J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn.

116 (2013) 94–108

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Journal of Wind Engineering

and Industrial Aerodynamics
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jweia

Cross-wind modal properties of offshore wind turbines

identified by full scale testing
M. Damgaard a,n, L.B. Ibsen b, L.V. Andersen b, J.K.F. Andersen a
a
Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Aarhus, Denmark
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: According to the Danish wind turbine industry cross-wind vibrations due to wave loading misaligned
Received 3 August 2012 with wind turbulence often have a significant influence on the fatigue lifespan of offshore wind
Received in revised form turbine foundations. The phenomenon is characterised by increasing fatigue loads compared to the fore-
18 February 2013
aft fatigue and a small amount of system damping since almost no aerodynamic damping
Accepted 2 March 2013
from the blades takes place. In addition, modern offshore wind turbines are flexible structures with
Available online 13 April 2013
resonance frequencies close to environmental loads and turbine blades passing the tower. Therefore, in
Keywords: order to avoid conservatism leading to additional costs during the load calculation and the design
Fast Fourier Transformation phase, the structural response must be analysed using reliable estimations of the dynamic properties of
Eigenfrequency
the wind turbines. Based on a thorough investigation of “rotor-stop” tests performed on offshore
Free vibration decay
wind turbines supported by a monopile foundation for different wind parks in the period 2006–2011, the
Modal soil damping
Offshore wind energy structures paper evaluates the first natural frequency and modal damping of the structures. In addition,
Operational modal identification fitting of theoretical energy spectra to measured response spectra of operating turbines is
p–y curve method presented as an alternative method of determining the system damping. Analyses show distinctly
Scour time-dependent cross-wind dynamic properties. Based on numerical analysis, the variation is believed to
Spectral analysis be caused by sediment transportation at seabed level and varying performance of tower oscillation
Winkler approach dampers.
& 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction engineering and science. Overall, the price of offshore wind

In the last 30 years, the need of alternative energy sources
has been given great attention. During this period, wind
turbines have grown from producing less than 100 kW to
more than 6 MW. At this writing, the majority of wind
turbines are located onshore due to lower construction costs.
However, the population density and existing buildings limit
suitable wind turbine locations on land in many regions of the
world. This justifies the development of offshore wind energy.
Unlike onshore wind turbines, the size of offshore wind
turbines is not limited by the logistics problems during
transportation of large structural components. The amazing
growth in the installed capacity of onshore and offshore wind
turbines, however, causes many challenges within civil
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ45 41188639.
E-mail addresses: mdamg@vestas.com (M. Damgaard),
lbi@civil.aau.dk (L.B. Ibsen), la@civil.aau.dk (L.V. Andersen),
jakfa@vestas.com (J.K.F. Andersen).
energy must decrease in order to be competitive with present
alternatives. As a consequence, offshore wind turbines have
increased significantly in size with larger rotors, more power-
ful generators and only a small increase in weight. Thus,
modern wind turbines are slender and flexible structures
showing dynamic response – even at low frequencies. The
structural resonance frequency is close to the excitation
frequencies related to turbine blades passing the tower and
waves, which means that a small change in the total system
stiffness may result in a great change in the response. Conse-
quently, provision of sufficient damping in the entire structure
is crucial in order to decrease the fatigue damage accumula-
tion during the lifetime of the wind turbine structure.
In general, the dynamic behaviour of civil engineering
structures is characterised in terms of their modal parameters.
The modal representation can be determined analytically.
However, in cases where the structural system cannot be
represented by a lumped mass-spring system, a numerical
approximation is often made by discretising the structure in a

0167-6105/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2013.03.003
 M. Damgaard et al. / J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 116 (2013) 94–108
finite number of physical coordinates. The structural design
often relies on the numerical model. However, a high number
of degrees of freedom is needed, which leads to higher
calculation time and unchanged inherent modelling accuracy
limitations related to nonhomogeneous elements, complex
materials, boundary conditions etc. Experimental modal ana-
lysis addresses these limitations and is able to validate and
improve the numerical model.
Traditional experimental modal analysis is characterised by
forced vibrations, where the input excitation is measured.
Determination of resonance frequencies, damping ratios and
mode shapes of structures is well established for this techni-
que. The structure to be identified is artificially excited
with a forcing function in a specific point, and its response
to this excitation is measured together with the forcing
signal. Fourier Transformation of the time signal makes it
possible to calculate all the frequency response functions
between the response and the forcing signals, i.e. the fre-
quency response matrix. This matrix contains all the informa-
tion to determine the dynamic properties of the structure
(Cantieni, 2004).
Impact excitation has been widely used for smaller civil
engineering structures and offers the advantages of quick set-
up time, mobility and the ability to excite a broad range of
frequencies. Askegaard and Mossing (1988), Agardh (1991),
Wood et al. (1992), Aktan et al. (1992), Green and Cebon
(1994) and Pate (1997) have all excited full scale bridge
structures by impact excitation tools, either by dropping an
impact weight or by a bolt gun with impulsive load. However,
by using this method, the wave form of the excitation is not
controlled. Consequently, a more common method of exciting
civil engineering structures is by electrodynamic shakers.
Modal tests performed by Shepherd and Charleson (1971),
Kuribayashi and Iwasaki (1973), Ohlsson (1986), Cantieni and
Pietrzko (1993), Deger et al. (1993), Deger et al. (1994),
Miloslav et al. (1994) and Caetano et al. (2000) have used
shakers to excite bridge structures. Also, forced shaker excita-
tion has been used for dam structures in order to obtain the
modal properties, see Duron (1995a), (1995b), Cantieni (2001)
and Nuss et al. (2003). Besides, Cantieni et al. (1998) have
estimated modal parameters of an office building by using
shaker excitation.
Full scale measurements of offshore support structures
within the oil and gas sector have been reported by Cook
and Vandiver (1982) and Jensen (1990). In those publications,
spectral analyses have been used to estimate natural frequen-
cies and modal damping ratios. For wind turbine structures,
the presence of rotational loads and considerable aeroelastic
effects makes it difficult to use traditional experimental modal
analysis techniques. Using this method, the experimentally
determined vibrations are not the pure modes of the turbine.
The shaker excitation simply ignores the ambient loads acting
on the turbine during operation. However, some few attempts
to excite parked wind turbines by measurable excitation forces
have been done, see Carne et al. (1988), Molenaar (2003),
Hansen et al. (2006) and Osgood et al. (2010).
A complementary technique to the traditional modal ana-
lysis technique is operational modal identification, also
denoted output-only modal identification, which is based on
measuring only the responses of test structures (Batel, 2002).
95
Despite of the above-mentioned advanced loading conditions
for a wind turbine, Hansen et al. (2006), Tcherniak et al. (2010)
and Ozbek and Rixen (2011) have all used operational modal
analysis to estimate modal parameters of operating wind
turbines.
In order to evaluate the cross-wind modal damping of
offshore wind turbines, Tarp-Johansen et al. (2009),
Versteijlen et al. (2011) and Devriendt et al. (2012) have
investigated “rotor-stop” tests, where aeroelastic damping
can almost be neglected when the blades are pitched out of
the wind. Devriendt et al. (2012) showed that the system
modal damping was in agreement with the findings from Cook
and Vandiver (1982) and Tarp-Johansen et al. (2009). However,
a large deviation is observed when comparing the estimated
modal soil damping from Tarp-Johansen et al. (2009) with the
work performed by Versteijlen et al. (2011). This in turn calls
for even more comprehensive research in the area, which
justifies this paper.
Based on five offshore wind parks, experimental modal
identification of offshore wind turbine structures is considered
in the present work, which is an updated and revised version
of the conference paper by Damgaard et al. (2012). Simple
estimation of crossing times and least-squares fitting to the
natural logarithm of the vibration extremes from “rotor-stop”
tests, make it possible to evaluate the cross-wind modal
parameters. Similarly, it is attempted to determine the struc-
tural dynamic properties within true boundary conditions and
actual force and vibration level by using spectral analysis on
the response during power production. In general, cross-wind
dynamic properties of offshore wind turbines depend on
several parameters. Tidal variation, soil-structure interaction,
wind speed and tower damper performance all have an
influence on the eigenfrequency and the corresponding modal
damping. Based on numerical simulations, qualified reasons
for the variation in the measured cross-wind dynamic proper-
ties are stated in the paper.
The outline of the paper is as follows; firstly, full scale
testing regarding “rotor-stop” tests is described. Turbine char-
acterisation and procedures of determining the dynamic
properties are listed. Secondly, numerical investigations of
natural frequency and modal soil damping are considered for
different soil conditions for a specific turbine. The chapter
forms the basis of evaluating to what extent cross-wind
dynamic properties of offshore wind turbines change during
time. Thirdly, an explanation of the theory and procedure of
analysing cross-wind modal damping of operating turbines by
spectral analysis is given followed by a thorough documenta-
tion of results. Finally, a brief summary of the main findings of
the present work are listed with a description of what the
findings can be used for in future applications.
2. Turbine stop analysis—free decay
Wind turbine structures are characterised by closely spaced
modes occurring at nearly identical frequencies, see for
instance Ibsen and Liingaard (2006) and Ibsen (2008). In this
regard, a coupling of the two lowest eigenmodes is possible,
which means that pure fore-aft and side–side bending modes
cannot be assumed. Vibrational energy will be transferred
96 M. Damgaard et al. / J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 116 (2013) 94–108

