Large-Scale Experiments to Improve Monopile Scour Protection Design Adapted to Climate Change—The PROTEUS Project

Carlos Emilio Arboleda Chavez, Vasiliki Stratigaki, Minghao Wu, Peter Troch, Alexander Schendel, Mario Welzel, Raúl Villanueva, Torsten Schlurmann, Leen De Vos, Dogan Kisacik, Francisco Taveira Pinto, Tiago Fazeres-Ferradosa, Paulo Rosa Santos, Leen Baelus, Viktoria Szengel, Annelies Bolle, Richard Whitehouse and David Todd
Additional contact information
Carlos Emilio Arboleda Chavez: Department of Civil Engineering, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
Vasiliki Stratigaki: Department of Civil Engineering, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
Minghao Wu: Department of Civil Engineering, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
Peter Troch: Department of Civil Engineering, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
Alexander Schendel: Ludwig-Franzius-Institute for Hydraulic Estuarine and Coastal Engineering, 30167 Hannover, Germany
Mario Welzel: Ludwig-Franzius-Institute for Hydraulic Estuarine and Coastal Engineering, 30167 Hannover, Germany
Raúl Villanueva: Ludwig-Franzius-Institute for Hydraulic Estuarine and Coastal Engineering, 30167 Hannover, Germany
Torsten Schlurmann: Ludwig-Franzius-Institute for Hydraulic Estuarine and Coastal Engineering, 30167 Hannover, Germany
Leen De Vos: Geotechnics Division, Department of Mobility and Public Works, Flemish Government, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
Dogan Kisacik: Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir 35340, Turkey
Francisco Taveira Pinto: CIIMAR—Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, Faculty of Engineering, Hydraulics, Water Resources and Environment Division, University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Tiago Fazeres-Ferradosa: CIIMAR—Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, Faculty of Engineering, Hydraulics, Water Resources and Environment Division, University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Paulo Rosa Santos: CIIMAR—Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, Faculty of Engineering, Hydraulics, Water Resources and Environment Division, University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Leen Baelus: International Marine & Dredging Consultant N.V., 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
Viktoria Szengel: International Marine & Dredging Consultant N.V., 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
Annelies Bolle: International Marine & Dredging Consultant N.V., 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
Richard Whitehouse: HR Wallingford Ltd, Howbery Park, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 8BA, UK
David Todd: HR Wallingford Ltd, Howbery Park, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 8BA, UK

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-25

Abstract: This study aims to improve the design of scour protection around offshore wind turbine monopiles, as well as future-proofing them against the impacts of climate change. A series of large-scale experiments have been performed in the context of the European HYDRALAB-PLUS PROTEUS (Protection of offshore wind turbine monopiles against scouring) project in the Fast Flow Facility in HR Wallingford. These experiments make use of state of the art optical and acoustic measurement techniques to assess the damage of scour protections under the combined action of waves and currents. These novel PROTEUS tests focus on the study of the grading of the scour protection material as a stabilizing parameter, which has never been done under the combined action of waves and currents at a large scale. Scale effects are reduced and, thus, design risks are minimized. Moreover, the generated data will support the development of future scour protection designs and the validation of numerical models used by researchers worldwide. The testing program objectives are: (i) to compare the performance of single-layer wide-graded material used against scouring with current design practices; (ii) to verify the stability of the scour protection designs under extreme flow conditions; (iii) to provide a benchmark dataset for scour protection stability at large scale; and (iv) to investigate the scale effects on scour protection stability.

Keywords: offshore wind turbines; large scale experiments; scour protection damage; wide-graded materials; climate change conditions; optical measurements; acoustic measurements; waves-current interaction (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: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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