Engineering Offshore Renewables - BF 2022

Engineering for Offshore Renewables
Structural Engineering Aspects
Engineers Ireland – 9th September 2022

Dr Breiffni Fitzgerald
Ussher Assistant Professor in Energy
Dept. Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering
breiffni.fitzgerald@tcd.ie
Engineering for Offshore Renewables
Structural Engineering Aspects
Course outline
13:30 – 14:45
– Environmental forces on offshore structures
– General design principles for offshore structures
15:15 – 16:30
– Introduction to structural dynamics for offshore structures
– State of the art and future trends
Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Environmental forces on offshore
structures
Environmental forces
Loads acting on offshore structures are classified into the following
categories:
‒ Permanent loads or dead loads
‒ Operating loads or live loads
‒ Other environmental loads including earthquake loads
‒ Construction and installation loads
‒ Accidental loads
Offshore structures are unusual in that their design is governed mainly
by environmental loads than by permanent/operating loads.
It should be noted that in structural engineering, earthquakes are

normally regarded as accidental loads (see Eurocode 8), in offshore
engineering, they are treated as environmental loads.
Environmental loads are those caused by environmental phenomena:
‒ Wind ‒ Temperature
‒ Wave ‒ Ice
‒ Current ‒ Seabed movement
‒ Tide ‒ Marine growth
‒ Earthquake
Design load values are determined in special studies on the basis of
available data.
US and Norwegian regulations: the mean recurrence interval for the
corresponding design event must be 100 years, British: 50 years or
greater.
The different loads to be considered while designing the structure are
wind loads, wave load, mass, damping, ice load, seismic load, current
load, dead load, live load, impact load, etc.
Wind - causes
– Wind is caused by air pressure differences. When a pressure difference exists air
will flow from a region of high pressure to a region of low pressure accelerating as
it flows.
– The main cause of the wind on a global scale is the differing levels of heat on the
Earth's surface due to differential heating of the Earth between the poles and the
equator.
– Sunlight is more intense at the equator and thus the air is hotter at the equator
than at the poles. This heated air rises and spreads towards the poles in all
directions. The cooler air near the poles flows down to replace the displaced warm
air at the equator.
– On a more local scale heat input varies by season, cloud cover, latitude, and surface
conditions

Causes of Wind
Coriolis effect
– The rotation of the planet (Coriolis effect) also affects the wind.
– A mass moving in a rotating system experiences a force (the Coriolis force) acting
perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation.
– On Earth, the effect tends to deflect moving objects to the right in the northern
hemisphere and to the left in the southern and is important in the formation of
cyclonic weather systems.
– The Coriolis effect changes the direction of the wind flow, not the speed, as shown in
the figure:
– These effects cause air to start moving relative to Earth's surface – we call this wind.
Wind shear
The surface of the earth exerts a horizontal friction force on the wind, forming
an atmospheric boundary layer. The atmospheric boundary layer has a vertical
velocity profile.
Generally, due to aerodynamic drag, air flows with a lower velocity closer to the
surface of the earth and increases in velocity with height.

Wind shear – effect of earth’s surface
The depth of the atmospheric boundary normally ranges from a few hundred
meters to several kilometres. Depends on the wind intensity, roughness of
terrain and angle of latitude (Simiu and Scanlan 1986). The reduction in velocity
near the surface is a function of surface roughness (i.e. terrain type).
Wind velocity profiles are therefore quite different for different terrain types.
Rough, irregular ground, and man-made obstructions (such as engineering
structures) on the ground can reduce the wind speed by up to 50%. Over open
water or ice, the reduction may be only 20% to 30%. These effects are taken into
account when analysing and designing structures and in the siting of wind
turbines/ wind farms.

Power available in the wind
– The power that is available in the wind depends on both the wind speed and
the area swept by the turbine blades:
1
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟!"!#$!%$& = 𝜌𝐴𝑣 '
2
– This is perhaps the most important formula in wind power, as it states the
amount of energy in the wind. 𝜌 is the density of the air, 𝐴 is the swept area
and 𝑣 is the wind speed.
– This equation shows that power from wind is proportional to the area swept
by the rotor. Doubling the diameter will cause the machine to sweep 4 times
the area (quadrupling its power output).
– The wind speed is to the 3rd power, therefore doubling the wind speed
generates 8 times the power.
– This equation explains the exponential increase in the size of wind turbine
blades and towers in recent years. This equation also tells us that wind
turbines will keep getting bigger.

Wind
The wind speed profile above the surface of water is given by 1/7th power law:
)
𝑧 +
𝑣( = 𝑉)*
10
where 𝑣( is the wind speed at elevation of 𝑧 m above mean sea level (MSL), 𝑉)*
is the wind speed at 10 m above MSL, and 10 m is called the reference height.
This so-called Power law is purely empirical and used widely. It is tested with the
actual field measurements and found to be in good agreement.
This equation gives the mean wind speed, usually denoted with a bar: 𝑣̅

Wind force
Wind is stochastic – it is unpredictable and random in nature.
Wind speed can be assumed statistically as the sum of a mean
component and a fluctuating component:
𝑣 𝑡 = 𝑣̅ + 𝑣 , 𝑡
The wind velocity 𝑣 𝑡 is composed of a mean component 𝑣,̅ in the x
axis direction, and fluctuating components (u, v, w) in three orthogonal
directions (x, y, z). The mean wind speed 𝑣̅ is defined as the average of
the fluctuating velocity 𝑣 𝑡 over the averaging time 𝑇 (Kareem).
The averaging time of the mean wind speed is 10 min in Japan and 1 h in
the UK.

Wind force
The fluctuating component of the wind speed, 𝑣 , 𝑡 can be described by
kinds of statistics, like turbulence intensity and scale, gust factor/peak
factor, power spectrum, spatial-/temporal- correlations and so on.
These features of atmospheric turbulence are of interest in various wind
engineering applications. A detailed course on stochastic dynamics and
turbulence modelling is necessary to fully understand the behaviour of
turbulence.
The figure below (ref. Kareem) shows a typical wind speed variation with
time. The unsteadiness of the wind is clear. The wind speed can be
considered as consisted of two components: mean wind speed and
fluctuating component (due to atmospheric turbulence).

Wind force
Wind forces on offshore structures are caused by complex fluid
dynamics phenomena, which are generally difficult to calculate with a
high degree of accuracy.
Most widely used engineering approaches to estimate wind forces on
offshore structures are based on the simplification that:
‒ When a stream of air flows with constant velocity, 𝑣, it will

generate force on a flat plate of area, 𝐴.
‒ This force will be proportional to 𝐴𝑣 - .