0.8
0.6

Fore-Aft Acceleration ay [m/s2]

0.6

0.4 0.4
Fore-Aft Acceleration ay [m/s2]

0.2
0.2
0.0

0.0 -0.2

-0.4
-0.2
-0.6

-0.4 -0.8
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time t [s]
-0.6

-0.8
-0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 90

Side-Side Acceleration ax [m/s2] 80

70
Fig. 1. Fore-aft acceleration ay as a function of side–side acceleration ax during a

Blades Pitch θb [°]

“rotor-stop”. 60

50

40

30

20

z 10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
y x Time t [s]

Fig. 3. Raw output signal: (a) fore-aft tower acceleration ay as function of time t,
(b) blade pitch angle θb as function of time t.

ax
example, Fig. 3 shows the raw output time domain signal. The
fore-aft tower acceleration ay and blade pitch angle θb as a
ay function of time t are shown. A sampling frequency of 10 Hz
has been used.

2.1. Wind turbine structures and site conditions

Fig. 2. Monitoring system: (a) acceleration transducers placed in the top of the
tower in order to measure the fore-aft acceleration ay and the side-side accelera-
tion ax, (b) right hand coordinate system.
from the highest to the lowest damped mode, which may give
wrong estimates of the modal damping, see Hansen et al.
(2006) and Magalhães et al. (2010). However, it turns out that
“rotor-stop” tests of wind turbines are beneficial in order to
achieve pure modal vibrations from one single mode due to
low influence of external forces. Fig. 1 shows the fore-aft
acceleration ay as a function of the side–side acceleration ax
during a “rotor-stop”, in which it is clearly observed that only
the fore-aft mode is excited.
In the period 2006–2011, more than 1500 “rotor-stop” tests
have been investigated at four offshore wind parks. By use of
two accelerometers placed in the top of the tower, the tower
acceleration in the fore-aft direction y and the side–side
direction x have been measured. Fig. 2a and b shows the
monitoring system and coordinate system, respectively. As an
The foundation concept for the four wind parks is the well-
proven monopile concept. The concept consists of a tubular
steel pile section with a grouted transition piece. The soil
profiles consist mainly of cohesionless soil in the top layers
followed by cohesive soils. For each turbine, an oscillation
damper is built into the top of the tower just beneath the
nacelle. It consists of a pendulum partly immersed in high
viscous oil and able to oscillate in the two horizontal direc-
tions. In Table 1, the overall characterisation of the four wind
parks is listed. Due to numerical simulations of a selected wind
turbine structure located at Wind Park I, detailed geometry
and soil conditions are presented in Fig. 4 and Table 2 for this
structure.
2.2. Procedure for estimation of the first eigenfrequency
In order to find the first eigenfrequency f1 of each wind
turbine structure, two methods are considered in the paper.
The first method is based on how much information each
measured signal contains at different frequencies by use of a
 M. Damgaard et al. / J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 116 (2013) 94–108 97

Table 1
Overall characterisation of the four wind parks.

Tower height Monopile Soil Average water

[m] diameter conditions depth
[m] [-] w.r.t. LAT [m]

Park I 60.0 4.3 Dense 6/8

sand/Firm clay
Park II 58.0 4.8 Dense 13/18
sand/Stiff clay
Park III 54.1 4.7 Fine 15/27
sand/Stiff clay
Park IV 53.0 5.0 Dense sand/Stiff 15/20
clay

Fig. 5. Frequency and time domain: (a) power energy spectrum of the fore-aft
tower acceleration ay, (b) total damped fore-aft acceleration decay ay.

Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT). To obtain the power in the

Fig. 4. Geometry of the selected wind turbine structure at Wind Park I decomposed
into: (a) monopile foundation, (b) transition piece, (c) tower. All dimensions are in
millimetres.
signal at each frequency, the square of the absolute value of
the FFT coefficients is considered. The Nyquist sampling
theorem is used in order to avoid aliasing. As an example,
the power spectrum of the fore-aft tower acceleration ay is
shown in Fig. 5a. The dominant frequency peak in Fig. 5a
corresponds to the first damped eigenfrequency fd,1 of the
wind turbine structure. The width of the spectral bell indicates
the modal damping, which can be determined by the Half-
Band Width method (Nielsen, 2004). However, a high resolu-
tion frequency must be considered for this method. As an
alternative method, the first damped eigenfrequency fd,1 has
been determined by making least-squares fitting to the cross-
ing times in the time domain. The eigenfrequency f1 can then
be determined by the following relation:
f d,1
f 1 ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ffi, ð1Þ
1−ς21

where ζ1 is the modal damping ratio for the first eigenmode

Table 2
Φ(1). Linear interpolation has been used to find the
Detailed soil conditions for the selected wind turbine structure at Wind Park I. crossing times.

