Global Analysis of a Floating Wind Turbine Using an Aero-Hydro-Elastic Model: Part 1—Code Development and Case Study

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Ormberg ◽  
Elizabeth Passano ◽  
Neil Luxcey
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Global Analysis ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
System Response ◽  
Elastic Model ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Floating Wind Turbine ◽  
Study Results

This paper describes the extension of a well proven state-of-the-art simulation tool for coupled floating structures to accommodate offshore wind turbine applications, both floating and fixed. All structural parts, i.e. rotor blades, hub, nacelle, tower, vessel and mooring system, are included in the finite element model of the complete system. The aerodynamic formulation is based on the blade element momentum theory. A control algorithm is used for regulation of blade pitch angle and electrical torque. The system response is calculated by nonlinear time domain analysis. This approach ensures dynamic equilibrium every time step and gives a proper time domain interaction between the blade dynamics, the mooring dynamics and the tower motions. The developed computer code provides a tool for efficient analysis of motions, support forces and power generation potential, as influenced by waves, wind, and current. Some key results from simulations with wind and wave loading are presented in the paper. The results are compared with results obtained with a rigid blade model and quasi-static model of the anchor lines. The modelled wind turbine is the NREL offshore 5-MW baseline wind turbine, specifications of which are publicly available. In the accompanying paper, Global Analysis of a Floating Wind Turbine Using an Aero-Hydro-Elastic Numerical Model. Part 2: Benchmark Study, results from the new analysis tool are benchmarked against results from other analysis tools.

scholarly journals Design Optimization and Coupled Dynamics Analysis of an Offshore Wind Turbine with a Single Swivel Connected Tether

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jieyan Chen ◽  
Chengxi Li
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Design Optimization ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Dynamic Performance ◽  
Coupled Systems ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Elastic Model ◽  
Dynamics Analysis ◽  
Coupled Dynamics

The increased interest in renewable wind energy has stimulated many offshore wind turbine concepts. This paper presents a design optimization and a coupled dynamics analysis of a platform with a single tether anchored to the seabed supported for a 5 MW baseline wind turbine. The design is based on a concept named SWAY. We conduct a parametric optimization process that accounts for important design considerations in the static and dynamic view, such as the stability, natural frequency, performance requirements, and cost feasibility. Through these optimization processes, we obtain and present the optimized model. We then establish the fully coupled aero-hydro-servo-elastic model by the time-domain simulation tool FAST (Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence) with the hydrodynamic coefficients from an indoor program HydroGen. We conduct extensive time-domain simulations with various wind and wave conditions to explore the effects of wind speed and wave significant height on the dynamic performance of the optimized SWAY model in various water depths. The swivel connection between the platform and tether is the most special design for the SWAY model. Thus, we compare the performance of models with different tether connection designs, based on the platform motions, nacelle velocity, nacelle accelerations, resonant behaviors, and the damping of the coupled systems. The results of these comparisons demonstrate the advantage of the optimized SWAY model with the swivel connection. From these analyses, we prove that the optimized SWAY model is a good candidate for deep water deployment.

scholarly journals On Tower Top Axial Acceleration and Drivetrain Responses in a Spar-Type Floating Wind Turbine

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Rasekhi Nejad ◽  
Erin E. Bachynski ◽  
Torgeir Moan
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Global Analysis ◽  
Correlation Study ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Maximum Acceleration ◽  
Peak Period ◽  
Floating Wind Turbine ◽  
Axial Acceleration ◽  
Northern North Sea ◽  
Wave Induced

