Innovation - Transition Piece

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Foundations can account for 25% of the overall cost and may
use up to 50% of the fabrication time

Increasing fabrication costs over the last decade;

supply chain constraints and

volatility in the price of material

Cost optimization is essential

TP provides the main load transfer from the turbine tower to the
jacket substructure

TP is a critical component of the wind turbine structure

Therefore, the integrity and cost of the TP is critical to the whole

design

ODE has designed several innovative transition piece, concepts

from which two have the potential to reduce the overall cost of
wind turbines support structures;
-

Plated Transition Piece

Conical Transition Piece

Innovation ODE Plated TP

Area of highest Stress

concentration dramatically
affecting fatigue life and
hence plated design

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Conventional vs Plated TPs

Conventional TP

Plated TP

Heavy weight
Oval section/Complex castings / welding
operations required.
The need for specialist fabricators limiting
supply chain options
High stress concentrations at central column /
support arms interface, requiring heavy
sections to achieve load transfer efficiency to
meet acceptable fatigue life criteria
Difficult to inspect the overlaid weld and tube
internal weld

relatively light
simple conventional plate fabrication methods
Simple fab = Available local supply chain
Special fatigue resistant detail -Stress
Relieving Wings greatly improved fatigue life
factor of 4 to 5
Ability to reduce stress locally without need
for complete TP resizing
Ease of maintenance / inspection with weld
open for access
Leading to extended life and reduce costs of
wind turbine support structures

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Twisted jacket vs Plated TP Jackets 1)

Twisted jacket
1.
2.

3.
4.

5.

Heavy weight
Complex 3 D tubular
fabrication / welding operations
required as shown in the
mainstream project
The need for specialist
fabricators limiting supply
chain options
High stress concentrations at
central column / support brace
interface, requiring heavy
sections to meet acceptable
fatigue life criteria
lack of redundancies hence
fatigue crack can lead to
system failure during operation

Plated TP Jacket

1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

relatively light
simple conventional plated
fabrication
Simple fab = Available local
supply chain
Special fatigue resistant
detail -Stress Relieving
Wings greatly improved
fatigue strength, a factor of 4
to 5, hence steel saving can
be made
Good redundancy hence
early fatigue crack is
tolerance during operation.

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Twisted jacket vs Plated TP Jackets 2)

Twisted jacket
1.
2.

3.
4.

5.

Small base width hence larger

and longer piles required
Pile in large battered angle
which can lead to reduced
piling efficiency and piling
refusal/lateral vibration or
movement
Remedial measures for pile
refusal such as drilling is
difficult
Low natural frequency in the
torsional vibration mode can
bring fatigue problem during
the detailed design stage
Piling is to be done together
with structure, which brings
scheduling problem

Plated TP Jacket

1.
2.
3.

4.
5.

Jacket base width can be

adjusted to reduce piling
needs
Pile efficiency high hence
chance of piling refusal low
Remedial measure for pile
refusal such as drilling are
available in conventional
technique
High natural vibration mode
for torsional mode
Pre piling can be conducted
to optimize offshore
operation

Innovation ODE Plated Transition Piece

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Simple load transfer via

plates
Easy fabrication
Relatively light weight
High fatigue strength from
reduced stress due to a
combination of:
Simple load transfer
stress relieving wing
detail
Reduced CAPEX cost

Figuratively representative TP.

Easy maintenance and repair

leading to reduced OPEX cost

Patent Applied

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Innovation Stress Concentrations & Fatigue

Equivalent Fatigue loading used for analysis is supplied
by Siemens for Generis Fatigue load under Hurricane
condition]

Inclined Plate

Central Column

Without Wing

With Wing

Fatigue Factor

Maximum
stress at 40 mm
from intersection

342 MPa

86.4 MPa

3.96

[49,603psi]

Position of
maximum stress
fatigue limiting
stress at 10^7
cycles

Compounded

Without Wing

With Wing

245 MPa

129 MPa

[12,531psi]

[35,534psi]

[18,710psi]

Weld
termination point

Nonweld
termination point

Weld
termination point

Nonweld
termination point

41.52 Mpa

51.63 Mpa

41.52 Mpa

51.63 Mpa

[6,022psi]

[7,488psi]

[6,022psi]

[7,488psi]

1.24
4.92

Fatigue Factor
1.90

1.24
2.36

Innovation - Plated TP Geometric Features:

Top section bolted to the WTG
tower base
Middle platform provide easy
operational space
Access into the lower section of
the transition piece possible.
Deck plate can be grated to
further reduce weight.
Bottom section connected to the
legs of jacket structure, directly
transferring loads
Flexible jacket leg spacing.

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Structural Drawings Transition piece

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Structural Drawings - Isometric

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Structural Illustration

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