Depth [m] γ′ [kN/m3] φk′ [deg.] cuk [kPa]

2.3. Procedure for estimation of the first modal damping
Loose sand −5.0 7.0 30.0 –
Dense sand −6.5 8.0 33.8 – In general, during a “rotor-stop”, the oscillatory deformation
Dense sand −7.5 8.0 30.0 –
of the wind turbine structure is attenuated. This may be due to a
Dense sand −8.4 7.0 30.0 –
Firm clay −9.4 8.0 – 25.0 combination of geometrical damping, i.e. radiation of energy into
Dense sand −11.8 9.0 36.0 – the subsoil, sea, air and material damping due to conversion of
firm clay −20 9.0 – 90.0
mechanical energy into heat. The last-mentioned is a measure of
Firm clay −30 10.0 – 110.0
inherent damping of the structural system. In order to estimate
98 M. Damgaard et al. / J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 116 (2013) 94–108

the damping from the modal vibrations, least-squares fitting of a

linear function to the natural logarithm of the rate of decay of the
transient response has been used. The absolute value of the
negative amplitudes is included in order to achieve a reliable
least-squares fit to the amplitude peaks. Each time history is
divided into bins with approximately 10 maxima and 10 minima
of the acceleration from which the logarithmic decrement δ1 can
be estimated. As indicated in Fig. 3a, the tower behaves almost as
a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system with linear viscous
damping, and the corresponding damping coefficient cv is so low
that the system is undercritically damped. The logarithmic
decrement δ1 is defined by
  
2 A0  
δ1 ¼ ln An  , ð2Þ
n
where A0 and An are two extremes in the response placed with
the time interval nTd. Hence, the logarithmic decrement δ1 can be
found by least squares fitting on nδ1 and 2ln(|An|). For low levels
of damping, the following relation between the damping ratio ζ1
and the logarithmic decrement δ1 can be stated:
δ1 δ1
ζ 1 ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ≈ for δ1 5 1 ð3Þ
4π 2 þ δ1 2 2π
Quadratic interpolation has been used to find the extreme
values of the acceleration decay. It should be noted that the
Fig. 6. Numerical representation of the selected wind turbine structure at Wind
decay of the extremes depend on the acceleration level. Hence,
Park I.
the system cannot be characterised by an unambiguous value
of the logarithmic decrement δ1. So, in principle, the presump-
structural z-axis. Epy is the modulus of subgrade reaction
tion within Eq. (2) is not fulfilled. Still, within the period of
which depends on both y and z. In Eq. (4), it is assumed that
30 s (corresponding to the time frame in which the least-
the soil has no shear stiffness, but only lateral stiffness
squares fit data are determined), the damped acceleration
represented by nonlinear springs based on semi-empirical
decay agrees well with Eq. (2). In order to avoid aerodynamic
relations between the soil force per unit length p acting
affects from the rotor blades when they pitch out of the wind,
against the monopile wall and the lateral deflection y of the
the first 15 s after initiation of the “rotor-stop” are neglected.
structure, see Fig. 6.
As an example, the damped acceleration decay is shown in
For modal analysis of offshore wind turbines, it is common
Fig. 5b. The exponential function that specifies the decrease of
to estimate the spring stiffness Enpy by linearising the nonlinear
the vibration amplitude with time t is included.
p–y curves suggested by DNV (2011). Theoretically, the
linearising can be done by use of either the initial soil stiffness
3. Computational model from the nonlinear uncoupled soil springs or from the
secant and tangent soil stiffness when the turbine is producing
A numerical representation of a selected wind turbine power at the nominally rated output level. However,
structure at Wind Park I, cf. Fig. 4 and Table 2 is performed studies regarding cyclic loading of piles made by Klinkvort
in order to estimate the dynamic properties for different et al. (2011) and Roesen et al. (2012) indicate that the
environmental conditions. By use of a Winkler foundation unloading-reloading path almost follows the initial stiffness
model, the first eigenfrequency f1 and the corresponding soil Enpy of the virgin curve. Despite decreasing secant stiffness
damping δsoil can be evaluated for different seabed conditions. during cyclic loading, it seems sensible for a modal analysis of
offshore wind turbines to determine the spring stiffness
3.1. Winkler approach from the initial stiffness of the nonlinear p–y curve
formulation, cf. Fig. 6.
Laterally loaded monopiles are traditionally designed based
By differentiating the p–y curve relationship for piles in
on a Winkler approach. Assuming that the pile and tower act
cohesionless soils according to DNV (2011), the initial stiffness
as
Enpy is given by
a Bernoulli–Euler beam, the governing differential equation is
  