Common industrial practice for designing floating wind turbines is to set an operational limit for the tower-top axial acceleration, normally in the range of 0.2–0.3g, which is typically understood to be related to the safety of turbine components. This paper investigates the rationality of the tower-top acceleration limit by evaluating the correlation between acceleration and drivetrain responses. A 5 MW reference drivetrain is selected and modelled on a spar-type floating wind turbine in 320 m water depth. A range of environmental conditions are selected based on the long-term distribution of wind speed, significant wave height, and peak period from hindcast data for the Northern North Sea. For each condition, global analysis using an aero-hydro-servo-elastic tool is carried out for six one-hour realizations. The global analysis results provide useful information on their own — regarding the correlation between environmental condition and tower top acceleration, and correlation between tower top acceleration and other responses of interest — which are used as input in a decoupled analysis approach. The load effects and motions from the global analysis are applied on a detailed drivetrain model in a multi-body system (MBS) analysis tool. The local responses on bearings are then obtained from MBS analysis and post-processed for the correlation study. Although the maximum acceleration provides a good indication of the wave-induced loads, it is not seen to be a good predictor for significant fatigue damage on the main bearings in this case.

Dynamic Response of an Offshore Wind Turbine System Using Coupled and Limited Coupled Methods

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fasuo Yan ◽  
Cheng Peng ◽  
Jun Zhang ◽  
Dagang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Response ◽  
Dynamic Analysis ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Numerical Code ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Response Analysis ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Coupled Method ◽  
Floating Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbine System

Offshore turbines are gaining attention as means to capture the immense and relatively calm wind resources available over deep waters. A coupled dynamic analysis is required to evaluate the interactions between the wind turbine, floating hull and its mooring system. In this study, a coupled hydro-aero dynamic response analysis of a floating wind turbine system (NREL offshore-5MW baseline wind turbine) is carried out. A numerical code, known as COUPLE, has been extended to collaborate with FAST for the simulation of the dynamic interaction. Two methods were used in the analysis; one is coupled method and the other is limited coupled method. In the coupled method, the two codes are linked at each time step to solve the whole floating system. The limited coupled method assumes wind load is from a turbine installed on top of a fixed base, namely it doesn’t consider real-time configuration of floating carrier at each time step. Coupled technique is also mentioned to integrate the hydro-aero dynamic analysis in this paper. Six-degrees of freedom motion and mooring tensions are presented and compared. The numerical results derived in this study may provide crucial information for the design of a floating wind turbine in the future.

scholarly journals Proposal of a Novel Semi-Submersible Floating Wind Turbine Platform Composed of Inclined Columns and Multi-Segmented Mooring Lines

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenqing Liu ◽  
Qingsong Zhou ◽  
Yuangang Tu ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Xugang Hua
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Mooring Line ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Mooring Lines ◽  
Offshore Area ◽  
Floating Wind Turbine ◽  
Inclined Angle ◽  
Heave Motion

The semi-submersible floating offshore wind turbine has been studied in detail due to its good stability. However, the occurrence of typhoons are very frequent in China’s offshore area, putting forward a higher requirement for the stability of the floating wind turbine system. By changing the connection mode of the mooring line as well as the structural form of the platform based on the original OC4 model, two groups of models were examined by an in-house developed code named as the Analysis Tool of Floating Wind Turbine (AFWT). The influence of the arrangement of the mooring lines and the inclination angle of the upper columns on the motion response were clarified. It was found that the surge motion of the platform would be obviously decreased by decreasing the length of the upper segments of the mooring lines, while the heave motion of the platform would be significantly decreased as increasing the inclined angle of the columns. Therefore, a new model integrating the optimized multi-segmented mooring lines and the optimized inclined columns was proposed. The examinations showed that compared with the response motions of the original OC4 semi-submersible model, the proposed model could reduce both the surge and heave motions of the platform effectively.

Effect of Axial Acceleration on Drivetrain Responses in a Spar-Type Floating Wind Turbine

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir R. Nejad ◽  
Erin E. Bachynski ◽  
Torgeir Moan
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Global Analysis ◽  
Correlation Study ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Maximum Acceleration ◽  
Peak Period ◽  
Floating Wind Turbine ◽  
Axial Acceleration ◽  
Northern North Sea ◽  
Wave Induced

