2.3. Offshore Wind Turbine Farms
Installing wind turbines in the form of clusters and farms can significantly increase their performance; downstream turbines can extract energy from the vortical flows shed by their upstream counterparts
[41][42][64,65]. Additionally, direct interactions of velocity-deficit regions in the wake of an upstream turbine with the rotating blades of a downstream one degrades its performance
[3][8]. Hence, it demands special care of setting the spaces between floating offshore wind turbines when they are arranged in arrays
[43][66]. Due to the allied cost and complexity for replicating wind and wave conditions in controlled laboratory environments, computational techniques are favored for studying these effects and their consequences. Though virtual in nature, they provide considerable flexibility to introduce variations in the governing parameters and changing array configurations of turbines. Hence, the most recent advancements in this field rely on numerical simulations to determine the aerodynamic performance of offshore wind farms. However, the associated computational cost is enormous due to the multi-physical nature of these systems and mesh requirements to solve governing mathematical models.
2.4. Flow Induced Acoustics
When solid structures undergo motion in a fluid, pressure waves are generated in their surroundings, propagating acoustic signals. These features can cause noise pollution in aquatic environments and disturb the natural habitats of marine species. Due to the construction of large farms of floating offshore wind turbines in oceans, migration routes of aquatic animals can be changed, which would have an adverse impact on underwater ecosystems. It is therefore important to quantify flow-induced sound emitted due to operations of these floating structures. Offshore wind turbines also reduce the sensitivity of seismic stations to measure the low-frequency motion signals in ocean beds due to earthquakes or testing of mass-scale weapons. Moreover, mixed seismic signals are produced by the support structures and mooring cables. Thus, it is important to examine the emitted flow-induced aero-acoustic signals.
Thus, more extensive efforts are required to understand how flow-induced acoustic signals from offshore wind turbines impact the lives of biological species. Evaluating the impact of governing kinematic parameters of wave loading, turbulence intensity and tip–speed ratio is required to come up with more effective designs of offshore wind turbines. Simultaneously, detailed knowledge on fluid–structure–acoustic interactions should be obtained, so that effective flow control strategies can be designed and implemented. A significant gap in our current knowledge relates to the emission and propagation of acoustic signals when multiple offshore wind turbines operate in close proximity of one another.
3. Structural Integrity of Offshore Wind Turbines
3.1. Wind Turbine Blades
Boudounit et al.
[44][70] have carried out numerical investigations on the structural integrity of wind turbine blades under in-service and off-service wind conditions. Finite element models of two different wind turbine blades, one made of fiberglass/epoxy composite and the other made of carbon fiber/epoxy composite, have been created as shell elements in the numerical environment. The length of both blades was 48 m, weighing 12.18 t for fiberglass/epoxy and 9.54 t for carbon fiber/epoxy. The aerodynamic design of the blades considered was NACA4424 with a maximum camber of 4–14% from the leading edge and a maximum thickness of 24%. Encastre type constraints have been applied at the blade root, while all three aerodynamic gravity and centrifugal wind loads have been incorporated into the model (in-service at 25 m/s and off-service at 75 m/s). Hashin’s criteria for damage initiation in composite materials (firer and matrix failure modes, i.e., fiber tension/compression and matrix tension/compression) have been used to analyze the structural integrity of the blades
[45][46][71,72]. The numerically predicted results indicate that the blade tip displacement in case of fiberglass/epoxy composite blades is significantly higher than carbon fiber/epoxy blades; under off-service conditions, it can be 2.2 times more. Hashin’s criteria has been met by the fiberglass/epoxy composite blade at 55 m/s wind speed, leading to matrix cracking followed by fiber-matrix interface violation and eventually fiber failure. The stiffness of carbon fiber/epoxy blades has been recorded to be 3.7 times higher than fiberglass/epoxy blades, making them a more suitable material for wind turbine blades manufacture. Hand et al.
