GIGAWIND life: Service-life research on the OWEC support structures in the alpha ventus offshore test field

The objective of the GIGAWIND life collaborative project is to expand the design concept for the OWEC support structures which was developed in GIGAWIND alpha ventus with important aspects which occur only over several years of operation. These are the degradation mechanisms at the resistance side of the support structure interacting with the surrounding media (material damage to the support structure and the joints, material fatigue, damage to the corrosion protection systems, scouring, degradation of the load-carrying behaviour of the piles) and the determination of loads exerted by waves and marine growth.

The desired timelines of the damage and stress at the interfaces will still have to be recorded over an extended period by means of the comprehensive sensor systems installed on the support structures in the alpha ventus test field using the monitoring methods developed previously. This is the only way to obtain wide-ranging scientific findings from the previous investments and to establish validated methods and structural models on the basis of globally unique long-term measurements – for individual investigations as well as for the holistic design of the support structures of future OWEC.

Website:

www.gigawind.de