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Title: NREL Software Aids Offshore Wind Turbine Designs (Fact Sheet)

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1097305· OSTI ID:1097305

NREL researchers are supporting offshore wind power development with computer models that allow detailed analyses of both fixed and floating offshore wind turbines. While existing computer-aided engineering (CAE) models can simulate the conditions and stresses that a land-based wind turbine experiences over its lifetime, offshore turbines require the additional considerations of variations in water depth, soil type, and wind and wave severity, which also necessitate the use of a variety of support-structure types. NREL's core wind CAE tool, FAST, models the additional effects of incident waves, sea currents, and the foundation dynamics of the support structures.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Wind Power Program
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1097305
Report Number(s):
NREL/FS-6A42-60377
Resource Relation:
Related Information: Innovation Impact: Wind, NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English