Wind force
Wind forces on offshore structures are caused by complex fluid
dynamics phenomena, which are generally difficult to calculate with a
high degree of accuracy.
Most widely used engineering approaches to estimate wind forces on
offshore structures are based on the simplification that:
‒ When a stream of air flows with constant velocity, 𝑣, it will
generate force on a flat plate of area, 𝐴.
‒ This force will be proportional to 𝐴𝑣 - .
Remember:
Pressure, 𝑝 = )⁄- 𝜌𝑣 - and Force = 𝑝×𝐴, hence, the wind force on a
plate orthogonal to the wind flow direction can be determined by the
net wind pressure: F = )⁄- 𝜌𝑣 - 𝐶. 𝐴

Wind force
F = )⁄- 𝜌𝑣 - 𝐶. 𝐴
Where, 𝐶. is the wind pressure coefficient which depends on the

geometry of the structure and Reynolds number, this is typically 0.7–1.2
for cylindrical members (e.g. monopile)
𝜌 is the mass density of air ≅ 1.225 kg/m3
If the plate has an angle 𝜃 with respect to the wind direction, then the
appropriate projected area, normal to the flow direction, should be used
in the above equation. Geometry is key in determining wind loads.

Wind effects on structures – Geometry important
– Streamlined bodies like aircraft wings/ rotor blades have a rounded nose, a
thin profile, and a sharp trailing edge. Their wakes are small and flow remains
attached.
– On the other hand, bluff bodies have a large separated wake, with unsteady
flow. It is necessary to understand the size and nature of these forces to
ensure that engineered designs are fit for purpose under wind action.
– Most engineering structures present “bluff” forms to the wind. Bluff-body
aerodynamics is a problem that is still actively being researched and as such
much of our knowledge in this area is empirical and descriptive.

Wind forces are often decomposed into Lift and Drag. Drag is the force a flowing
fluid, such as air, exerts on a body in the flow direction. Lift is the force a flowing
fluid exerts on a body perpendicular to the flow direction.
The image illustrates lift and drag forces for an streamlined profile (an airfoil).
The aerodynamic forces on streamlined bodies are well understood, so well
understood that we can harness the lift force to allow us to fly in aeroplanes
and generate power from the wind.

Flat plate parallel with the flow, drag on plate is primarily from skin friction.
Flat plate normal to the flow. Drag is primarily pressure drag, as the pressure on
the leeward face is much less than on the windward face.
Flow around a circular cylinder, drag results from skin friction and pressure.

Wind
Wind produces a low-frequency excitation. The fluctuating component 𝑣 ! 𝑡
(turbulence) is modelled probabilistically. The dynamic response is due solely to the
fluctuating component of the wind load.
Wind produces dynamic inertial and drag forces on a structure.
Most international wind engineering design codes prefer quasi-static analysis.
However, very slender and flexible structures are wind-sensitive and require full dynamic
analysis. A well-known rule of thumb is that the lowest natural frequency should be
below 1 Hz for the dynamic response to be significant.
Therefore, we need to be able to describe the turbulent component of the wind

Wind
– Real wind flows are turbulent and the mean speed increases with height above the ground, as
we have discussed previously. Consider the schematic diagram of a boundary layer flow onto
a 3D building-like shape:
– The flow varies in time and in 3D space. This will cause fluctuating pressures at all points on
the surface. Pressure time history at point “A”:

Wind
Wind over a period of time, e.g. 10 minutes or an hour, can be thought of as being made
up of the average wind speed, which is constant, and a fluctuating component which varies
randomly with time.
How quickly this fluctuating component of the wind changes over time defines the
frequency component of the wind.
Put simply, if this frequency is close to a structure’s natural frequency, resonance can occur
resulting in a large structural response (displacements/velocities/accelerations). In this
situation we require a dynamic analysis.
Since the frequency component of wind is usually concentrated at very low frequencies
(<1Hz) , we require a dynamic analysis if our structure has a low natural frequency too.
Wind
A reasonable rule of thumb is that structures with natural frequencies greater than 1Hz are
not generally susceptible to resonant response from wind loading.
Wind speed, and subsequently wind load and wind induced dynamic response, are random
(technically called a ‘random stationary process’) and exact values cannot be predicted
perfectly.
However, averaged quantities (mean, standard deviation etc.) can be used to describe the
main features of both the exciting force and response.
Hence, instead of developing a direct input-output relation, it is necessary to relate the

deflections, reactions, and stresses with which the design of the structure is concerned to
these statistical parameters.
This is done using a ‘frequency domain’, ‘random vibration’ or ‘spectral’ approach to

predict the response.

Wind
Any signal that varies with time can be plotted in the ‘time domain’, i.e. with time on the x-
axis and the value of the signal on the y-axis, like so:
Using a mathematical technique called a Fourier Transform it is possible to show which

frequencies are contained in such a signal.
The result of this process is generally displayed in a plot called a ‘spectrum’, where
frequency is displayed on the x-axis (‘the frequency domain’).

Wind
Typical wind velocity recording in time domain:
Fourier Transform
Typical wind velocity recording in frequency domain:

Wind
Wind spectrum:
In order to describe the distribution of turbulence with frequency, a function called the spectral
density, usually abbreviated to ‘spectrum’, is used.
The fluctuations in the wind can be thought of as resulting from a composite of sinusoidally varying
winds imposed on the mean steady wind. These sinusoidal variations will have a variety of
frequencies and amplitudes.
The function that characterizes turbulence as a function of frequency is known as a ‘spectral density’
function. Since the average value of any sinusoid is zero, the amplitudes are characterized in terms
of their mean square values.
The complete name for the function describing the relation between frequency and amplitudes of
sinusoidally varying waves making up the fluctuating wind speed is therefore ‘power spectral density
function’ - psdf.

Wind
Wind spectrum:
The average power in the turbulence over a range of frequencies may be found
by integrating the psdf between the two frequencies.
Secondly, the integral over all frequencies is equal to the total variance.
Important concept: the power spectral density function gives the energy
distribution of the wind over different frequencies

Wind
Wind spectrum:
PSDFs are often used in dynamic analyses. A number of power spectral density
functions are used as models in wind energy engineering when site specific
psdfs are unavailable. One developed by von Karman for turbulence in wind is
commonly used:
𝐿
𝜎! "4
𝑣(𝑧)
𝑆 𝑓 = #
" $
𝐿
1 + 70.8 𝑓
𝑣(𝑧)
𝑓 is the frequency in Hz, 𝐿 is the length scale, 𝑣(𝑧) is the wind speed at the
height of interest (𝑧)

Wind
For large floating structures, the following spectra are recommended by Dyrbye and
Hassen:

Wave force
A wave is defined as a disturbance or oscillation that travels through
spacetime, accompanied by a transfer of energy. Ocean waves are
generated by the action of the wind.
Waves in the oceans can travel hundreds of miles before reaching land
and range in size from ripples to 30 m high swells.

