Coupled aero-hydro-geotech real-time hybrid simulation of offshore wind turbine monopile structures

Journal Article · 19 January 2024 · Engineering Structures

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2024.117463 · OSTI ID:2278629

Al-Subaihawi, Safwan ^[1]; Ricles, James ^[2]; Abu-Kassab, Qasim ^[2]; Suleiman, Muhannad ^[2]; Sause, Richard ^[2]; Marullo, Thomas ^[2]

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1. Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA (United States); Lehigh University
2. Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA (United States)

Real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) divides a structural system into an analytical and experimental substructure. The former is based on a well-established analytical model while the latter consists of a physical model in the laboratory, for which there is not a well-established analytical model. This paper extends real-time hybrid simulation to monopile-type Offshore Wind Turbines (OWTs) to enable the investigation of their behavior considering the response of pile foundations under operational and more severe conditions. The embedded foundation and surrounding soil of the OWT are modeled physically in a soil box in the laboratory while the remaining parts of the system and loading are modeled analytically. The program OpenFAST, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is linked to the RTHS coordinator to determine the hydrodynamic and aerodynamic loads acting on the OWT, along with modeling the dynamics of the electric power generation equipment and associated controller for the OWT. The RTHS framework along with its initial implementation and validation are described in this paper. RTHSs of a 5 MW OWT subjected to operational and more severe conditions are performed to experimentally validate the framework. The framework offers a realistic approach to investigate the behavior of OWT structures supported on monopiles. Furthermore, this approach accounts for the coupled response of the OWT structure with its foundation, while experimentally capturing the nonlinearities of the soil-foundation interaction in real-time.

• Research Organization: Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Wind Energy Technologies Office
• Grant/Contract Number: EE0008964
• OSTI ID: 2278629
• Journal Information: Engineering Structures, Journal Name: Engineering Structures Vol. 303; ISSN 0141-0296
• Publisher: ElsevierCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English