given by ∂p  ∂ kzy 
Enpy ¼  ¼ Apu tanh  ¼ kz, ð5Þ
4 ∂y y ¼ 0 ∂y Apu y¼0
d y
Es I s −Epy y ¼ 0, ð4Þ
dx4 where pu is the ultimate lateral resistance per unit length at a
where y is the lateral deflection of the structure at a point z depth below soil surface, k is the initial modulus of subgrade
along the pile, EsIs is the bending stiffness of the structure, reaction determined from the peak angle of internal friction φk′,
where Es is the modulus of elasticity and Is is the moment of y is the lateral deflection and A is a factor accounting for cyclic
inertia around the horizontal x-axis perpendicular to the or static loading conditions. For cyclic loading, A is 0.9. For
 M. Damgaard et al. / J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 116 (2013) 94–108
clayey soils, DNV (2011) recommends to linearise the nonlinear
p–y curves from the discretisation point given by the relative
displacement y/yc ¼0.1 with ordinate value p/pu ¼0.23, where
yc ¼2.5ε50D. D is the pile diameter and ε50 is the strain
corresponding to a stress of 50% of the ultimate stress in a
laboratory stress–strain curve.
The Winkler approach is implemented in MATLAB in order
to find the eigenfrequencies fk and corresponding eigenmodes
Φ(k) of the selected offshore wind turbine at Wind Park I. The
differential equation for undamped vibrations of a multi-
degree-of-freedom (MDOF) system is solved.
€ þ Ku ¼ 0;
Mu
where M and K are the mass and stiffness matrices and u(t) is
the generalised displacement and rotational vector. In order to
find the eigenfrequency fk for the kth eigenmode Φ(k), a
harmonic function is applied as a solution to Eq. (6).
uðtÞ ¼ ReðΦðkÞ eiωk t Þ;
where it is used that the kth angular eigenfrequency ωk of the
harmonic motion u(t) is given by
ωk ¼ 2πf k
Inserting Eq. (7) into Eq. (6) makes it possible to find the kth
eigenfrequency fk and corresponding eigenmode Φ(k) by sol-
ving the frequency condition
detðK−ω2k MÞ ¼ 0
The structural mass contribution to the global mass matrix
M from monopile, transition piece and tower is calculated
according to the Bernoulli–Euler beam theory. The mass of the
nacelle and rotor is added as a concentrated mass in the top
node. Likewise, masses of the tower flanges and internal tower
equipment are added as concentrated masses. To account for
the increased mass and stiffness in the presence of the grout
annulus between the pile and the transition piece, an equiva-
lent steel wall thickness is used. The monopile is assumed
flooded. Further, the model is fixed in the x-direction, which
seems admissible for a monopile structure excited at its first
resonance frequency. It should be noted that Simpson integra-
tion has been used to estimate the element soil stiffness
matrix by determining the initial soil stiffness Enpy in each
integration point. Hence, the global stiffness matrix K is a
combination of structural and soil stiffness.
In order to take seabed sediment erosion due to current
actions into consideration in the numerical model, the vertical
effective stress p0 is reduced linearly with depth to a depth
equal to 3D below the base of the scour hole.
3.2. Modal soil material damping—hysteresis loop method
Besides tower oscillation dampers, soil damping is believed
to contribute with the greatest amount of the total system
damping for offshore wind turbines on a monopile foundation,
when considering “rotor-stop” sequences with vanishing aero-
dynamic damping. For a “rotor-stop” test, cyclic motion in the
soil takes place leading to material damping and geometric
damping. However, Andersen (2008) concludes that the geo-
metric damping can be neglected for frequencies below 1 Hz.
Within the earthquake engineering field it is common to
implement a viscoelastic model to represent the dissipation
99
of the elastic energy that is converted into heat (Andersen,
2006). However, due to the fact that soils dissipate elastic
energy hysteretically by the slippage of grains with respect to
each other, their dissipation characteristics are insensitive to
frequency. Hence, for a given deformation level and constant
frequency the soil material damping can be approximated to
an equivalent viscosity. In this paper, a simple method of
determining the soil material damping contribution of the
selected offshore wind turbine at Wind Park I is presented
based on the p–y curves proposed by the design regulations.
By performing a static deformation analysis with a load level
ð6Þ based on the measured wind speed during the “rotor-stop”
test, the irreversible deformations in the soil are a measure of
energy dissipation in the first cycle after the “rotor-stop” takes
place. The method assumes that the first eigenmode Φ(1) is
equal to the static deflection of the wind turbine structure. The
procedure is stated below:
ð7Þ
1. A 10-minute transient simulation of the operating wind turbine
structure is conducted by use of the aeroelastic code FLEX (Øye,
1996). A wind speed level equal to the measured value just
before the “rotor-stop” takes place is included in order to
ð8Þ
determine the load level when the “rotor-stop” sequence starts.
2. By performing a static deformation analysis based on the
Winkler approach with nonlinear p–y curves, the horizontal
pile deformation in each node point below the soil surface is
determined. The initial slope of the curves has a large influence
ð9Þ on the deformations, and thus, the nonlinear p–y curves for the
cohesive soil stratification are discretised and approximated by
a piece-wise linear curve drawn between the discretisation
points according to DNV (2011).
3. Based on a load–displacement cycle, as indicated in Fig. 7a, the
area captured within the curve is found by Simpson integra-
tion. The area is used to obtain the hysteresis loop for the
damping force Fd as shown in Fig. 7b. In other words, based
on the soil material damping in Fig. 7a, an equivalent viscous
damping model is considered.
4. At each node point below the soil surface, the damping
constant c can be found from the hysteresis loop. Hence, the
global damping matrix C is determined.
5. Based on the theory of MDOF systems, the soil damping ratio
ζsoil is determined from the global damping matrix C, the
angular eigenfrequency ω1, the eigenmode Φ(1) and the modal
mass M1 according to Eq. (10).
Φð1ÞT CΦð1Þ
ζ soil ¼ , ð10Þ
2ω1 M 1
where the modal mass M1 is given by
M 1 ¼ Φð1ÞT MΦð1Þ ð11Þ
Fig. 7. Hysteresis Loop Method (Nielsen, 2004): (a) load–displacement curve for
the first load cycle after the “rotor-stop”, (b) hysteresis loop implied by viscous
damping in a harmonic motion with the amplitude A and the first angular
eigenfrequency ω1.
100 M. Damgaard et al. / J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 116 (2013) 94–108

The nonlinear model in Fig. 7a assumes a loading phase where the

soil-pile interaction is described by the p–y curve formulation

Mean Power Energy Spectrum [m/s2]2

7
given by DNV (2011). The unloading phase follows the initial
stiffness Enpy of the virgin curve. Due to irreversible deformations, a 6

gap between the pile and the soil will be created. The pile will 5
then move towards the initial position and into the opposite soil
4
face. In this phase, the soil resistance to the lateral movement of
the pile is expressed by a shear drag pdrag developed along the side 3
of the pile. Based on Zang et al. (2005), the shear drag pdrag can be 2
given by
1
pdrag ¼ Dτmax , ð12Þ
0
0.26 0.28 0.30 0.32 0.34 0.36 0.38 0.40 0.42 0.44 0.46
where τmax is the maximum shear resistance. According to Ovesen Frequency [Hz]
et al. (2006), the maximum shear resistance τmax for a steel
monopile placed in cohesionless soils can be expressed as

Mean Power Energy Spectrum[m/s2]2

τmax ¼ 0:6s′v , ð13Þ 6 2 DOF Response Fit
Measured
where s′v is the vertical effective stress. For cohesive soils, the 5
maximum shear resistance τmax is given by
4
τmax ¼ 0:7cu ð14Þ
3
Whether the gap will take place for cohesionless soils is difficult to
derive from the literature. According to El-Naggar et al. (2005), 2

cohesionless soils will cave in and close the gap. However,

1
centrifuge tests carried out for a pile in sand made by Klinkvort
(2009) show that the soil will not cave in completely. This in turn 0
0.26 0.28 0.30 0.32 0.34 0.36 0.38 0.40 0.42 0.44 0.46
may justify the application of the nonlinear material model in
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 7a for both cohesionless and cohesive soils.
Fig. 8. Spectral analysis on the response during power production: (a) mean power
energy spectrum for all generator speeds as a function of frequency, (b) measured
and theoretical 2 DOF energy spectra.
4. Spectral analysis on response during power production

As an alternative method of estimating the dynamic prop-

erties of offshore wind turbines from experimental testing,
spectral analysis on side–side accelerations during power
production is presented in this paper. Contrary to evaluating
the dynamic parameters from “rotor-stop” sequences, this
method has the advantages of being valid for operating
turbines, i.e. the dynamic properties are investigated within
true boundary conditions and actual force and vibration level.
For two offshore turbines, a total of 27 measurements, each
with a time duration of approximately 12 h, have been
investigated in order to estimate the first modal damping δ1.
The measurements have been performed in the period from
1 May to 31 June 2009. Fig. 2a and b shows the monitoring
system and coordinate system, respectively.
4.1. Wind turbine structure and site condition
The two considered wind turbine structures are part of an
offshore wind park with a total of 30 wind turbines installed on a
monopile foundation. The soil profiles contain mainly frictionless
soil. In Table 3, the overall characterisation of Wind Park V can
be seen.
Table 3
Overall characterisation of Wind Park V.
4.2. Procedure of damping estimation
The following procedure of determining the first modal
damping δ1 from side–side accelerations ax has been used:
1. Each side–side acceleration time series is divided into sequences
with duration of approximately 200 s (2048 samples at a sample
rate of 10 Hz). The sequences are divided into bins with similar
conditions in terms of rotor speed.
2. Fast Fourier Transformation of each time sequence into an
energy spectrum is performed. The rotational rotor frequency
1P is filtered out since this excitation has nothing to do with
the system response.
3. Considering the spectral bell for the first damped eigen-
frequency fd,1, makes it possible to determine mean energy
spectra of at least 30 spectra for each bin, cf. item 1 and
Fig. 8a.
4. Assuming a damped 2 degree-of-freedom (DOF) system, see
Fig. 9, the global mass, stiffness and damping matrices are
found by fitting an energy spectrum to each measured mean
spectrum, cf. Fig. 8b.
5. Solving the nonlinear eigenvalue problem for a damped 2 DOF
system makes it possible to determine the modal damping δ1
for the first eigenmode Φ(1).

