Abstract

The overall objective of the project FIBREGY 'Development, engineering, production and life cycle management of improved FIBRE-based material solutions for the structure and functional components of large offshore wind enerGY and tidal power platforms' is to enable the extensive use of FRP materials in the structure of the next generation of large Offshore Wind and Tidal Power platforms. In order to achieve this objective, the project will develop, qualify and audit innovative FRP materials for offshore applications, elaborate new design procedures and guidelines, generate efficient production, inspection and monitoring methodologies, and validate and demonstrate advanced software analysis tools. Finally, the different developed technologies will be demonstrated by using advanced simulation techniques and building large and real-scale prototypes.

Abstract

This work introduces an innovative Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) solution for offshore wind platforms, featuring an advanced Digital Twin (DT) built on a fully-coupled aero-servo-hydro-elastic model. Our approach utilizes a detailed Finite Element model of the structure, meeting the requirements of the main assessment/certification standards. The application of the unique Enriched Modal Matrix Reduction technique leads substantially reduces CPU time, enabling near real-time calculations without compromising accuracy compared to the original FE model.

The SHM system is completed with an optimized sensors setup to monitor the most relevant deformation modes. Additionally, it enables precise fine-tuning of the DT model using machine learning, resulting in an accurate Hybrid Analysis Model.

Our modular and flexible DT-based SHM solution can be customized for any offshore wind platform concept, covering substructure, towers, mooring, and umbilicals. The solution is demonstrated through sea trials on Enerocean’s W2Power prototype.

Abstract