Experimental Evaluation of Dynamic Rock Scour Protection in Morphodynamic Environments for Offshore Wind Jackets

Javier Sarmiento, Raúl Guanche, Arantza Iturrioz, Teresa Ojanguren, Alberto Ávila and César Yanes
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Javier Sarmiento: IHCantabria—Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de la Universidad de Cantabria, Isabel Torres 15, PCTCAN, 39011 Santander, Spain
Raúl Guanche: IHCantabria—Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de la Universidad de Cantabria, Isabel Torres 15, PCTCAN, 39011 Santander, Spain
Arantza Iturrioz: IHCantabria—Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de la Universidad de Cantabria, Isabel Torres 15, PCTCAN, 39011 Santander, Spain
Teresa Ojanguren: Iberdrola Renovables Energía EIMA, c/Tomás Redondo 1, 28033 Madrid, Spain
Alberto Ávila: Scottish Power, 1 Tudor St., London EC4Y 0AH, UK
César Yanes: Iberdrola Renovables Energía EIMA, c/Tomás Redondo 1, 28033 Madrid, Spain

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: Bottom-fixed offshore wind turbines are generally built on continental-shelf sections that are morphodynamically active due to their shallow depths and severe wave and current conditions. Such sites are commonly protected against scour to prevent the loss of structural stability. Scour protection can be designed using static or dynamic solutions. Designing dynamic protection requires experimental validation, especially for singular or unconventional structures. This article presents an experimental method for the laboratory analysis of scour protection for jacket foundations placed at morphodynamically active sites. The test campaign was conducted within the project East Anglia ONE (UK) as part of the asset owner studies and aimed to evaluate operation and maintenance (O&M) aspects, independent of the contractor’s original design assessments. The physical experiments explored morphodynamic changes on the sea bottom and their importance to scour protection, as well as the importance of the history of the wave loads to the deformation of the rock scour protection. This was explored by repeating different cumulative tests, including a succession of randomly ordered sea states (Return Period (RP) 1-10-20-50 years). The experimental results show that the deformation of the rock sour protection was the greatest when the most energetic sea states occurred at the beginning of the experimental test campaign. The maximum deformation was at 5D50 when the first test was also the most energetic, while it was at 3D50 when not included as the first test, yielding a 40% reduction in the scour protection deformation.

Keywords: fixed foundation; wind energy; scour assessment; scour protection (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
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