). The current industry-wide accepted methods of fatigue life prediction, according to offshore wind design standards and guidelines, have certain known conservatism. This is due to the uncertainty in load and resistance variables, required safety and assumptions and simplifications in the calculation procedures.
TNO Identifier
573573
Source
Keppel Technology Review 2016, pp. 87-97.
Publisher
Keppel Offshore and Marine Technology Centre
Pages
87-97
Files
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