Offshore wind foundation design and analysis, fixed and floating
Coupled wave, wind and mechanical load analysis of offshore wind turbine structures, with fatigue and extreme loads for the substructure and non-linear foundations, in SACS, GH Bladed and FAST.
- Fixed-bottom turbine structures
- Floating turbine structures
- Wave, wind and mechanical loading
- Fatigue and extreme loads
The turbine, the substructure and the foundation, under the loads they will really see
We design and analyse offshore wind turbine structures under wave, wind and mechanical loading. The approach predicts fatigue and extreme loads for the substructure and its non-linear foundation systems.
- Turbine structureDesign and analysis of the offshore wind turbine structure
- SubstructureFatigue and extreme loads for the substructure
- FoundationsNon-linear foundation systems, in the same model
- LoadingWave, wind and wind-induced mechanical loading, combined
From wave and wind spectra to fatigue life
Wave and wind loads go into one coupled model, and every sea state and wind speed counts towards fatigue.
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Loads
Each load as a time history, or as a random sea or wind field built from a spectrum with multiple random seeds.
Wave spectraPierson-MoskowitzJONSWAPOchi-HubbleUser-definedWind spectraVon KarmanHarrisKaimalUser-defined - 2
Coupled response
Wave, wind and wind-induced mechanical loading combined in one multi-modal response analysis.
SoftwareSACSGH BladedFAST - 3
Fatigue and extreme loads
Stress cycles counted from the time histories, and damage summed across every simulation.
MethodRainflow countingSequential damage accumulationMany wind speeds and sea statesExtreme loads
The mooring work a floating foundation needs, already delivered
A floating wind foundation needs the same mooring and floating-structure analysis as these two projects.
8-point semi-submersible mooring for L&T
Designed and optimised the mooring of a 60 x 60 semi-submersible desalination plant: anchors, limiting sea states, operating and survival analysis, and line-break cases.
Floating solar array anchoring and mooring
With our partner Stewart Technology Associates (USA), we designed the anchoring and mooring of a floating solar array in India.
From site data to a checked foundation design
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Share the site and the turbine
Turbine and foundation concept, water depth, and the site's metocean and soil data.
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Agree load cases
Wave and wind spectra or time histories, sea states, wind speeds and the standards that apply.
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Build the coupled model
The structure and foundations in SACS, coupled with GH Bladed or FAST for the turbine.
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Run extreme and fatigue cases
Multiple random seeds per case, with fatigue damage summed across all of them.
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Report and design
Extreme and fatigue results for the substructure and foundations, and the design changes they call for.
The tools we use, and the ones we can supply
Software we use
We also train engineers in SACS, MOSES and OrcaFlex. Follow a link to see the course.
- SACS training
- GH Bladed
- FAST
- MOSES training
- OrcaFlex training
Software we supply
Want to run wind turbine analysis in-house? We supply the software too.
Authorized Bentley partner in India and the Middle East. About the partnership
What wind developers and EPCs ask us
Do you analyse both fixed and floating offshore wind turbines?
Yes. We design and analyse fixed and floating offshore wind turbine structures under wave, wind and mechanical loading, including the substructure and non-linear foundation systems.
Which wave spectra do you use?
Pierson-Moskowitz, JONSWAP and Ochi-Hubble, or a user-defined spectrum. Waves can also be applied as a time history.
Which wind spectra do you use?
Von Karman, Harris and Kaimal, or a user-defined spectrum. Wind can also be applied as a time history.
How do you combine the turbine and the structure?
We couple SACS with GH Bladed or FAST, so wave, wind and wind-induced mechanical loading act together in one multi-modal response analysis.
How do you calculate fatigue?
We count stress cycles from the time-history results with rainflow counting, and accumulate damage sequentially across simulations covering many wind speeds and sea states.
Can you supply the software as well?
Yes. As an authorized Bentley channel partner we supply SACS, MOSES, including MOSES Wind Turbine, and PLAXIS, and train engineers in SACS and MOSES.
Planning an offshore wind foundation?
Send us the turbine, the foundation concept and the site data. An engineer will come back with the load cases to run and a scope.