Numerical Study of a Novel Procedure for Installing the Tower and Rotor Nacelle Assembly of Offshore Wind Turbines Based on the Inverted Pendulum Principle

Current installation costs of offshore wind turbines(OWTs) are high and profit margins in the offshore wind energy sector are low, it is thus necessary to develop installation methods that are more efficient and practical. This paper presents a numerical study(based on a global response analysis of marine operations) of a novel procedure for installing the tower and Rotor Nacelle Assemblies(RNAs) on bottom-fixed foundations of OWTs. The installation procedure is based on the inverted pendulum principle. A cargo barge is used to transport the OWT assembly in a horizontal position to the site, and a medium-size Heavy Lift Vessel(HLV) is then employed to lift and up-end the OWT assembly using a special upending frame. The main advantage of this novel procedure is that the need for a huge HLV(in terms of lifting height and capacity) is eliminated. This novel method requires that the cargo barge is in the leeward side of the HLV(which can be positioned with the best heading) during the entire installation. This is to benefit from shielding effects of the HLV on the motions of the cargo barge, so the foundations need to be installed with a specific heading based on wave direction statistics of the site and a typical installation season. Following a systematic approach based on numerical simulations of actual operations, potential critical installation activities, corresponding critical events, and limiting(response) parameters are identified. In addition, operational limits for some of the limiting parameters are established in terms of allowable limits of sea states. Following a preliminary assessment of these operational limits, the duration of the entire operation, the equipment used, and weather-and water depth-sensitivity, this novel procedure is demonstrated to be viable.

Oblique Wave-Induced Responses of A VLFS Edged with A Pair of Inclined Perforated Plates

This paper is concerned with the hydroelastic responses of a mat-like, rectangular very large floating structure(VLFS) edged with a pair of horizontal/inclined perforated anti-motion plates in the context of the direct coupling method. The updated Lagrangian formulae are applied to establish the equilibrium equations of the VLFS and the total potential formula is employed for fluids in the numerical model including the viscous effect of the perforated plates through the Darcy’s law. The hybrid finite element-boundary element(FE-BE) method is implemented to determine the response reduction of VLFS with attached perforated plates under various oblique incident waves.Also, the numerical solutions are validated against a series of experimental tests. The effectiveness of the attached perforated plates in reducing the deflections of the VLFS can be significantly improved by selecting the proper design parameters such as the porous parameter, submergence depth, plate width and inclination angle for the given sea conditions.

Dynamic Analysis of A Pontoon-Separated Floating Bridge Subjected to A Moving Load

For the design and operation of a floating bridge, the understanding of its dynamic behavior under a moving load is of great importance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamic performances of a new type floating bridge, the pontoon-separated floating bridge, under the effect of a moving load. In the paper, a brief summary of the dynamic analysis of the floating bridge is first introduced. The motion equations for a pontoon-separated floating bridge, considering the nonlinear properties of connectors and vehicles＇ inertia effects, are proposed. The super-element method is applied to reduce the numerical analysis scale to solve the reduced equations. Based on the static analysis, the dynamic features of the new type floating bridge subjected to a moving load are investigated. It is found that the dynamie behavior of the pontoon-separated floating bridge is superior to that of the ribbon bridge by taking the nonlinearity of eonneetors into account.

深水定位系统的安全管理(英文)

Based on relevant in-service experience, this paper discusses how risks associated with station-keeping systems can be controlled through adequate design criteria, inspection, repair and maintenance practice, as well as quality assurance and control of the engineering processes. Particular focus must be placed on quantitative design for system robustness. The application of structural reliability analysis to quantify safety is briefly reviewed. In particular it was emphasized that reliability predictions based on normal uncertainties and variability yielded lower failure rates than those experienced for predictions of hulls and catenary mooring systems; gross errors in design, fabrication and operation were responsible. For this reason the broad safety management approach mentioned above was proposed. Moreover, it was found that this approach needed to be supported by a quantitative risk assessment. Finally, the challenges in dealing with the effects of human factors in risk management are outlined, along with means to deal with them in a qualitative manner, by the so-called barrier method to limit risk.

Comparative numerical and experimental study of two combined wind and wave energy concepts

With a successful and rapid development of offshore wind industry and increased research activities on wave energy conversion in recent years,there is an interest in investigating the technological and economic feasibility of combining offshore wind turbines(WTs)with wave energy converters(WECs).In the EU FP7 MARINA Platform project,three floating combined concepts,namely the spar torus combination(STC),the semi-submersible flap combination(SFC)and the oscillating water column(OWC)array with a wind turbine,were selected and studied in detail by numerical and experimental methods.This paper summarizes the numerical modeling and analysis of the two concepts:STC and SFC,the model tests at a 1:50 scale under simultaneous wave and wind excitation,as well as the comparison between the numerical and experimental results.Both operational and survival wind and wave conditions were considered.The numerical analysis was based on a time-domain global model using potential flow theory for hydrodynamics and blade element momentum theory(for SFC)or simplified thrust force model(for STC)for aerodynamics.Different techniques for model testing of combined wind and wave concepts were discussed with focus on modeling of wind turbines by disk or redesigned small-scale rotor and modeling of power take-off(PTO)system for wave energy conversion by pneumatic damper or hydraulic rotary damper.In order to reduce the uncertainty due to scaling,the numerical analysis was performed at model scale and both the numerical and experimental results were then up-scaled to full scale for comparison.The comparison shows that the current numerical model can well predict the responses(motions,PTO forces,power production)of the combined concepts for most of the cases.However,the linear hydrodynamic model is not adequate for the STC concept in extreme wave conditions with the torus fixed to the spar at the mean water level for which the wave slamming on the torus occurs and this requires further investigation.Moreover,based on a preliminary comparison of the displacement,the PTO system as well as the wind and wave power production,the STC concept will have a lower cost of energy as compared to the SFC concept.However,the cost of energy of either the STC or the SFC concept is higher than that of a pure floating wind turbine with the same floater.