[47][73] carried out extensive finite element analysis (FEA) on a 5 MW offshore wind turbine blades made of glass fiber reinforced polymer. Structural analyses have been carried out at most critical wind load cases as defined in IEC 61400-01 Class 1A
[48][74], for example at 70 m/s. Longitudinal strain has been analyzed along the spanwise direction of the blades. The numerical results obtained show compressive strain on the camber face of the blade, at the blade mid-span, with values of the longitudinal strain well within the allowable limits. This has been compared against the results from an analytical model, which assumes the blade as a beam with all the parts lumped together. It has been computed that the analytically calculated longitudinal strain on a blade is 8.7% higher. The maximum flapwise deflection at the blade mid-span has been numerically predicted to be 2.9 m under critical wind load conditions. The study also states some recommendations for future work, which include analysis of blade fatigue resulting from varying azimuthal angle (and hence, varying aerodynamic loads), fluid-structure interaction-based studies, etc.
3.2. Offshore Wind Turbine Substructure
The main difference between onshore and offshore wind turbines is the way they are supported and thus, substructures are an integral part of offshore turbines. A significant number of recent scientific investigations have been carried out on fixed support type offshore wind turbines, while very few studies are publicly available on floating offshore wind turbines. It is, however, noteworthy that the future of offshore wind turbine technology lies with the floating offshore wind turbines as their rated power can be significantly higher than fixed support offshore turbines, potentially making them more cost per kWh effective.
Oh and Ishihara
[49][81] carried out a full-scale structural analysis of a 2.4 MW offshore wind turbine with a gravity support structure. The empirical investigations have been carried out through excitation testing of an active mass damper, analyzing the damping ratios for different frequency modes. Sinusoidal vibration and free decay testing criteria have been employed for estimating the structural mechanics of the wind turbine. Results show that the damping ratios during sinusoidal vibration testing are 0.2% for the first mode and 2.4% for the second mode. For free decay testing, the fore-aft modes are similar to the sinusoidal vibration testing. However, side-side modes result in damping ratios of 1.2% and 3.2%, respectively, for the first and second modes. An empirical model has been developed to estimate the damping ratio for the first mode. This work has been expanded further by Ishihara and Wang
[50][82] to induce the effects of soil properties using genetic algorithm (GA). Numerical investigations have been carried out on gravity support and monopile support structures, and the modal results validated against field data. It has been observed that the damping ratio is strongly dependent on the soil stiffness. The increase in damping ratio for the second mode of gravity support structure is due to the riprap layer, which is softer than the original soil. For the monopile support structure, soil stiffness affects both modes. Gentils et al.
[51][83] have carried out numerical investigations on the structural mechanics and optimal design of offshore wind turbine support structures. Finite element analysis (FEA) has been coupled with GA (integrated optimization) with the objective of minimizing the weight of the monopile support. The optimization criteria employed are the standard requirements of vibrations, stress, deformation, buckling, fatigue and design constraints. The integrated optimization model has been applied to 5 MW turbine from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
[52][48]. Numerical predictions for the aero-hydro-elastic analyses have been validated against the reference offshore wind turbine data. The design variables considered for the natural selection GA are the outer diameter and the thickness of the multi-component subsea support structure.
3.3. Wind Turbine Tower
Dagli et al.
[53][97] carried out a 2-way fluid–structure interaction (FSI) analyses on a variable geometry tower offshore wind turbine in order to analyze its dynamic behavior. The offshore shore wind turbine considered in this study resembles the fixed-support type. The effects of wind, wave and seismic loads on the stresses, displacements and natural frequency of the tower have been investigated. For wave loading, Morison’s equation has been employed. Thus, only in-line wave motion has been considered. For the seismic effects, a cosine wave function has been used. Rayleigh’s energy method has been used for single degree of freedom (SDOF) of the tower. The results obtained depict highest deformation at the top of the tower (0.412 m from FSI and 0.382 from Rayleigh’s energy method), while highest von Mises stress at its base (1.16 × 10
10 Pa). Natural torsional frequencies have been computed using eigenvalue analysis with the first one at 9 Hz. It has been advocated that Rayleigh’s energy method is a close approximation of the coupled FSI modelling, and thus, it can be used as a precursor to high-fidelity numerical modelling. Asnaashari et al.