Tower Monopile Soil conditions Average water The theoretical fitting of the measured energy spectrum is
height [m] diameter [m] [-] depth w.r.t. obtained by minimising the object function given by
LAT [m]
n
Park V 60.0 4.3 Dense sand/Firm clay 6/8 E ¼ ∑ jTðωÞ−SðωÞj2 , ð15Þ
i¼1
 M. Damgaard et al. / J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 116 (2013) 94–108 101

k1 k2 0.999
0.997
0.990
m1 mv 0.980
0.950
c1 c2 0.900

Probability [-]
0.750

x2(t) 0.500
x1(t)
0.250
Fig. 9. Equivalent dynamic system with two degree of freedoms representing the
offshore wind turbine with a mechanical damper installed. 0.100
0.050
0.020
0.010
where S(ω) is the measured energy spectrum and T(ω) is the 0.003
theoretical energy spectrum given by 0.001

TðωÞ ¼ HðωÞFðωÞ ¼ ð−ω2 M þ iωC þ KÞ−1 FðωÞ, ð16Þ 0.000

-0.15 -0.10 -0.05 0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15

where H(ω) is the response function and F(ω) is the input force Side-Side Acceleration ax [m/s2]
derived from Gaussian white noise. The mass matrix M, the Fig. 10. Normal probability plot of a selected time serie. A mean value of
damping matrix C and the stiffness matrix K for an equivalent −0.0002 m/s2, a skewness of 0.06 and a kurtosis of 2.9 are present.
damped 2 DOF system represent the turbine with a mechan-
ical damper according to Fig. 9. The matrices are given by
" #
1
μ 0
M ¼ μm1 , ð17Þ
0 1
"ζ #
1 ð1 þ μÞ
2ωref μm1 μ þζ 2 −ζ 2
C¼ , ð18Þ
1þμ −ζ 2 ζ2

 ref 2 " #
ð1 þ μÞ2
ω μm1 μ þ1 −1
K¼ , ð19Þ
ð1 þ μÞ2 −1 1

where it has been utilised that the mass ratio μ, the angular
reference frequency ωref, the damping constants c1 and c2 are
determined by
m1
μ¼ ð20Þ
m2
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ref k1
ω ¼ ω1 ¼ ð21Þ
m1
Fig. 11. “Rotor-stop” sequences for Wind Park I with an R-square value of 0.95:
c1 ¼ 2ζ 1 ω1 m1 ð22Þ (a) Damping histogram, (b) Eigenperiod histogram, (c) Campbell diagram in terms
of the logarithmic decrement δ1 as a function of the fore-aft acceleration ay,
μ (d) Campbell diagram in terms of the eigenfrequency f1 as a function of the fore-aft
c2 ¼ 2ζ 2 ω2 m2 ¼ 2ω1 m1 ζ ð23Þ
1þμ 2 acceleration ay.

By keeping the mass ratio μ constant, the optimum of the

object function in Eq. (15) is found by varying the parameters
m1, ωref, ζ1 and ζ2. Finally, solving the following nonlinear
eigenvalue problem gives the first modal damping δ1:
detðMλ2 þ Cλ þ KÞ ¼ 0
It should be noticed that the method relies on the assump-
tion that the input forces are derived from Gaussian white
noise and excite in multiple points. This assumption implies
that each time serie should be investigated for Gaussianity by
calculating the mean value, the skewness and kurtosis. If the
time serie is a Gaussian process the skewness and kurtosis
theoretically are
0 and 3, respectively. In Fig. 10, a normal probability plot of a
selected time serie is shown with a mean value of −0.0002 m/
s2, a skewness of 0.06 and a kurtosis of 2.9. Overall, it can be
concluded that the investigated time series, though not
precisely normal distributed, for practical purpose are a
realisation of a zero-mean Gaussian process.
Further, as mentioned earlier, closely spaced modes occur-
ring at nearly identical frequencies are present for wind
ð24Þ turbines. In this regard, the method assumes that no coupling
between the two first eigenmodes exists, i.e. pure fore-aft and
side–side modes are assumed. Stochastic Subspace Identifica-
tion will be used to validate this assumption (Brincker and
Andersen, 2006).
5. Interpretation of “rotor-stop” sequences
Based on 665 “rotor-stop” tests on 30 turbines for Wind
Park I, the structural dynamic properties are presented in
Fig. 11 with an R-square value of at least 0.95, meaning that the
102 M. Damgaard et al. / J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 116 (2013) 94–108

fit explains 95% of the total variation in the data about the 140 200
average. An upper limit for the first eigenfrequency f1 of

"Rotor-Stop" Sequencies [-]

"Rotor-Stop" Sequencies [-]

X=0.159 180 X=2.844
120 S=0.047 S=0.078
160
offshore wind turbines exists due to the fact that the value 100 140

never exceeds the first eigenfrequency f1 for a fixed turbine. 80 120

100
Hence, lognormally distributed eigenperiods may be expected 60 80
40 60
due to its reciprocal description of the eigenfrequency. Fig. 11a 40
20
and b show the histogram of the first modal damping 0
20
0
in terms of the logarithmic decrement δ1 and eigenperiod T1 0 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2
Logarithmic Decrement δ1 [-] Eigenperiod T1 [s]
for the tests with a mean value of 0.15 and 3.024 s and a
standard deviation of 2.5% and 4.8% respectively. Instead of 60 60

"Rotor-Stop" Sequencies [-]

"Rotor-Stop" Sequencies [-]

X=0.163 X=2.837
representing the parameters by use of a histogram, Fig. 11c and 50 S=0.050 50 S=0.078
d show the modal damping δ1 and eigenfrequency f1 as a 40 40
function of the fore-aft acceleration level ay. A relatively high 30 30
scatter is seen on the modal damping δ1. Increasing the R- 20 20
square value to 0.99 decreases the number of “rotor-stop” tests 10 10
from 665 to 298 and also the scatter of the modal damping δ1 0 0
0 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 2.5 2.7 2.9 3.1
to some extent. However, scatter is still observed, cf. Fig. 12. Logarithmic Decrement δ1 [-] Eigenperiod T1 [s]
The modal damping δ1 decreases when the acceleration level
ay increases. This indicates that the performance of the tower 30 30

