• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2012

Offshore wind turbines are complex structural and mechanical systems located in a highly demanding environment. This paper proposes a multi-level system approach for studying the structural behavior of the support structure of an offshore wind turbine. In accordance with this approach, a proper numerical modeling requires the adoption of a suitable technique in order to organize the qualitative and quantitative assessment in various sub-problems, which can be solved by means of sub-models at different levels of detail, both for the structural behavior and for the simulation of loads. Consequently, in a first place, the effects on the structural response induced by the uncertainty of the parameters used to describe the environmental actions and the finite element model of the structure are inquired. After that, a meso-level FEM model of the blade is adopted in order to obtain the detailed load stress on the blade/hub connection.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.371-377
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• 2014

In this study, the hydrodynamic characteristics of various types of jack-up legs for a wind turbine installation vessel were analyzed. Using the modified Morison equation, the wave and current excitation forces on the jack-up legs were calculated. A modal analysis was performed to predict the dynamic responses for various types of jack-up legs. The Newmark-beta time integration scheme was used to solve the equation of motion in waves in the time domain. The maximum displacement and maximum bending stress were computed for four different types of legs, and their results were compared to select an optimum leg type. Finally, a six-leg jack-up rig with the selected optimal legs was modeled, and its natural period and hydrodynamic behaviors were evaluated.

• Korean Journal of Computational Design and Engineering
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2014

In the initial design stage, the technology for estimating and managing the weight of a floating offshore structure, such as a FPSO (Floating, Production, Storage, and Off-loading unit) and an offshore wind turbine, has a close relationship with the basic performance and the price of the structure. In this study, using the genetic programming (GP), being used a lot in the approximate estimating model and etc., the weight estimation model of the floating offshore structure was studied. For this purpose, various data for estimating the weight of the floating offshore structure were collected through the literature survey, and then the genetic programming method for developing the weight estimation model was studied and implemented. Finally, to examine the applicability of the developed model, it was applied to examples of the weight estimation of a FPSO topsides and an offshore wind turbine. As a result, it was shown that the developed model can be applied the weight estimation process of the floating offshore structure at the early design stage.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.846-855
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• 2021

Eco-friendly and renewable energy sources are actively being researched in recent times, and of shore wind power generation requires advanced design technologies in terms of increasing the capacities of wind turbines and enlarging wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs). The WTIV ensures that the hull is situated at a height that is not affected by waves. The most important part of the WTIV is the leg structure, which must respond dynamically according to the wave, current, and wind loads. In particular, the wave load is composed of irregular waves, and it is important to know the exact dynamic response. The dynamic response analysis uses a single degree of freedom (SDOF) method, which is a simplified approach, but it is limited owing to the consideration of random waves. Therefore, in industrial practice, the time-domain analysis of random waves is based on the multi degree of freedom (MDOF) method. Although the MDOF method provides high-precision results, its data convergence is sensitive and difficult to apply owing to design complexity. Therefore, a dynamic amplification factor (DAF) estimation formula is developed in this study to express the dynamic response characteristics of random waves through time-domain analysis based on different variables. It is confirmed that the calculation time can be shortened and accuracy enhanced compared to existing MDOF methods. The developed formula will be used in the initial design of WTIVs and similar structures.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.336-341
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• 2016

This paper presents an implementation of a communication network in wind turbines, which exploits the power-line communication system (PLC). We used an inductive coupling unit and a multi-interface device to connect a data-communication terminal to the power line, to ensure that stable communication was possible at various electric current and voltage values of the generator. The results of the operation tests conducted on an operational wind turbine showed that the implemented PLC demonstrated a transmission rate of at least 43 Mbps with a 100% success rate. Moreover, a real-time image was transmitted. Thus, the system could be a useful alternative for implementing a communication network in wind turbines that does not require additional channels. Since the presented system is easy to implement, and can support various interfaces for data communication, it will be quite useful when a real-time monitoring system is launched in wind turbines.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.6
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• pp.785-794
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• 2017