Wave force - genesis
If we begin with a mirror-smooth sea and the wind suddenly begins to blow
steadily, three different physical processes begin:
1. The turbulence in the wind produces random pressure fluctuations at

the sea surface, which produces waves with wavelengths of a few
centimetres.
2. Next, the wind acts on the waves producing pressure differences
along the wave profile causing the wave to grow. The process is
unstable because, as the wave gets bigger, so does the pressure
differences. The instability causes the wave to grow exponentially.
3. Finally, the waves begin to interact among themselves to produce
longer waves. The interaction transfers wave energy from short waves
generated by Miles’ mechanism to waves with frequencies slightly
lower than the frequency of waves at the peak of the spectrum.

The vast majority of waves that you see offshore are the result of distant
winds.
Five factors influence the formation of wind waves:
1. Wind speed: the wind must be moving faster than the wave crest for
energy transfer to occur.
2. Fetch: the distance over the water that the wind can blow
uninterrupted in a single direction.
3. Width of area affected by fetch (at right angle to the distance)
4. Wind duration: the time for which the wind has blown over the water.
5. Water depth
All of these factors work together to determine the size of the water waves
and the structure of the flow within them.

The main dimensions associated with waves are:
• Wave height: vertical distance from trough to crest
• Wave length: distance from crest to crest
• Wave period: time interval between arrival of consecutive crests at a
stationary point (related to wave frequency)
• Wave propagation direction

Wave force – sea states
Fully developed sea
• Maximum wave size theoretically possible for a wind of a specific
strength, duration, and fetch.
• Further exposure to that specific wind can only cause a dissipation of
energy due to the breaking of wave tops and formation of "whitecaps".
• Region of whitecaps is chaotic, and the water can move choppily in
random directions dissipating energy.

Significant wave height (Hs)
Waves in a given area typically have a range of heights. For meteorological /
scientific analysis of wind wave statistics, their characteristic height over a
period of time is usually expressed as significant wave height.
• This is determined from observation and data recording of the area of
interest.
• Hs is defined traditionally as the mean wave height of the highest third
of the waves (H1/3).
• Now usually defined as four times the standard deviation of the surface
elevation – or equivalently as four times the square root of the zeroth-
order moment (area) of the wave spectrum. The symbol Hm0 is usually
used for that latter definition.
• The difference in magnitude between the definitions is only a few
percent.

Significant wave height (Hs)
• Since Hs is defined as the mean wave height of the highest third of
the waves, most waves observed will be lower in height than Hs.
• Therefore, encountering the significant wave is not too frequent.
• However, statistically, it is possible to encounter a wave that is much
higher than the significant wave.

Wave Theories
Wave theories are necessary to calculate the particle velocities, accelerations, and the
dynamic pressure as functions of the surface elevation of the waves.
For long crested regular waves, the flow can be considered two-dimensional and is
characterized by parameters such as wave height (H), period (T) and water depth (d) as:
"% "% (
𝑘 = & is the wave number, 𝜔 = '
is the wave circular frequency, and f = ' is the cyclic
frequency.
Wave Theories
Different wave theories have been developed to date:
• Linear wave theory (Airy wave theory)
• Stokes fifth order theory
• Solitary wave theory

• Cnoidal theory
• Dean’s stream function theory
• Numerical theory by Chappelear
Sarpakaya and Issacson (1981 ) developed the

following chart for selection of the most
appropriate theory, based on the parameters,
H, T, and d:

Wave theories – predicted wave shapes

Wave force – Linear Wave Theory
For harmonic waves, the water particle motion can be described by Airy linear wave theory
(Wilson, 1984).
Linear wave theory gives a linearised description of the propagation of gravity waves on the
surface of a homogeneous fluid layer. The theory assumes that the fluid layer has a uniform mean
depth, and that the fluid flow is inviscid, incompressible and irrotational.
This theory is often applied to offshore engineering for the modelling of random sea states. It
provides a description of the wave kinematics and dynamics. Airy wave theory is a good
approximation for ocean waves.
This linear theory is often used to get a quick and rough estimate of wave characteristics and
their effects. This approximation is accurate for small ratios of the wave height to water depth
(for waves in shallow water), and wave height to wavelength (for waves in deep water).

Linear wave theory

Airy linear wave theory assumes linearity between the kinematic quantities and the wave height
Airy linear wave theory can be used to predict the horizontal velocity 𝑣) (𝑧, 𝑥, 𝑡) and acceleration
𝑎) (𝑧, 𝑥, 𝑡) of a water particle as:
𝐻)
𝑣) 𝑧, 𝑥, 𝑡 = 𝜔 𝐸(𝑧) cos 𝜔) 𝑡 − 𝜓) − 𝑘𝑥
2 )
𝐻)
𝑎) 𝑧, 𝑥, 𝑡 = 𝜔) "𝐸(𝑧) sin 𝜔) 𝑡 − 𝜓) − 𝑘𝑥
2
*+,- . /01
With 𝐸 𝑧 = ,23- .1
Where 𝑧 is the vertical coordinate (measured positive upwards from the mean water level), 𝑑 is
the depth of mean water surface, 𝑘 is the wave number, 𝜔) is the wave frequency, 𝜓) is the
wave phase lag, 𝐻) is the wave height and 𝑥 is the distance downstream from the wave origin.

Linear wave theory in principle only applies to very small waves. It does not predict kinematics for
points above the mean water level.
The theory therefore needs to be ‘stretched’ to cover such points thus extending linear Airy wave
theory to provide predictions of fluid velocity and acceleration (kinematics) at points above the
mean water level.
The term 𝐸 𝑧 is a scaling factor. However for 𝑧 > 0 (i.e. above the mean water level) 𝐸 𝑧 > 1,
so it amplifies the velocity. This gives particle velocity predictions that are unrealistically large
(especially for high frequency waves).
To deal with this problem the Wheeler Stretching method (Wheeler, 1970) is employed. This
method stretches (or compresses) the water column linearly into a height equivalent to the mean
water depth. This is done by replacing 𝑧 by 𝑧 4 :
𝑑(𝑑 + 𝑧)
𝑧4 = −𝑑
(𝑑 + 𝜂)
𝜂 is the instantaneous water surface elevation. This formula essentially shifts 𝑧 linearly to be in
the range −𝑑 ⟶ 0
Wave force – Wave loads on structures
After selecting the appropriate wave theory, the wave force can be calculated by
Morison’s equation. This is an empirical formula which can be used to calculate the
hydrodynamic loads on slender members per unit length.
The equation is used extensively to estimate the wave loads in the design of oil
platforms and other offshore structures.
Morison’s equation is practical for slender structures where the dimension of the
structure is small compared to the wave length.
In other words, it is assumed that the structure does not have a significant effect on
the waves.

