Design and Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines

A special issue of Designs (ISSN 2411-9660). This special issue belongs to the section "Mechanical Engineering Design".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 5314

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Marine Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
Interests: offshore renewable energy; floating wind turbine; design and analysis of ma-rine structures; wind turbine mechanical system; numerical and experimental approaches; structural mechanics and dynamics; stochastic analysis

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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Structural Engineering and Material Sciences, University of Stavanger, N-4036 Stavanger, Norway
Interests: floating wind turbines; offshore floating structures; marine structures; offshore renewable energy; offshore mechanics; subsea technology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Offshore wind energy plays a significant role in promoting the transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy. An offshore wind turbine (OWT) system is a complex combination of aero-hydro-servo-elastic models involving multidiscipline knowledge, and it is subjected to the stochastic short- and long-term variations in the environmental loads, making the load effects of the system very complicated. In addition, offshore wind turbines, especially floating ones, are only in the early development stage, and limited experiences and guidelines exist. These pose great challenges for achieving a safe and reliable design with a low cost throughout the intended service life of OWTs.

To address these challenges, tremendous research efforts are required from various perspectives, including the design of wind turbine structures and mechanical systems, modeling, dynamic analysis, numerical and model testing techniques, control algorithms, etc. In addition, AI, machine learning, and digital-twin technologies are of great interest to facilitate analysis of large-scale wind farms, installation, operation, and maintenance.

This Special Issue aims to address the key challenges and enhance technologies for dynamic analysis to improve the design of OWTs, with contributions both from academia and industry. Various topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Innovative concepts and technologies;
  • Stochastic- and reliability-based design and analysis;
  • Conceptual and detailed design;
  • High-fidelity aerodynamics and hydrodynamics;
  • Integrated aero-hydro-servo-elastic modeling and analysis;
  • Advanced control technologies;
  • Stress and strength analysis of OWTs;
  • Novel conceptual studies including multi-rotor designs;
  • Novel materials;
  • Substructure design and analysis;
  • Mooring line design and analysis;
  • Rotor and blade design and analysis;
  • Innovative drivetrain design and analysis;
  • Numerical and experimental analysis;
  • Machine learning and digital twins.

Dr. Shuaishuai Wang
Prof. Dr. Yihan Xing
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • innovative design
  • modeling and analysis
  • fully coupled and decoupled analysis approaches
  • nonlinear dynamic load effects
  • stochastic environmental conditions
  • novel materials, mooring line design and analysis
  • substructure design and analysis
  • rotor and blade design and analysis
  • drivetrain design and analysis
  • numerical and experi-mental methods
  • machine learning and digital twin technologies

