Desenvolvimento e Projecto Mecânico de uma Fundação para uma Turbina Eólica Offshore

Gabriel da Silva Garanito Maciel

Key information

Authors:

Gabriel da Silva Garanito Maciel (Gabriel da Silva Garanito Maciel)

Supervisors:

Mário Alberto Silveira Costa Vieira; Luís Filipe Galrão dos Reis (Luís Filipe Galrão dos Reis)

Published in

11/24/2017

Abstract

Offshore wind energy is a renewable source with strong prospects of development, allowing both the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the promotion of technological progress. Currently, most of the offshore wind turbines use fixed-bottom foundations, in shallow, or transitional waters (depths up to 60 meters). Offshore structures’ transportation and installation are usually assisted by rent expensive dedicated vessels. In this work, a foundation concept for transitional waters with self-floating capability and suction pile embedment is developed. The structure is transported in the floating position to the installation site aided by tugboats. These boats have a reduced daily cost and the logistics process is simplified. Under these circumstances, buoyancy and stability of the entire structure must be ensured. When the structure arrives at the installation site, it submerges and the suction piles guarantee the correct attachment to the seabed. The structural analysis is performed, during the turbine’s operation phase, using FAST and ANSYS software. FAST computes aerodynamic and hydrodynamic loads acting on the structure and provides the input data for ANSYS. Then, the stresses transmitted to the foundation are evaluated. It was concluded that this foundation is capable of being implemented, since the minimum safety factor present on offshore standards is respected.