This paper is concerned with the comparative numerical and experimental study on the natural behavior and the motion responses of a 1/75 moored scale model of a 2.5 MW spar-type floating offshore wind turbine subject to 1-D regular wave. Heave, pitch and surge motions and the mooring tensions are investigated and compared by numerical and experimental methods. The upper part of wind turbine which is composed of three rotor blades, hub and nacelle is modeled as a lumped mass and three mooring lines are pre-tensioned by means of linear springs. The numerical simulations are carried out by a coupled FEM-cable dynamics code, while the experiments are performed in a wave tank equipped with the specially-designed vision and data acquisition system. Using the both methods, the natural behavior and the motion responses in RAOs are compared and parametrically investigated to the fairlead position, the spring constant and the location of mass center of platform. It is confirmed, from the comparison, that both methods show a good agreement for all the test cases. And, it is observed that the mooring tension is influenced by all three parameters but the platform motion is dominated by the location of mass center. In addition, from the sensitivity analysis of RAOs, the coupling characteristic of platform motions and the sensitivities to the mooring parameters are investigated.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.922-929
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• 2014

Wind turbines are in the limelight in the alternative energy industry. However, they face frequent and various problems during operation. We focused on the supervising of the blades of a wind turbine. In this paper, we present the design of a maintenance robot that takes the size of wind turbine blades into consideration, so the general form of the robot is a square with four wires fixed to its vertices and to the nacelle. After the robot is placed near the nacelle, it moves along the blades. We also designed an attitude control algorithm for the robot to maintain its balance. Our control algorithm for the robot consists of roll and pitch attitude controllers and a height controller. Each controller was designed independently and then superposed together. We used simulations to verify our control algorithm.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2015

Wind power systems have gained much attention due to the relatively high reliability, good infrastructures and cost competitiveness to the fossil fuels. Advances have been made to increase the power efficiency of wind turbines while less attention has been focused on structural integrity assessment of structural sub-systems such as towers and foundations. Among many parameters for integrity assessment, the most perceptive parameter may be the induced horizontal displacement at the hub height although it is very difficult to measure particularly in large-scale and high-rise wind turbine structures. This study proposes an indirect displacement estimation scheme based on the combined use of inclinometers and accelerometers for more convenient and cost-effective measurements. To this end, (1) the formulation for data fusion of inclination and acceleration responses was presented and (2) the proposed method was numerically validated on an NREL 5 MW wind turbine model. The numerical analysis was carried out to investigate the performance of the propose method according to the number of sensors, the resolution and the available sampling rate of the inclinometers to be used.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.266-273
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• 2015

In this paper, annual wind data in 2014 at six locations(Seosudo, Gadaeam, Sibidongpa, Galmaeyeo, Haesuseo, Jigwido) are collected and analyzed in order to review optimal candidate site for offshore wind farm in the Western Seas of Korea. Observed wind data is fitted to Rayleigh and Weibull distribution and annual energy production is estimated according to wind frequency. GWE-3kH(3 kW-class) and GWE-10KU (10 kW-class) turbine are selected as wind turbine. Also, power curve are used to calculate wind energy potential. As a result, annual mean wind speed at six locations(Seosudo, Gadaeam, Sibidongpa, Galmaeyeo, Haesuseo, Jigwido) were calculated about 4.60, 4.5, 5.00, 5.13, 5.51, 5.90 m/s, respectively. In addition, annual energy production were estimated at 10,622.752, 11,313.05, 13,509.41, 14,899.55, 17,106.13, 19,660.85 kWh. Generally, annual mean energy density were between poor and marginal class and capacity factor at Jigwido was calculated at 22.44%. Its value is higher than the others.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.625-639
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• 2015

Monopiles have been most widely used for supporting offshore wind turbines (OWTs) in shallow water areas. However, multi-member lattice-type structures such as jackets and tripods are also considered good alternatives to monopile foundations for relatively deep water areas with depth ranging from 25-50 m owing to their technical and economic feasibility. Moreover, jacket structures have been popular in the oil and gas industry for a long time. However, several unsolved technical issues still persist in the utilization of multi-member lattice-type supporting structures for OWTs; these problems include pile-soil-interaction (PSI) effects, realization of dynamically stable designs to avoid resonances, and quick and safe installation in remote areas. In this study, the effects of PSI on the dynamic properties of bottom-fixed OWTs, including monopile-, tripod- and jacket-supported OWTs, were investigated intensively. The tower and substructure were modeled using conventional beam elements with added mass, and pile foundations were modeled with beam and nonlinear spring elements. The effects of PSI on the dynamic properties of the structure were evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation considering the load amplitude, scouring depth, and the uncertainties in soil properties.