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 6378 KiB  
Article
Experimental Fitting of Efficiency Hill Chart for Kaplan Hydraulic Turbine
by Roberto Capata, Alfonso Calabria, Gian Marco Baralis and Giuseppe Piras
Designs 2024, 8(4), 80; https://doi.org/10.3390/designs8040080 - 13 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1072
Abstract
The development of hydroelectric technology and much of the “knowledge” on hydraulic phenomena derive from scale modeling and “bench” tests to improve machinery efficiency. The result of these experimental tests is mapping the so-called “hill chart”, representing the “DNA” of a turbine model. [...] Read more.
The development of hydroelectric technology and much of the “knowledge” on hydraulic phenomena derive from scale modeling and “bench” tests to improve machinery efficiency. The result of these experimental tests is mapping the so-called “hill chart”, representing the “DNA” of a turbine model. Identifying the efficiency values as a function of the specific parameters of the flow and energy coefficient (which both identify the operating point) allows us to represent the complete behavior of a turbine in hydraulic similarity with the original model developed in the laboratory. The present work carries out a “reverse engineering” operation that leads to the definition of “an innovative research model” that is relatively simple to use in every field. Thus, from the experimental survey of the degree of efficiency of several prototypes of machines deriving from the same starting model, the hill chart of the hydraulic profile used is reconstructed. The “mapping” of all the characteristic quantities of the machine, together with the physical parameters of the regulating organs of a four-blade Kaplan turbine model, also made it possible to complete the process, allowing to identify not only the iso-efficiency regions but also the curves relating to the trend of the angle of the impeller blades, the specific opening of the distributor, and the identification of critical areas of cavitation. The development of the hill chart was made possible by investigating the behavior of 33 actual prototypes and 46 characteristic curves derived from the same reference model based on practical experiments for finding the optimal blade distributor “setup curve”. To complete this, theoretical characteristic curves of “not physically realized” prototypes were also mapped, allowing us to complete the regions comprising the diagram. The study of the unified hill charts found in previous documentation of the most famous manufacturers was of great help. Finally, the validation of the “proposed procedure” was obtained through the experimental survey of the actual efficiency of the new prototype based on the theoretical values defined in the design phase on the chart obtained with the method described. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines)
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26 pages, 4301 KiB  
Article
Optimized Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Substructure Design Trends for 10–30 MW Turbines in Low-, Medium-, and High-Severity Wave Environments
by Joseph Habib Dagher, Andrew J. Goupee and Anthony M. Viselli
Designs 2024, 8(4), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/designs8040072 - 18 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1911
Abstract
Floating offshore wind is a promising renewable energy source, as 60% of the wind resources globally are found at depths requiring floating technologies, it minimizes construction at sea, and provides opportunities for industrialization given a lower site dependency. While floating offshore wind has [...] Read more.
Floating offshore wind is a promising renewable energy source, as 60% of the wind resources globally are found at depths requiring floating technologies, it minimizes construction at sea, and provides opportunities for industrialization given a lower site dependency. While floating offshore wind has numerous advantages, a current obstacle is its cost in comparison to more established energy sources. One cost-reduction approach for floating wind is increasing turbine capacities, which minimizes the amount of foundations, moorings, cables, and O&M equipment. This work presents trends in mass-optimized VolturnUS hull designs as turbine capacity increases for various wave environments. To do this, a novel rapid hull optimization framework is presented that employs frequency domain modeling, estimations of statistical extreme responses, industry constructability requirements, and genetic algorithm optimization to generate preliminary mass-optimal VolturnUS hull designs for a given turbine design and set of site conditions. Using this framework, mass-optimized VolturnUS hull designs were generated for 10–30 MW turbines for wave environments of varying severities. These design studies show that scaling up turbine capacities increases the mass efficiency of substructure designs, with decreasing returns, throughout the examined turbine capacity range. Additionally, increased wave environment severity is shown to increase the required mass of a given substructure design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines)
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20 pages, 10893 KiB  
Article
From Generation to Reuse: A Circular Economy Strategy Applied to Wind Turbine Production
by Ana Rita Caramelo, Paulo Santos and Tânia Miranda Lima
Designs 2024, 8(2), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/designs8020032 - 3 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1773
Abstract
The environmental impact of wind turbine rotor blades, both during manufacturing and at the end of their life cycle, can be significant. The aim of this study was to define and test a methodology for recycling the waste resulting from their production. Particles [...] Read more.
The environmental impact of wind turbine rotor blades, both during manufacturing and at the end of their life cycle, can be significant. The aim of this study was to define and test a methodology for recycling the waste resulting from their production. Particles of waste from the mechanical machining of rotor blades, which were made up of a glass fibre/epoxy matrix mixture, were used to produce toe caps for use by the footwear industry. The addition of 1 wt.% of particles improved the mechanical properties of the epoxy matrix, with a 5.50% improvement in tension and an 8% improvement in stiffness. Characterisation of the laminates, manufactured by hand lay-up technique, revealed that in the three-point bending tests, the additive laminates showed improvements of 18.60% in tension, 7.50% in stiffness, and 10% in deformation compared to the control laminate. The compression test showed that the additive glass fibre toe cap had greater resistance to compression than the control glass fibre toe cap, with a reduction in deformation of 23.10%. The toe caps are suitable for use in protective footwear according to European standard EN ISO 20346:2022. They guaranteed protection against low-velocity impacts at an energy level of at least 100 J and against compression when tested at a compression load of at least 10 kN. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines)
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