Morison’s equation is applicable if the ratio of horizontal dimension (of the offshore
structure) to wave length is smaller than 0.05, which is usually the case for slender
wind turbine towers.
The relative velocity of the structure can be incorporated but is usually ignored as its
magnitude is insignificant compared to the water particle velocities.
The equation is the sum of two force components: an inertia force in phase with the
local flow acceleration and a drag force proportional to the square of the
instantaneous flow velocity.
The inertia coefficient 𝐶" and the drag coefficient 𝐶# are both determined from
experimental data. For a wave with a flow velocity 𝑣$ , the inline force parallel to the
flow direction given by Morison’s equation is:
1
𝐹$%&' = 𝜌𝐶" 𝑉( 𝑎$ + 𝜌𝐶# 𝐴 ( 𝑣$ 𝑣$
2
𝐴 ( is the reference area and 𝑉( is the volume of the body.

Flow past a circular cylinder is a canonical problem in ocean engineering. Flow of
the ocean over an offshore structure is one such example.
For a purely inviscid, steady flow we know that the force on any body is zero
(D’Allembert’s paradox).
For unsteady inviscid flow this is no longer the case and added mass effects must
be considered. Of course in the “real” world, viscosity plays a large role and we
must consider, in addition to added mass forces, viscous drag forces resulting
from separation and boundary layer friction.
Morison’s equation accounts for both of these real world effects:
1
𝐹$%&' = 𝜌𝐶" 𝑉( 𝑎$ + 𝜌𝐶# 𝐴 ( 𝑣$ 𝑣$
2
Inertia Viscous drag
Morison’s equation:
1
𝐹$%&' = 𝜌𝐶" 𝑉( 𝑎$ + 𝜌𝐶# 𝐴 ( 𝑣$ 𝑣$
2

Morison’s equation - Diffraction
The basic assumption of the Morison’s equation is that the submerged members
on which the wave loads are calculated do not affect the waves. As long as the
cylinder diameter is relatively small compared to the wave length this
assumption is valid.
For large diameter structures, like the monopile support structures for offshore
wind turbines, placed in relatively shallow water with consequently reduced
wave length, the validity of the Morison’s equation can be compromised.
The effect a structure has on the wave field is called diffraction. To incorporate
this effect in Morison’s equation, the MacCamy-Fuchs correction is introduced
(Chakrabarti, 1987). This correction reduces the magnitude of the inertia
coefficient. The correction factor depends on the ratio of tower diameter over
#
wave length, !
)"

Wave spectra
Another way to think of waves is in terms of spectra – like with wind.
The motion of the sea’s surface can be studied by isolating a single point on it. By
measuring the surface elevation in time at this point, it is possible to represent the
random sea motion, as in the Figure below:
The time varying signal can be transformed to a power density spectrum as shown
(how?):

Wave force
Fourier Transform -> Move from time domain into frequency domain:
We can decompose any time domain signal into a sum of sine and cosine
functions of different frequencies. e.g.

Wave force
Time domain signal

Sea surface elevation (wave height) as a function of time
FOURIER
TRANSFORM
Frequency domain signal

Sea surface elevation (wave height) as
a function of frequency
Wave spectra
There are several standard spectra which try to reproduce the actual measured sea
spectra at a certain location under certain circumstances. One frequently used is the
Pierson-Moskowitz wave spectrum.
This shape was fitted to measurements taken in the Atlantic Ocean during long
periods of constant environmental conditions and is therefore based on the input of
one single parameter: average wind speed.
The spectrum describes the sea surface elevation due to the wind speed for a fully
developed sea at infinite fetch.

Wave force
Further measurements of wave spectra took place in the Joint North Sea Wave Project from
which the JONSWAP spectrum originated (Hasselmann et al., 1973).
This spectrum represents sea states that are not fully developed under a given wind condition.
The wave spectrum shape is therefore much more peaked. The JONSWAP spectrum is actually an
extended version of the Pierson-Moskowitz spectrum, incorporating a peak enhancement factor,
which is controlled by a peak shape parameter 𝛾) .

Wave force
When the shape parameter is taken as 𝛾) = 1 the JONSWAP spectrum is equal to the Pierson-
Moskowitz spectrum. A typical value for non fully developed seas is 𝛾) = 3.3.
Although Pierson-Moskowitz and JONSWAP are the most common, other descriptions of wave
behaviour exist. By applying an inverse FFT to the generated wave spectrum, the sea surface’s
elevation in the time domain can be found.

Wind spectra vs Wave spectra
The wind spectrum, especially for operational wind cases, covers the very low
frequency region, i.e. 0.0–0.5 rad/sec, i.e. frequencies much less than 1 Hz.
In general, the main energy of the turbulent wind is concentrated below 0.3
rad/sec while waves are normally covering a higher range, i.e. 0.3–1.0 rad/sec.
Floating wind turbines and hybrid marine platforms may have low natural
frequencies which can be excited by wind loads. So, the turbulent wind loading
is relatively less influencing the global responses of land-based wind turbines
compared to offshore wind turbines in this respect.

Misaligned wind and wave loads
Wind and waves often act from different directions. In the Figure below, wind-
wave-misalignments are shown as absolute values for an example site in the
Dutch North Sea (Fischer, 2010):
Shows the absolute value of the misalignment between wind and waves as
function of wind speed (shown from 0-30 m/s)

Misaligned wind and wave loads
Small misalignments appear at all wind speeds and

large misalignments appear at lower wind speeds.
This is because that the wind-wave correlation at

high wind speeds is often combined with fully
developed sea states and weather regimes (Fischer,
2010).
As a result, for large misalignments the wave periods are closer to the first modal
frequency of the support structure, resulting in higher dynamic amplification.
This is also amplified by the fact that the side-to-side modes are less damped than
the fore-aft ones, as nearly no aerodynamic damping exists in these modes.
In the wind industry, the general trend is for larger rotors that require larger support
structures, which as a result tend to have lower first modal frequencies. This leads to
an ever closer gap between the wave frequencies and the support structure modal
frequencies. Therefore the excitation of the side-to-side modes by wave loading (out
of phase with the wind) is becoming a design issue for offshore multi-megawatt
turbines.
Side-to-side vs Fore-aft

Wind Wave Misaginment – Recent Irish Study (Baisthakur & Fitzgerald)
Details: Baisthakur, S., & Fitzgerald, B. A study of wind-wave misalignment for the Irish coastline and
its effect on the wind turbine response.

Current
The presence of current in the ocean produces the following distinct effects:
• Current velocity should be added vectorially to the horizontal water
particle velocity before computing the drag force, because drag force
depends on the square of the water particle velocity. Current decreases
slowly with increasing depth, but even a small magnitude of current
velocity can cause significant drag force. This effect is generally
neglected in design.
• Current makes the structure itself generate waves, which in turn
creates diffraction forces. However, these values are negligible for
realistic values of current acting on the normal-sized members.
The presence of current is sometimes accounted for by increasing the wave

height by 10–15 % and neglecting the presence of current per se.

Earthquake
Earthquakes give rise to the horizontal and vertical motions for a typical duration
of 15–30s with high frequency characteristics.
Earthquake acceleration exhibits random characteristics due to the nature of the

mechanism causing earthquakes, wave propagation, reflection and deflection.
Earthquakes can result in inertia forces due to the acceleration and damping
forces due to the motion of the water particles.