"Rotor-Stop" Sequencies [-]

"Rotor-Stop" Sequencies [-]

X=0.161 X=2.806
oscillation damper is significantly reduced. Same tendency is 25 S=0.043 25 S=0.074

observed for the eigenfrequency f1, which might be caused by 20 20

distinct nonlinear soil behaviour for high acceleration levels. 15 15

This reduces the secant stiffness and thereby changes the 10 10

boundary conditions. 5 5

The distribution of the first modal damping δ1 and eigen- 0

0 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40
0
2.5 2.7 2.9 3.1
period T1 for Wind Park II, III and IV are shown in Fig. 13 with Logarithmic Decrement δ1 [-] Eigenperiod T1 [s]
an R-square value of 0.95. Mean values and standard devia-
Fig. 13. “Rotor-stop” sequences for Wind Park II, III and IV with an R-square value
tions of the modal damping δ1 and eigenperiod T1 for the three of 0.95: (a) damping histogram for Wind Park II, (b) eigenperiod histogram for
wind parks correspond very well with the findings for Wind Wind Park II, (c) damping histogram for Wind Park III, (d) eigenperiod histogram
for Wind Park III, (e) damping histogram for Wind Park IV, (f) eigenperiod
Park I. Using a lognormal probability density function, a 5%
histogram for Wind Park IV.
quantile of the modal damping δ1 and the eigenperiod T1 for
all four wind parks can be seen in Table 4. As indicated,
sensible similarities between the wind parks are seen. Finally,
it should be mentioned that Damgaard et al. (2012) have
performed a similar study of an offshore wind turbine Table 4
5% quantile of the first modal damping δ1 and eigenperiod
with a monopile foundation located in the North Sea.
T1 for all four wind parks.
Based on 10 “rotor-stop” tests a mean value of 0.14 of the
logarithmic decrement δ1 with a standard deviation of 1.51% δ5% T1
[-] [s]
was observed.
Fig. 14 shows a locally weighted, scatter smooth plot of the Park I 0.11 2.95
eigenfrequencies and modal damping values for the four wind Park II 0.09 2.71
Park III 0.10 2.70
parks. The higher deviation of the eigenfrequency estimations
Park IV 0.10 2.69
might be caused by different soil conditions for the four wind
parks. Better agreement is observed for the modal damping
estimations due to the installation of the tower oscillation
damper in all the investigated turbines. Despite varying soil

Wind Park I Wind Park I

Logarithmic Decrement δ1 [-]

0.30 Wind Park II 0.40 Wind Park II

Natural Frequency f1 [Hz]

0.30 0.37 Wind Park III 0.39 Wind Park III

Logarithmic Decrement δ1 [-]

0.25 Wind Park IV 0.38 Wind Park IV

0.36
Eigenfrequency f1 [Hz]

0.25
0.20 0.37
0.35 0.36
0.20
0.15 0.35
0.34
0.15 0.34
0.33 0.10
0.33
0.10 0.32
0.32 0.05
0.31
0.05 0.31 0 0.30
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
0 0.30
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 Fore-Aft Acceleration ay [m/s2] Fore-Aft Acceleration ay [m/s2]
Fore-Aft Acceleration ay [m/s2] Fore-Aft Acceleration ay [m/s2]
Fig. 14. Local weighted linear regression to smooth out the dynamic properties for
Fig. 12. “Rotor-stop” sequences for Wind Park I with an R-square value of 0.99 the four wind parks shown in a Campbell diagram: (a) logarithmic decrement δ1 as
shown in a Campbell diagram: (a) logarithmic decrement δ1 as a function of fore-aft a function of fore-aft acceleration ay, (b) eigenfrequency f1 as a function of fore-aft
acceleration ay, (b) eigenfrequency f1 as a function of fore-aft acceleration ay. acceleration ay.
 M. Damgaard et al. / J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 116 (2013) 94–108 103

damping between the wind parks, it must be noticed that the is calculated in accordance with EN 1991-1-4 (2005).
tower oscillation damper has a higher contribution to the
measured system damping. ζ aero ≈0:12% ð27Þ

5.1. Selected turbine investigation

It can be concluded that there is relatively high scatter in

the dynamic properties, cf. Figs. 11–13. Different reasons can
explain this tendency. Each wind turbine structure has a
unique geometry designed for specific soil stratification and
environmental conditions. However, it has been observed that
the mass pendulum of the oscillating tower damper during
some “rotor-stop” tests hits the surfaces of the oil basin.
Hence, the time duration of pitching the blades out of the
wind and the acceleration level in the turbine, together with
the initial position of the mass pendulum before the “rotor-
stop” takes place, have a high impact on the tower damper
performance. In some “rotor-stop” tests, the movement of
the mass pendulum correlates with the movement of
the wind turbine tower and creates almost no additional
damping. In other tests, the movement of the two systems is
out of phase causing a high damping value from the tower
damper. Hence, a more proper way of comparing the dynamic
properties is by investigating each individual turbine with the
following requirements:

 Ensuring same slope of generator speed when the blades pitch

out of the wind.
 Ensuring same acceleration level during the “rotor-stop” test.

Fig. 15 shows comparison of the measured 10 min wind

speed and tidal variation together with the dynamic properties
of three turbines at Wind Park I. For each turbine, the “rotor-
stop” tests are collected with almost same acceleration level
and slope of decreasing generator speed. As indicated, the first
eigenfrequency f1 and the modal damping δ1 now only have a
slight deviation for each turbine.

5.2. Linear combination of damping contributors – an example of

modal soil damping estimation

Based on the measured system damping ζ1 for the first

eigenmode Φ(1), it is possible to estimate the soil damping for
a specific “rotor-stop” test of the selected wind turbine placed
at Wind Park I, cf. Fig. 4 and Table 2. In general, the measured
system damping ζ1 can be approximated as a linear combina-
tion of the following parts due to low levels of damping:
ζ 1 ¼ ζ steel þ ζ aero þ ζ water þ ζ tower þ ζ soil , ð25Þ
where ζsteel is the steel hysteretic damping ratio, ζaero is the
aerodynamic damping ratio from the tower, ζwater is the wave
making radiation and viscous hydrodynamic damping ratio
due to the presence of water, ζtower is the damping ratio from
the tower oscillation damper and ζsoil is the soil damping ratio.
According to EN 1991-1-4 (2005), the material damping for the
monopile and tower steel ζsteel can be estimated to
ζ steel ≈0:19% ð26Þ
With a measured averaged wind speed vwind of 13.4 m/s Fig. 15. Detailed investigation of three selected turbines at Wind Park I with same
acceleration level ay and slope of generator speed: (a) wind and tidal variation as a
and a first eigenfrequency f1 of 0.323 Hz for the investigated function of measurement time, (b) logarithmic decrement δ1 and eigenfrequency f1
turbine, the aerodynamic damping on the tower structure ζaero as a function of measurement time.
104 M. Damgaard et al. / J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 116 (2013) 94–108