[54][98] have numerically analyzed the frequency spectrum of an offshore wind turbine with a monopile foundation. Euler–Bernoulli beam element has been employed for carrying out FEA of the turbine tower and the transition piece. P-y method has been used to define the lateral interaction between the monopile foundation and the surrounding soil. Numerically predicted natural frequencies of the offshore wind turbine depict the first two bending modes at 0.35 Hz and 1.46 Hz for the Siemens 2.3 MW turbine. In situ measurements have been carried out using low-frequency accelerometers at a sampling rate of 500 Hz. Frequency response function (FRF) of the measured data show 1st and 2nd bending moments at 0.37 Hz and 1.7 Hz.
4. Offshore Wind Turbines’ Maintenance
Corrective and proactive maintenance are widely used maintenance strategies to keep the wind turbine operating and reduce downtime by monitoring their health condition. Corrective maintenance is simple and only implemented once after failure. However, it is not efficient due to a high risk of failed components, leading to severe outcomes. Therefore, time-based preventive maintenance (PM) or condition-based maintenance (CBM) is preferred over corrective maintenance in the offshore wind industry. Reliability is a critical factor for maintenance as low levels of component reliability could lead towards systems failure and extensive maintenance. The choice of correct maintenance strategy is important to maintain constant power generation with minimum downtime, improve performance of offshore wind turbines and reduce total levelized cost of energy (LCoE) [55][56][57][107,108,109]. Kang et al. [58][110] reviewed condition-based maintenance strategies for offshore wind energy and presented a summary of existing optimization solutions and maintenance strategies. It has been found that simulation models and intelligence-based solution techniques are widely used and show potential for condition recognition and optimization of offshore wind farm maintenance activities. The operation and maintenance costs of offshore wind farms are higher compared to onshore ones due to difficulty to estimate the actual costs over time. It has been suggested that minimum cost, maximum power generation and maximum availability are three drivers for optimization of maintenance techniques. Due to advancements in electrical and electronic systems for monitoring and analyzing the health of offshore structures, condition-based maintenance is expanding its applications to offshore wind energy sector. Structural health monitoring, acoustic emission testing and vibrations analysis are effective ways to monitor the condition of offshore turbine blades and structures [59][111].
Dao et al. [60][112] have proposed an integrated maintenance strategy for offshore wind turbine components by comparing different maintenance strategies. It has been observed that the maintenance downtime due to repairs and delays due to weather conditions have not been considered in previous research studies for condition-based maintenance optimization. The downtime of offshore turbines is approximately double compared to onshore wind turbines due to operating environment, adverse weather conditions and accessibility [55][107]. The proposed CBMPM strategy reduces the total maintenance cost and downtime of the wind turbine through numerical simulations.
Optimum system reliability of offshore wind turbines depends on a detailed maintenance plan, though maintenance scheduling is complex and challenging [61][115]. Nguyen and Chou [62][116] have found a major gap in existing literature on the maintenance schedule of wind turbines. Parameters, such as system reliability, weather conditions, maintenance duration and power generation loss, have been included in the study and the outcome for an individual and grouping maintenance schedules for offshore wind systems investigated. Reduced maintenance costs and improved systems reliability have been obtained for grouping maintenance schedules compared to the baseline schedule, hence the potential for large scale deployment of offshore wind installation in the future. Zhou and Yin [63][117] have stated the importance of accuracy and comprehensiveness of the maintenance information on maintenance decisions, which have the potential to cause over or under-maintenance of wind turbine components, resulting in increased maintenance costs. A dynamic opportunistic condition-based maintenance strategy has been proposed, integrating predictive analytics to develop optimal maintenance plans for turbine components. Simulation results show that the proposed strategy reduces the maintenance cost by approximately 32.46–39.24% compared to widely used maintenance strategies.
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