Earthquake
Earthquakes are of a much shorter duration than wind storms (with the possible
exception of the passage of a tornado), and are thus treated as transient
loadings.
The predominant frequencies of the earthquake ground motions are typically

10–50 times those of the frequencies in fully developed wind storms and much
higher than wave frequencies too.
Therefore, structures will be affected in different ways, for example, structures
in a certain height range may not experience significant dynamic response to
wind loadings, but may be prone to earthquake excitation.

Earthquake
Bottom-supported structures, such as monopiles, are affected by earthquakes

directly.
Offshore platforms which do not have stiff connection with the seabed are
indirectly influenced by earthquakes.
Structures that are restrained by cables

will be subjected to dynamic cable
tension variations under the presence
of earthquake forces.
This will affect the response of the

platform under lateral loads.

Ice
Two categories of ice loading: Static or Dynamic
Static loading is exerted by ice which is in contact with the structure at all times
during the loading event.
The ice is initially stationary, and moves slowly forward under the action of wind,
current and more remote ice features to exert forces on the structure.
Depending on the speed of movement, the ice can either creep around the
structure, or fail against it in crushing or some form of cracking such as spalling
or flexure.

Ice
Dynamic loading, is caused by a moving ice feature striking the structure.
The feature may be either an ice floe, an iceberg, or ice island.
Loads are calculated by initial determination of the ice feature's kinetic energy,
which is assumed to be consumed by the crushing process.

Marine growth
Marine growth or biofouling is the attachment of soft and hard bioparticles on

the surface of a submerged structure. This can range from seaweeds to hard
shelled barnacles.
This increases the structure’s
diameter and affects its roughness.
The main effect is to increase the

wave forces on the structure by
increasing the exposed area and the
drag coefficient (higher surface
roughness).
In addition, it increases the unit mass of the member, resulting in higher gravity
loads and in lower member frequencies.
Depending upon the geographic location, the thickness of marine growth can
reach 0.3 m or more. It is accounted for in the design through appropriate
increases in the diameters and masses of the submerged members.

Mass
Mass is contributed by the structural mass and hydrodynamic added mass of the
structure.
Hydrodynamic added mass:
When a body moves in a fluid, some amount of fluid must move around it.
When the body accelerates, so too must the fluid. Thus, more force is required
to accelerate the body in the fluid than in a vacuum.
The mass of an object is also a measure of its resistance to any change in its
motion (acceleration).
Since force equals mass times acceleration, we can think of the additional force
in terms of an imaginary added mass of the object in the fluid.

General design principles for
offshore structures
General design principles
Allowable stress method
The Allowable Stress Method is currently specified by American codes (API,

AISC).
With this method, the loads remain unfactored, and a unique coefficient is
applied to the characteristic resistance to obtain an allowable stress as shown in
the following table:
‘Normal’: the most severe conditions under which the structure is to operate
without shutdown
‘Extreme’: the most severe conditions under which the structure is expected to
endure over its lifetime.

Limit state method
The Limit State Method is prescribed by European and Norwegian authorities

and has now been adopted by American Petroleum Institute (API) as it offers a
more uniform reliability.
Partial factors are applied to the loads and to the characteristic resistance of the
element as given in the table:
These factors reflect the degree of confidence placed in the design value of each
parameter and the degree of risk accepted under a limit state
Limit state method
Limit States:
• ULS: Ultimate Limit State, corresponds to an ultimate event considering the

structural resistance with appropriate reserve.
• FLS: Fatigue Limit State, relates to the possibility of failure under cyclic
loading.
• PLS: Progressive collapses Limit State, reflects the ability of the structure to
resist collapse under accidental or abnormal conditions.
• SLS: Serviceability Limit State, corresponds to the criteria for normal use or
durability (often specified by the operator).
Limit state method
Load Categories:
• P: Permanent loads (structural weight, dry equipment, ballast, and

hydrostatic pressure)
• L: Live loads (storage, personnel, and liquid)

• D: Deformations (out-of-level supports and subsidence)
• E: Environmental loads (wave, current, wind, and earthquake)
• A: Accidental load (dropped object, ship impact, blast, and fire).
Material partial factors for steel are normally taken equal to 1.15 for ULS and
1.00 for PLS and SLS design.
Limit state method
Guidance for classifying typical conditions into typical limit states is given in the
table:

The analysis of the offshore structure is an iterative process, which requires
progressive adjustment of the member sizes with respect to the forces they
transmit, until a safe and economical design is achieved.
It is therefore of utmost importance to start the main analysis from a model

which is close to the final optimized one.

Fabrication and Installation Loads
These are temporary loads that arise during fabrication and installation of the
structure or its components.
During fabrication, various structural components generate lifting forces and

during the installation phase forces are generated during platform load-out,
transportation to the site, launching and upending, as well as during lifts related
to installation.
Det Norske Veritas (DNV) rules state the return period for computing design
environmental conditions for installation and fabrication loads is three times as
that of the duration of the corresponding phase.
API-RP2A, on the other hand, leaves this design

return period up to the owner, while the BS6235
rules recommend a minimum recurrence
interval of 10 years for the design environmental
loads associated with transportation of the
structure to the offshore site.

Accidental load
Accidental loads are ill-defined with respect to intensity and frequency, which
may occur as a result of an accident or exceptional circumstances – they are
essentially random.
Examples: collision with vessels, fire or explosion, dropped objects, and

unintended flooding of buoyancy tanks.
Special measures are normally taken to reduce the risk from accidental loads.
For example, protection of wellheads or other critical equipment from a
dropped object can be provided by specially designed, impact resistant covers.
An accidental load can be disregarded if its annual probability of occurrence is

less than 10−4 (DNV) - How would you calculate this!
This number is the estimate of order of magnitude…

Introduction to structural
dynamics for offshore structures
Structural dynamics for offshore structures
Introduction
It should be obvious now that offshore structures are subjected to turbulent

aerodynamic and hydrodynamic loading (primarily).
These loads change in magnitude and direction every instant, they are also
stochastic in nature – random and difficult to predict with any precision.
The structures themselves are flexible and lightly damped – “Dynamically
Sensitive”.
Such structures are increasingly responsive to the manner in which loading is
applied with respect to time, hence dynamic behaviour of such structures must
be allowed for in design.
Dynamic simply means “changes with time”.
Because loading is changing randomly with time so too will the response of the
structure - Deflection, shear force, moment, or any other form of load effect can
change with time

Structural dynamics for offshore structures
Offshore wind turbine
New Siemens 14MW offshore wind turbine:
A very slender, flexible structure in a very harsh environment -> Structural Dynamics crucial

General structural dynamic theory
Free vibrations are the vibrations which are caused due to initial displacement
with the absence of an external force, and their frequency is called the natural
frequency.
The mode, which has the lowest natural frequency, is called the fundamental
mode of vibration - since wind and wave loads are low frequency excitations we
are most concerned with the lowest natural frequency of the offshore structure
When the frequency of the external vibration matches with the natural
frequency of a vibrating body, the amplitude of vibration becomes excessively
large, and this is known as resonance.