Theoretical estimation of ζwater has been presented by

Leblanc and Tarp-Johansen (2010) based on research per- Scour
Backfilling
formed by Tarp-Johansen et al. (2009). Due to small relative 0.336

Eigenfrequency f1 [Hz]
0.334
velocities for an offshore wind turbine structure, the viscous
0.332
hydrodynamic damping ratio is small compared to damping 0.330
created from wave radiation. According to Leblanc and Tarp- 0.328
Johansen (2010), the damping ratio from wave radiation only 0.326
0.324
is approximately 0.12% when considering an offshore wind 0.322
turbine with a first eigenfrequency f1 of 0.3 Hz, a pile diameter 0.320
of 4.7 m and a water depth of 20 m. The damping value is 0.318
assumed to represent the investigated wind turbine at Wind 0.316
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Park I, i.e., Scour Depth/Backfilling Height [m]
ζ water ≈0:12% ð28Þ

For the specific turbine at Wind Park I, the lowest modal Scour
Backfilling
damping ζ1 has been measured as 1.43, cf. Fig. 12a. Assuming 0.070

Soil Damping δsoil [-]

that the tower oscillation damper does not perform any 0.065
additional damping, i.e. ζtower ¼0, the soil damping required 0.060
to make the total theoretical damping equal to the total 0.055
experimental damping is determined to 0.050
0.045
ζ soil ≈1:00%, ð29Þ
0.040
which is equal to a logarithmic decrement δsoil of approxi- 0.035
mately 0.06. Notice that Damgaard et al. (2012) have per- 0.030
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
formed a similar study of another offshore wind turbine. A
Scour Depth/Backfilling Height [m]
modal soil damping in terms of the logarithmic decrement δsoil
of 0.036 was estimated where the soil stratification primarily Fig. 16. Numerical analysis of the selected wind turbine structure at Wind Park I,
(a) first eigenfrequency f1 as a function of scour depth and backfilling height,
consisted of cohesive soils with a 3 m loose sand layer placed (b) soil damping in terms of the logarithmic decrement δsoil as a function of the
in the top. scour depth and backfilling height.

5.3. Variation of modal parameters with time

Despite of collecting “rotor-stop” tests with the same
acceleration level and slope of generator speed for each
individual turbine at Wind Park I, the dynamic properties are
time-dependent, cf. Fig. 15. Assuming that the tower oscillat-
ing damper contributes with the same damping value, the
time-dependency might be caused by the following:
 Temperature dependent dynamic properties
 Tidal variation
 Moveable seabed and scour around the foundation
The mechanical properties of steel depend on temperature
level, which have an influence of the structural stiffness and
damping. However, due to a small damping value of structural
material damping, it is assumed that the variation caused by
temperature changes has a negligible impact on the measured
system damping. According to Engineering ToolBox (2012), a
temperature change from −731 to 93 1C causes a reduction of
Young's modulus of elasticity E with approximately 5%.
Using a Winkler approach and assuming no scour develop-
ment, it corresponds to a change in the first eigenfrequency f1
of 0.5%.
One-year measurements of tide levels at Wind Park I show
a maximum difference between highest and lowest astronom-
ical tide of approximately 2 m. However, according to Eq. (28),
the damping ratio from wave radiation is only 0.12% for a
water depth of 20 m. It might then be concluded that the tidal
variation has almost no influence on the dynamic properties.
This statement is supported by research performed by Larsen
et al. (2005).
A much more vital phenomenon is the erosion of soil
particles near the foundation. Based on experimental tests,
Sumer et al. (1992) determined that the mean value of the
equilibrium scour depth for a vertical cylinder in steady
current is given by 1.3D, where D is the diameter of the
cylinder. However, for combined current and wave conditions,
it becomes more complicated as wave action will tend to
reduce the scour depth (Høgedal and Hald, 2005). As a
consequence, the scour depth will change with time and
thereby also the eigenfrequency f1 and modal damping δ1.
Based on the previously mentioned Winkler model, a numer-
ical parameter study of the first eigenfrequency f1 and corre-
sponding soil damping in terms of the logarithmic decrement
δsoil has been performed for different scour depths and backfill
heights for the selected turbine at Wind Park I, cf. Fig. 4 and
Table 2. A maximum scour depth equal to the equilibrium
scour depth proposed by Sumer et al. (1992) has been applied
and a wind speed of 13 m/s is assumed. The cohesionless
backfill material is assumed to have a friction angle φk′ of 281.
Fig. 16a shows as expected a decreasing eigenfrequency f1 for
increasing scour depth. The opposite is observed for increasing
backfill height. According to Fig. 16b, the soil damping δsoil
tends to decrease for increasing scour depth. However, only to
a certain depth, hereafter an increasing soil damping δsoil is
observed, and for large scour depths the soil damping δsoil
decreases again. The opposite is observed for increasing
 M. Damgaard et al. / J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 116 (2013) 94–108 105

32

Spectral Density ax[dB|m/s2/Hz]

0.346
Eigenfrequency f1 [Hz]

0.344 40000 22
0.342
0.340

Time [s]
0.338
12
0.336
0.334 20000
0.332
-2
0.330
0.328
28 30 32 34 36 38 40
Friction Angle φk' [°] 0 -8
0 0.30 0.60 0.90
Frequency [Hz]

Fig. 18. Spectrogram of side-side accelerations ax for an operating offshore wind

turbine at Wind Park V. The rotational rotor frequency 1P, the first damped
0.10
eigenfrequency fd,1 and the blade passing frequency 3P are clearly represented in
Soil Damping δsoil [-]

0.09 the plot.