Common industrial practice for designing floating wind turbines is to set an operational limit for the tower-top axial acceleration, normally in the range of 0.2–0.3 g, which is typically understood to be related to the safety of turbine components. This paper investigates the rationality of the tower-top acceleration limit by evaluating the correlation between acceleration and drivetrain responses. A 5-MW reference drivetrain is selected and modeled on a spar-type floating wind turbine in 320 m water depth. A range of environmental conditions are selected based on the long-term distribution of wind speed, significant wave height, and peak period from hindcast data for the Northern North Sea. For each condition, global analysis using an aero-hydro-servo-elastic tool is carried out for six one-hour realizations. The global analysis results provide useful information on their own—regarding the correlation between environmental condition and tower top acceleration, and the correlation between tower top acceleration and other responses of interest—which are used as input in a decoupled analysis approach. The load effects and motions from the global analysis are applied on a detailed drivetrain model in a multibody system (MBS) analysis tool. The local responses on bearings are then obtained from MBS analysis and postprocessed for the correlation study. Although the maximum acceleration provides a good indication of the wave-induced loads, it is not seen to be a good predictor for significant fatigue damage on the main bearings in this case.

Coupled Dynamic Analysis for Multi-Unit Floating Offshore Wind Turbine in Maximum Operational and Survival Conditions

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. K. Jang ◽  
H. C. Kim ◽  
M. H. Kim ◽  
K. H. Kim
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Random Waves ◽  
Mooring Lines ◽  
Floating Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Coupled Dynamic Analysis ◽  
Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

Numerical tools for a single floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) have been developed by a number of researchers, while the investigation of multi-unit floating offshore wind turbines (MUFOWT) has rarely been performed. Recently, a numerical simulator was developed by TAMU to analyze the coupled dynamics of MUFOWT including multi-rotor-floater-mooring coupled effects. In the present study, the behavior of MUFOWT in time domain is described through the comparison of two load cases in maximum operational and survival conditions. A semi-submersible floater with four 2MW wind turbines, moored by eight mooring lines is selected as an example. The combination of irregular random waves, steady currents and dynamic turbulent winds are applied as environmental loads. As a result, the global motion and kinetic responses of the system are assessed in time domain. Kane’s dynamic theory is employed to formulate the global coupled dynamic equation of the whole system. The coupling terms are carefully considered to address the interactions among multiple turbines. This newly developed tool will be helpful in the future to evaluate the performance of MUFOWT under diverse environmental scenarios. In the present study, the aerodynamic interactions among multiple turbines including wake/array effect are not considered due to the complexity and uncertainty.

Calibration of a Time-Domain Hydrodynamic Model for A 12 MW Semi-Submersible Floating Wind Turbine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Eduardo Silva de Souza ◽  
Nuno Fonseca ◽  
Petter Andreas Berthelsen ◽  
Maxime Thys
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Quadratic Model ◽  
Wave Loads ◽  
Frequency Wave ◽  
Load Models ◽  
Wave Drift ◽  
Floating Wind Turbine ◽  
Decay Tests

Abstract Design optimization of mooring systems is an important step towards the reduction of costs for the floating wind turbine (FWT) industry. Accurate prediction of slowly-varying horizontal motions is needed, but there are still questions regarding the most adequate models for low-frequency wave excitation, and damping, for typical FWT concepts. To fill this gap, it is fundamental to compare existing load models against model tests results. This paper describes a calibration procedure for a three-columns semi-submersible FWT, based on adjustment of a time-domain numerical model to experimental results in decay tests, and tests in waves. First, the numerical model and underlying assumptions are introduced. The model is then validated against experimental data, such that the adequate load models are chosen and adjusted. In this step, Newman’s approximation is adopted for the second-order wave loads, using wave drift coefficients obtained from the experiments. Calm-water viscous damping is represented as a linear and quadratic model, and adjusted based on decay tests. Additional damping from waves is then adjusted for each sea state, consisting of a combination of a wave drift damping component, and one component with viscous nature. Finally, a parameterization procedure is proposed for generalizing the results to sea states not considered in the tests.