The most basic dynamic system is the mass-spring system.
Many structures can be idealised by using a mass-spring system. The structural
idealisation of an offshore platform is shown below:
This is known as a Single Degree-of-Freedom (SDOF) system as there is only one

possible displacement: that of the mass in the horizontal direction.
SDOF systems are of great importance as they are relatively easily analysed
mathematically, are easy to understand intuitively, and structures usually dealt
with by Structural Engineers can be modelled approximately using an SDOF
model.
Basic example to understand theory
If we consider a SDOF spring-mass system as shown below with the properties m
= 10 kg and k = 100 N/m and if give the mass a deflection of 20 mm and then
release it (i.e. set it in motion in free vibration) we would observe the system
oscillating as shown:
From this we can identify that the time between the masses recurrence at a
particular location (the period, 𝑇).
*
The number of oscillations per second is called the frequency, 𝑓 = , and is
(
measured in Hertz (cycles per second).

For a spring-mass system:
* -
• 𝑓= , and is measured in Hertz (cycles per second).
+, "
-
• 𝜔= , and is measured in Radian per second. In
"
In our example:

To reach the deflection of 20 mm just applied, we had to apply a force of 2 N,
given that the spring stiffness is 100 N/m.
As noted previously, the rate at which this load is applied will have an effect of
the dynamics of the system. How would you expect the system to behave the
same in the following cases:
• If a 2 N weight suddenly dropped onto the mass from a height?

• If 2 N of sand was slowly added to a weightless bucket attached to the mass?

Assuming a linear increase of load, to the full 2 N load, over periods of 1, 3, 5
and 10 seconds, the deflections of the system are shown:
Remembering that the period of vibration of the system is about 2 seconds, we

can see that when the load is applied faster than the period of the system, large
dynamic effects occur.
When the frequency of loading (1, 0.3, 0.2 and 0.1 Hz for our sample loading
rates) is close to, or above the natural frequency of the system (0.5 Hz in our
case), we can see that the dynamic effects are large.
Conversely, when the frequency of loading is less than the natural frequency of
the system little dynamic effects are noticed – most clearly seen via the 10
second ramp-up of the load, that is, a 0.1 Hz load.
Structural damping
Look again at the the results we have obtained, it appears that the structure
should oscillate indefinitely. If you have ever cantilevered a ruler off the edge of
a desk and flicked it you would have seen it vibrate for a time but certainly not
indefinitely; buildings do not vibrate indefinitely after an earthquake.
Clearly there is another action opposing or “damping” the vibration of
structures.
The figure below shows the undamped response of our model along with the
damped response; it can be seen that the oscillations die out quite rapidly – this
depends on the level of damping.

Structural damping
Damping occurs in structures due to energy loss mechanisms that exist in the
system.
Examples are friction losses at any connection to or in the system and internal
energy losses of the materials due to thermo-elasticity, hysteresis and inter-
granular bonds.
The damping of a structure does not relate to a unique physical phenomenon

like the mass and stiffness of a structure and as such the damping of a structure
cannot be engineered in the same way as these two properties.
Damping is also notoriously difficult to predict and quantify, the current state of
the art is such that prediction closer than plus or minus 30% is impossible until
the structure is completed.
In cases where the inherent damping is not sufficient supplemental damping
devices may be added to the structure.

Wind turbine model – Masses and springs
A complete wind turbine system can be thought of as being constructed of a
number of coupled multi degree of freedom mass-spring-damper systems
(Molenaar & Dijkstra, 1999).
Therefore the conclusion that can be drawn from this review of structural
dynamics is that the response of a wind turbine system subjected to time-
varying loads (wind, wave, etc. ) needs to be carefully assessed.

number of coupled multi degree of freedom mass-spring-damper systems:
A bottom-fixed offshore wind turbine and representation of tower-top

displacement as multiple and single degree of freedom for bending response

number of coupled multi degree of freedom mass-spring-damper systems:
A floating offshore wind turbine and single degree of freedom representation for
heave motion response.
Normally, mooring pre-tension and mooring mass is assumed to be negligible for
heave motion response of such catenary moored spar platform
Structural dynamics for offshore
support structures
Structural dynamics - offshore structures
Design options for support structures
Wind turbines cannot be viewed as static structures as they are in continuous
vibration due to the rotation of the rotor.
They are also subjected to large dynamic loads from wind, wave, etc.
The rotation of the blades also leads to additional loads.

Structural resonances can lead to large amplitude stresses and subsequent
accelerated fatigue. For this reason, the rotor blades and support structure must
be designed to avoid resonance.

The current practice is to design the support structure such that the tower’s
fundamental resonance does not coincide with the fundamental rotational (1P)
or blade passing (3P for three-bladed turbines) frequencies of the rotor.
These forcing frequencies are the dominant vibration sources and are associated
with rotor imbalance and non-uniform flow over the blades as they rotate i.e.
rotational sampled turbulence (Petersen et al., 2010).
This resonance avoidance approach has significant consequences for the
structural design of offshore wind turbines (Petersen et al., 2010).


For a fixed speed wind turbine to avoid resonance, the structure should be
designed such that its fundamental natural frequency does not coincide with
either 1P or 3P excitation. This leaves three possible intervals:
• A very stiff structure with its first natural frequency above 3P, called a stiff-
stiff structure.
• A medium stiff structure with its first natural frequency between 1P and 3P, a
soft-stiff structure.
• And a very soft structure with its first natural frequency below 1P, called a
soft-soft structure.
For offshore wind turbines, resonance is typically avoided by using the soft-stiff
design approach, ensuring that the tower’s fundamental resonance frequency
lies in the frequency band between the rotor and blades passing rates over the
operating speed of the turbine.
This approach has major implication for structural design, requiring very stiff
foundations.
It is also sensitive to the levels of damping in the design and requires soil
characteristics within a particular range, limiting potential sites for offshore wind
turbines and introducing an implicit reliance on static soil properties to achieve
resonance avoidance (Petersen et al., 2010).