0.08

0.07

0.06

0.05 gated offshore wind turbine might be caused by scour

0.04
28 30 32 34 36 38
Friction Angle φk' [°]
Fig. 17. Numerical analysis of the selected wind turbine at Wind Park I, (a) eigen-
frequency f1 as a function of friction angle φk′ of backfill material, (b) soil damping
in terms of the logarithmic decrement δsoil as a function of the friction angle φk′ of
backfill material.
backfill height. In order to understand this tendency, Fig. 7
must be considered. The plastic soil deformations, which are a
measure of soil material damping, highly depend on the pile
deflection and the initial soil stiffness Enpy for each soil layer, i.e.
for increasing scour depth, a higher pile deflection at seabed
and a higher initial soil stiffness Enpy create a higher soil
damping contribution. However, due to the fact that the pile
deflection at the base of the scour hole only increases to a
certain scour depth and the initial soil stiffness Enpy for each soil
layer depends on the scour depth, it becomes complicated. The
pile deflection and the initial soil stiffness Enpy will be able to
increase or decrease relative to each other for increasing
scour depth.
According to Sørensen et al. (2010) compaction of the
backfilled material will take place during time due to the
presence of waves inducing depth compaction. Hansson et al.
(2005) have reported friction angles above 401 for top soil
layers. Using the Winkler approach, Fig. 17 shows the eigen-
frequency f1 and the modal soil damping δsoil as a function of
the strength of the backfill material.
Overall, the numerical investigations of the scour develop-
ment and backfill material show a variation of the first
eigenfrequency f1 of around 8%. The soil damping δsoil is in
the range of 0.05–0.08 logarithmic decrement. Comparing
these results with the experimental findings in Fig. 15,
this paper shows that time-dependent natural frequencies
and corresponding modal damping values of the investi-
development.
40
6. Interpretation of power production sequences
Modal identification of an operating wind turbine is diffi-
cult to perform due to complicated loading forces. Time-
invariance of the structure during the test is a general
requirement in modal testing, i.e. the structure under test
remains the same during the test. This is not the case for an
operational wind turbine structure. The nacelle revolves
around the tower, the rotor rotates around its axis and the
blades pitch depending of the wind speed and rotor speed
(Damgaard, 2011). However, dividing time sequences into bins
with similar conditions in terms of rotor speed and identifying
the rotational rotor frequency 1P and separating it from the
structural modes, spectral analysis on side-side accelerations
ax during power production may be an alternative way of
estimating modal parameters. Fig. 18 shows the time-varying
spectral representation of a measurement carried out for one
of the operating wind turbines at Wind Park V. Using short-
time Fourier Transformation of the side–side acceleration
signal, Fig. 18 indicates that the energy related to the rotational
rotor frequency 1P and the first damped eigenfrequency fd,1
only to some extent vary with time.
Using spectral analysis to determine the first modal damp-
ing δ1 from side–side accelerations ax of operating wind
turbines requires that the shape of the first two closely spaced
eigenmodes only show pure bending in the fore-aft and side–
side direction, i.e. an elliptical trace of each eigenmode is not
allowed. The requirement has been verified through a Sto-
chastic Subspace Identification (SSI) technique. The theory
within the method will not be outlined in this paper. However,
by using the SSI algorithm, it can be concluded that the two
closely spaced eigenmodes only show pure bending in the
fore-aft and side–side direction, respectively. It turns out that
the modal damping of the fore-aft eigenmode is three
times higher than the side–side eigenmode, which might be
106 M. Damgaard et al. / J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 116 (2013) 94–108

use of a Winkler approach. Several interesting observations

0.25 can be made:
Logarithmic Decrement δ0 [-]

0.20  “Rotor-stop” tests of offshore wind turbine structures allow

determination of the modal parameters from the free vibration
0.15
decay. Considering more than 1,500 tests divided between four
wind parks, reliable and similar mean values of the first modal
damping in terms of the logarithmic decrement δ1 are observed
0.10
to be in the range of 0.15–0.16.
 “Rotor-stop” tests of offshore wind turbines induce distinctly
0.05
time-dependent eigenfrequencies and modal damping values
with a relatively high scatter, even for ideal fits. During a “rotor-
0
0 0.05 0.10 0.15 stop”, the initial position of the mass pendulum of the tower
Max Side-Side Acceleration Level ax [m/s2]
oscillating damper has a high impact on the damping contribu-
tion. In some tests, the mass pendulum follows the motion of
the main system and in other tests, it tends to move in the
opposite direction. Moreover, it has been observed that for
0.25 some tests the mass pendulum hits the side surfaces in the oil
Logarithmic Decrement δ0 [-]

0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0
0 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25
Max Side-Side Acceleration Level ax [m/s2]
Fig. 19. Damping estimation for the two considered wind turbines at Wind Park V,
(a) logarithmic decrement δ1 as a function of max side–side acceleration ax for
turbine 1, (b) logarithmic decrement δ1 as a function of max side–side acceleration
ax for turbine 2.
the reason for the observed characteristics of the two
structural modes.
In Fig. 19, the damping estimation in terms of the logarith-
mic decrement δ1 is shown for the two considered turbines at
Wind Park V. Mean values of 0.18 and 0.16 are observed, which
corresponds very well to the mean damping values from the
“rotor-stop” tests. Moreover, it can be concluded that much
smaller scatter is present when analysing the modal damping
from operating turbines. This might be caused by a more
stable performance of the installed oscillating damper, i.e. the
damper is designed for actual vibration conditions, which
characterise this type of tests.
7. Conclusions
In order to assess the fatigue damage accumulation during
the lifetime of offshore wind turbine structures, a correct
estimation of the structural modal parameters is necessary.
In this regard, experimental and numerical studies of the
cross-wind dynamic properties of offshore wind turbines have
been presented in this paper. By use of free vibration tests and
normal production measurements of several offshore wind
turbine structures, reliable estimates of the structural dynamic
properties have been stated. Qualified reasons for the variation
of the eigenfrequency and modal damping are evaluated by
basin. Sorting tests for each turbine with the same acceleration
level and slope of generator speed when the blades pitch out of
the wind produce much lower scatter.
 Eliminating the varying tower damper performance, the
observed time-dependent modal parameters of offshore wind
turbines might be caused by sediment transportation at seabed.
A numerical investigation of this phenomenon shows that
scour development and backfilling change the eigenfrequency
f1 and the modal damping δ1 of the wind turbine structure.
Good agreement between experimental and numerical modal
0.30 parameters is observed.
 Qualified estimations of each damping contribution to the
measured system damping for a specific turbine make it
possible to determine modal soil damping δsoil in terms of the
logarithmic decrement of 0.06. The paper has shown that using
a Winkler approach with an implemented hysteresis loop
method predicts reasonable estimates of modal soil material
damping, even though the soil-structure interaction is mod-
elled by p–y curves designed for slender piles with a slender-
ness ratio of L/D o34.4.
 Spectral analysis on side–side accelerations of operating off-
shore turbines may serve as an alternative way of determining
the dynamic properties. True boundary conditions and actual
force and vibration level make this approach beneficial, which
also produce a more stable performance of the tower damper. A
mean value of the modal damping in terms of the logarithmic
decrement δ1 is in the range of 0.16–0.18.
In this paper it has been assumed that the system damping
of an offshore wind turbine is a linear combination of different
contributors. Moreover, no viscous effects from pore water
dissipation have been taken into account in the soil damping
estimation. The two topics will in the near future be
investigated into more details by the authors. In addition,
model updating, in which a fully integrated model is refined
by measured data of an offshore wind turbine, will be
examined.
Overall, significant research is needed for determining
dynamic properties of offshore wind turbine structures. In this
regard, two major research directions have to be considered.
Firstly, additional experimental investigations of the modal
parameters are required in order to draw strong conclusions of
the magnitudes. This is especially important for cross-wind
vibrations, where the aerodynamic damping is negligible.
Secondly, developing, validating and updating numerical
modal analysis and numerical integrated models based on
 M. Damgaard et al. / J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn. 116 (2013) 94–108
the experimental findings are crucial in order to achieve cost-
effective designs. Especially cyclic pile–soil interaction models
must be given high priority in order to ensure a correct
behaviour of dynamically loaded offshore turbines.
Acknowledgements
The work presented within this paper is supported by the
research projects Cost Effective Monopile Design funded by
Energiteknologiske Udviklings- og Demostrationsprogram
(EUDP) and Cost Effective Deep Water Foundations
for Large Offshore Wind Turbines funded by the Advanced
Technology Foundation. The financial supports are sincerely
acknowledged.
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