Dynamic Analysis of a Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Under Extreme Environmental Conditions

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoaki Utsunomiya ◽  
Shigeo Yoshida ◽  
Hiroshi Ookubo ◽  
Iku Sato ◽  
Shigesuke Ishida
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Analysis ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Aerodynamic Force ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Simulation Code ◽  
Floating Offshore Wind Turbine

This paper is concerned with the development of a Floating Offshore Wind Turbine (FOWT) utilizing spar-type floating foundation. In order to design such a structure, it is essential to evaluate the dynamic response under extreme environmental conditions. In this study, therefore, a dynamic analysis tool has been developed. The dynamic analysis tool consists of a multi-body dynamics solver (MSC.Adams), aerodynamic force evaluation library (NREL/AeroDyn), hydrodynamic force evaluation library (In-house program named SparDyn), and mooring force evaluation library (In-house program named Moorsys). In this paper, some details of the developed dynamic analysis tool are given. In order to validate the program, comparison with the experimental results, where the wind, current and wave are applied simultaneously, has been made. The comparison shows that satisfactory agreements between the simulation and the experimental results are obtained. However, when VIM (Vortex Induced Motion) occurs, the current loads and cross flow responses (sway and roll) are underestimated by the simulation since the simulation code does not account for the effect of VIM.

Fatigue Life Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbine Support Structures in an Offshore Wind Farm

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Nelson ◽  
Yann Quéméner
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
The Body ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Support Structures ◽  
Offshore Wind Farm ◽  
Actuator Disk

This study evaluated, by time-domain simulations, the fatigue lives of several jacket support structures for 4 MW wind turbines distributed throughout an offshore wind farm off Taiwan’s west coast. An in-house RANS-based wind farm analysis tool, WiFa3D, has been developed to determine the effects of the wind turbine wake behaviour on the flow fields through wind farm clusters. To reduce computational cost, WiFa3D employs actuator disk models to simulate the body forces imposed on the flow field by the target wind turbines, where the actuator disk is defined by the swept region of the rotor in space, and a body force distribution representing the aerodynamic characteristics of the rotor is assigned within this virtual disk. Simulations were performed for a range of environmental conditions, which were then combined with preliminary site survey metocean data to produce a long-term statistical environment. The short-term environmental loads on the wind turbine rotors were calculated by an unsteady blade element momentum (BEM) model of the target 4 MW wind turbines. The fatigue assessment of the jacket support structure was then conducted by applying the Rainflow Counting scheme on the hot spot stresses variations, as read-out from Finite Element results, and by employing appropriate SN curves. The fatigue lives of several wind turbine support structures taken at various locations in the wind farm showed significant variations with the preliminary design condition that assumed a single wind turbine without wake disturbance from other units.

Experimental Investigation on the Dynamic Response of a Three Legged Articulated Type Offshore Wind Tower

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinsu Mereena Joy ◽  
Anitha Joseph ◽  
Lalu Mangal
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Response ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Offshore Structures ◽  
Dynamic Responses ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Ocean Engineering ◽  
Study Results

Demand for renewable energy sources is rapidly increasing since they are able to replace depleting fossil fuels and their capacity to act as a carbon neutral energy source. A substantial amount of such clean, renewable and reliable energy potential exists in offshore winds. The major engineering challenge in establishing an offshore wind energy facility is the design of a reliable and financially viable offshore support for the wind turbine tower. An economically feasible support for an offshore wind turbine is a compliant platform since it moves with wave forces and offer less resistance to them. Amongst the several compliant type offshore structures, articulated type is an innovative one. It is flexibly linked to the seafloor and can move along with the waves and restoring is achieved by large buoyancy force. This study focuses on the experimental investigations on the dynamic response of a three-legged articulated structure supporting a 5MW wind turbine. The experimental investigations are done on a 1: 60 scaled model in a 4m wide wave flume at the Department of Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. The tests were conducted for regular waves of various wave periods and wave heights and for various orientations of the platform. The dynamic responses are presented in the form of Response Amplitude Operators (RAO). The study results revealed that the proposed articulated structure is technically feasible in supporting an offshore wind turbine because the natural frequencies are away from ocean wave frequencies and the RAOs obtained are relatively small.

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