Seismic Design of Offshore Wind Turbines: Good, Bad and Unknowns

Subhamoy Bhattacharya, Suryakanta Biswal, Muhammed Aleem, Sadra Amani, Athul Prabhakaran, Ganga Prakhya, Domenico Lombardi and Harsh K. Mistry
Additional contact information
Subhamoy Bhattacharya: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Suryakanta Biswal: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Muhammed Aleem: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Sadra Amani: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Athul Prabhakaran: Structural Engineering Department, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
Ganga Prakhya: Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd., Hemel Hempstead HP2 7TR, UK
Domenico Lombardi: Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Harsh K. Mistry: Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-27

Abstract: Large scale offshore wind farms are relatively new infrastructures and are being deployed in regions prone to earthquakes. Offshore wind farms comprise of both offshore wind turbines (OWTs) and balance of plants (BOP) facilities, such as inter-array and export cables, grid connection etc. An OWT structure can be either grounded systems (rigidly anchored to the seabed) or floating systems (with tension legs or catenary cables). OWTs are dynamically-sensitive structures made of a long slender tower with a top-heavy mass, known as Nacelle, to which a heavy rotating mass (hub and blades) is attached. These structures, apart from the variable environmental wind and wave loads, may also be subjected to earthquake related hazards in seismic zones. The earthquake hazards that can affect offshore wind farm are fault displacement, seismic shaking, subsurface liquefaction, submarine landslides, tsunami effects and a combination thereof. Procedures for seismic designing OWTs are not explicitly mentioned in current codes of practice. The aim of the paper is to discuss the seismic related challenges in the analysis and design of offshore wind farms and wind turbine structures. Different types of grounded and floating systems are considered to evaluate the seismic related effects. However, emphasis is provided on Tension Leg Platform (TLP) type floating wind turbine. Future research needs are also identified.

Keywords: seismic design; offshore wind turbines; tension leg platform; seismic hazards; ground motion analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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