Most wind turbines now have variable speed generators, as they offer higher
energy capture and lower dynamic excitation.
Variable speed turbines have an increased frequency operation zones. This

implies the interval for a soft-stiff design is narrower, as shown:
Structural design frequency intervals for a three bladed variable speed wind
turbine

Design options for support structures – NREL 5MW wind turbine

Design options for support structures – Vestas 3MW wind turbine

Design options for support structures – Trend towards more flexible turbines…

Campbell diagram
The Campbell diagram is a classical way of representing the dynamics of rotary
machinery.
It shows the relationship between forcing mechanisms as a function of the

rotation rate, relative to important resonances over the operating range of the
system.
Resonance coincidence is represented by a system forcing mechanism crossing a

resonance line.
A sparse and a dense Campbell diagram are shown for the NREL 5 MW offshore
wind turbine:

Campbell diagram
A sparse and a dense Campbell diagram are shown for the NREL 5 MW offshore
wind turbine:

Campbell diagram
The operating range of the turbine is represented by the vertical black lines,
with a cut-in speed of 6.9 rpm, a design speed of 12.1 rpm.
Between the cut-in speed and 15 rpm, 1P and 3P do not cross the support
structure’s fundamental mode 0.34 Hz.
Note also that the support structure’s fundamental mode is between 1P and 3P
throughout the operating range shown, which is consistent with a soft-stiff
support structure design approach.
Campbell diagram
The dense Campbell diagram shows resonance coincidence among several

sources and resonances above the cut-in speed, which implies the potential for
large displacement responses.
It should be noted that some of these coincidences are with high frequency
resonances, which have the potential to contribute to the cumulative fatigue
damage of the wind turbine system.
Campbell diagram
There still may be dynamic amplification of the system’s structural vibrations in off-
resonance conditions. This can be important for the limit state assessments.
It is necessary for the interactions among all resonances and forcing mechanisms to be
explicitly considered in the design process. A resonance avoidance strategy that only
treats the 1P and 3P sources and their interaction with the fundamental support
structure resonance is insufficient (Krolis et al., 2007).

Structural dynamics – control of offshore
structures
If after careful design a resonance problem exists – must increase damping.
In recent years the wind energy industry have been using vibration control techniques to
reduce the response of offshore structures.
With increases in size and flexibility of the structural components, vibration has become
a very serious issue:

Vibration problems
‒ Turbines are exposed to extreme wind and wave loads
‒ Significant number of collapses have occurred due to excessive vibrations in the

blades and towers during strong wind events
Dampers in offshore wind turbines
‒ Tuned mass dampers (TMDs) are now used to reduce vibrations in
wind turbine blades and towers.
‒ A TMD is a classical device designed to reduce structural
vibrations:
Dampers in offshore wind turbines
‒ TMDs have been used in practice in many large flexible civil engineering
structures.
‒ Modern blades are very flexible structures, over 100m long and rotate
constantly in addition to undergoing vibration in many directions.
‒ TMDs that can be incorporated inside wind turbine blades and towers are
currently being developed for offshore wind turbines.
Research at TCD – Dampers in wind turbines
‒ This is work at the cutting edge of the structural engineering and wind energy
fields. Vibration controllers achieve impressive results1-3:
‒ Siemens and Vestas have recently filed patents for these devices in offshore
wind turbine towers.
1Fitzgerald, B., Basu, B., & Nielsen, S. R. (2013). Active tuned mass dampers for control of in-plane vibrations of wind turbine
blades. Structural Control and Health Monitoring, 20(12), 1377-1396.
2
Fitzgerald, B., & Basu, B. (2016). Structural control of wind turbines with soil structure interaction included. Engineering Structures, 111,
131-151.
3
Fitzgerald, B., Sarkar, S., & Staino, A. (2018). Improved reliability of wind turbine towers with active tuned mass dampers (ATMDs).
Journal of Sound and Vibration, 419, 103-122.
Offshore Wind Energy:
State of the art and beyond -
Future Structural Engineering
Trends
Current state of the art
– Support structures for offshore wind turbines fall into two distinct types:
bottom-fixed turbines and floating turbines.
Bottom-fixed:
– Bottom-fixed turbines are connected to the seabed in a manner that restricts
vertical motion; key examples of this class of concepts include monopiles,
gravity-based structures, or jackets. Commonly, a transition piece connects
the turbine tower and support structure.
– Offshore bottom-fixed turbines have been realised routinely in commercial
wind projects since the late 1990s, but the current market situation is
characterised by continuously increasing water depths and a trend towards
bigger turbines. This in turn leads to a constant shift away from the current
state-of-the-art and to increasingly larger support structures.
– Limiting factors are manufacturing constraints as well as an increase in
hydrodynamic loads and the resulting dynamic response experienced by the
structural members of larger support structures with increasing diameters.
– Uncertainties with respect to soil properties and time-consuming installation
processes are also a defining factor.

Bottom-fixed:
– With monopiles, the current state of the art lies at about 35–40 m water
depth requiring structures of 8–9 m outer diameter.
– As an alternative, jacket-type foundations (open space frame structure) have
been explored since 2006. These structures can be favourably employed up to
at about 40–70 m water depths.
– The main limitation with support structures is often not technological but first
and foremost economic in nature. For instance, even though it might be
technically feasible to design and install larger-diameter monopiles or deep-
water jackets, this might prove too expensive compared to other support
structure designs.

Bottom-fixed monopiles – beyond state of the art:
– Monopile foundations represent around 80% of all offshore wind turbine
foundations installed to date and will be the most common foundation
solution for offshore wind for at least the next 15 years. As larger wind
turbines are being developed and installed at greater water depths, XL
monopiles from 8 – 12m in diameter are needed to be support these.
– These larger diameter piles typically have a lower slenderness (ratio of length
to diameter) than standard monopiles and the OWT structures therefore have
an increased sensitivity to soil stiffness and damping.
– The diameter of the pile is usually governed by the dynamics of the wind
turbine structure – the foundation must have sufficient stiffness and damping
so that the structure’s natural frequency avoids resonance effects. Among all
components of an OWT structure, the foundations offer the greatest scope
for optimization.
– Limited progress has been made on improving design approaches for soil
damping and coupled geotechnical-structural behaviour. Because of
inadequate understanding of these effects, XL monopiles are currently over-
designed, causing excessive manufacturing, transportation and installation
costs – scope for future research to progress the state of the art.
– Support structures for offshore wind turbines fall into two distinct types:
bottom-fixed turbines and floating turbines.
Floating wind turbines:
– For deep water in excess of 60–70 m, floating turbines become increasingly
attractive alternatives to bottom-fixed turbines. Full-scale floaters have only
been realised in the past few years and so far only as demonstrator projects.
– Especially with floating spar-type turbines (i.e. Hywind) and semi-
submersibles (i.e. WindFloat) some years of experience have been gained.

Beyond state of the art
Better floater design
– Floating wind turbines are inherently dynamically sensitive structures that require further
research. Much of this is related to the floater design and its dynamics and interaction
with the control system when exposed to wave and current loads.
– Anchoring of semi-submersibles, spars and barges is achieved through catenary moorings.
Turbulent wind speed fluctuations result in continuously changing mooring line tensions.
– For application in shallow-water in particular it can be very difficult to design a well-
performing mooring system that does not significantly restrict floater motions, and which
operates with acceptable line tensioning.

