The three-year research program is aimed at developing a mooring system which can use integrated network of anchors and lines to hold hundreds of offshore wind farms turbines in place in the ocean.
The researchers said that the proposed networked system would reduce cost and require less geotechnical site investigations. It will also reduce the number of anchors unlike traditional floating wind turbine which have own individual anchoring system.
In collaboration with industrial partner Vryhof Anchors, which is a producer of offshore anchoring systems, the research team will initially assess the complex installation, staging and cost-estimating aspects of the project.
In particular, the team will assess the feasibility and design implications of highly variable soil conditions on the ocean floor for securing the anchors, the layout of the wind farms and the complicated dynamics that cause loads on the anchors.
At a later stage, wind and wave models will be developed by the researchers for the best placement and orientation of the wind farms.
UMass Amhers civil and environmental engineer Sanjay Arwade said: "This project is an exciting opportunity to bring together structural dynamics and geotechnical engineering in new ways to support national renewable energy goals by potentially lowering capital costs associated with offshore wind development.
"At each level, the floating structure and the anchor, there are challenging nonlinear and dynamic issues that force this research to work at the cutting edge of geotechnical engineering and offshore structural engineering."
The project, which is backed by $497,341 grant from the National Science Foundation, also involves development of three-dimensional models for measuring the anchors’ behavior on the sea floor and the best designs for the multiple cables attached to each anchor.
Arwade said that the team is also considering the best designs for the mooring lines.
The project is expected to contribute to the US aim to generate 20% of power from wind sources.
Image: Researchers are developing a mooring system to anchors and lines to hold hundreds offshore wind farms turbines. Photo: courtesy of University of Massachusetts Amherst.