Better floater design
Which design concept is optimal for a given turbine, location and environmental
condition?
– Current design selection and design optimization is primarily based on

experience, and there is a lack of concept-independent integrated floater
design optimization methodologies taking into account not only the platform
itself but also other aspects influencing the dynamics.
– For example, due to low natural periods of the floating system, there is a
known instability if onshore blade pitch control is applied1,2.
1Sarkar, S., Chen, L., Fitzgerald, B., & Basu, B. (2020). Multi-resolution wavelet pitch
controller for spar-type floating offshore wind turbines including wave-current interactions.
Journal of Sound and Vibration, 115170.
2Sarkar, S., Fitzgerald, B., & Basu, B. (2020). Individual Blade Pitch Control of Floating
Offshore Wind Turbines for Load Mitigation and Power Regulation. IEEE Transactions on
Control Systems Technology.
Floating wind turbines
– Floating wind turbine research in Ireland : Four-year floating offshore wind

research project. Full-scale floating wind turbine will be deployed for testing off
the west coast of Ireland at SEAI test site near Belmullet, Co Mayo

Moving beyond oil/gas industry
– Whereas a significant amount of valuable experience has been transferred

from the oil and gas industry, it is being realised that conditions for offshore
wind turbines differ significantly.
– Support structures in the offshore renewable energy industry are smaller and
the overall conditions more dynamic, with considerable consequences for the
design process.

Better soil-structure-interaction
– Soil–structure interaction is often perceived as rather complex and is therefore

neglected or only considered in a highly simplified form (P-y curves). However,
the topic has received a lot of attention in recent years after failures in grouted
monopile connections occurred.
– Current researchers have suggested that soil dynamics could contribute to a
substantial part of total damping in wind turbines – this could further optimize
designs and reduce CoE.
– However, a limiting factor is that current dimensioning methods and tools are
based on data obtained for smaller piles than used today in offshore wind.
– Numerical simulation with solid soil elements, on the other hand, is highly
complex and unfeasible on a large scale.
– Scientific challenge to progress beyond current state of the art:
“To understand the implications for wind turbine dynamic response and
design loads based on complex soil structure interaction.”

Hybrid Wind and Wave energy devices
– One research question is whether it could be beneficial to combine a wind

turbine with either a wave-power or ocean-power device. This would only
make sense if there is an added benefit for the wind turbines with regard to
load reduction, as adding functionality also adds complexity.
– Hybridisation may be particularly relevant for floaters to increase energy
yield, e.g. by using oscillating water column wave energy devices in the floater
structure, tidal/current turbines below the floater, or reverse
magnetostriction devices implemented into the mooring lines.
– An additional option is combining multiple

turbines on a single foundation or to use
coupled mooring systems that connect
floaters with each other, thereby reducing the
number of anchors and the length of chain
needed.
– Other concepts that have still not been fully
explored are vertical-axis turbines and how
they behave in the offshore environment.
Offshore ‘energy islands’
– New artificial islands in the North Sea would be transformed into hubs for
multiple large wind farms





Co-location of wind and wave farms
– Co-location of wind-wave farms has been suggested as a viable solution to the

problem of renewable resource intermittency and the possibility of periods of
zero power production.
– Numerous studies have shown that wave peaks trail the wind peaks for the
same weather systems and that wave power is more predictable than wind
power.
– Power output variability may be reduced by considering sites where there is a
low correlation between both wind and wave resources.

Co-location of wind and wave farms
– Our recent study1 found that off the West coast of Ireland there is a low
correlation between wind and wave resources and significant time lags of up to 6
hours between the two.
– We found that waves generated on the Northwest and Southwest coast originate
from swell systems in the Atlantic Ocean rather than local wind conditions.
– Significant temporal lags are observed between both resources where peaks and
troughs of both profiles occur at different periods throughout the day.
– The discrepancies between these two resources offers a potential solution to two
of the biggest issues associated with renewable energy - variability and zero
power production periods.
1Gaughan, E., & Fitzgerald, B. (2020). An assessment of the potential for Co-located offshore
wind and wave farms in Ireland. Energy, 117526.
Future trends
Irish offshore renewables
– Climate Action Plan commits to 7GW of offshore wind in Ireland by 2030,

which will help renewables account for 70% of electricity generation.
– Current installed capacity is around 4.3GW – all onshore.
– Provides close to 30% of Ireland’s electricity and 85% of renewable electricity
generation.
Future trends
– “What happens in the wind energy sector in the next decade or two is not
only of vital concern to the wind industry, but to all humankind. In the next
critical 5-15 years we will answer the question as to whether or not we as a
species will have responded to the existential threat of climate change, or
whether we spend the second half of this century trying to cope with the
disaster we have caused.” – GWEC
– The future for wind energy looks bright:

• New markets developing rapidly across Africa, Asia and Latin America
• Unprecedented policy stability in international markets
• Strong and continued commitment from India and China
• Rapidly dropping prices for wind power both on and offshore

Future trends
Global installed wind energy

Future trends
– Wind energy is now booming:
• Denmark now produces more than 40% of its electricity from wind
turbines
• US now produces 2.5 times more wind energy than it did 5 years ago
• Wind turbine prices have fallen by almost a third in last decade
• Offshore wind now cheaper than nuclear and on parity with gas in Europe.
– With the right policies in place, IRENA research finds that average electricity
costs could decrease by 35% for offshore wind by 2025.
– Wind is one of the least cost options in many markets for new power
generation, and this is even before factoring in environmental and health
costs.
– IRENA estimates that doubling the global share of renewables by 2030 would
save up to $4.2 trillion dollars annually thanks to avoided expenditures on air
pollution and climate change.

Future trends
Global offshore wind map
– Excellent resource:
https://www.4coffshore.com/offshorewind/

Online evaluation - feedback form
Engineers Ireland have asked that you complete a short feedback form.
Please take two minutes to do this now

Thank You
Dr Breiffni Fitzgerald
Ussher Assistant Professor in Energy
Dept. Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering

breiffni.fitzgerald@tcd.ie

Engineering Offshore Renewables - BF 2022

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Engineering Offshore Renewables - BF 2022

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Engineering Offshore Renewables - BF 2022

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Engineering for Offshore Renewables

Structural Engineering Aspects

Engineers Ireland – 9th September 2022

Structural Engineering Aspects

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

It should be noted that in structural engineering, earthquakes are

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

‒ When a stream of air flows with constant velocity, 𝑣, it will

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Where, 𝐶. is the wind pressure coefficient which depends on the

𝜌 is the mass density of air ≅ 1.225 kg/m3

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Hence, instead of developing a direct input-output relation, it is necessary to relate the

This is done using a ‘frequency domain’, ‘random vibration’ or ‘spectral’ approach to

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Using a mathematical technique called a Fourier Transform it is possible to show which

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Typical wind velocity recording in time domain:

Typical wind velocity recording in frequency domain:

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

1. The turbulence in the wind produces random pressure fluctuations at

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

• Linear wave theory (Airy wave theory)

• Stokes fifth order theory

• Solitary wave theory

• Dean’s stream function theory

• Numerical theory by Chappelear

Sarpakaya and Issacson (1981 ) developed the

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin