TY - JOUR A1 - Thöns, Sebastian A1 - Faber, M.H. A1 - Rücker, Werner T1 - Ultimate limit state model basis for assessment of offshore wind energy converters JF - Journal of offshore mechanics and arctic engineering N2 - This paper establishes the model basis regarding the ultimate limit state consisting of structural, loading, and probabilistic models of the support structure of offshore wind energy converters together with a sensitivity study. The model basis is part of a risk based assessment and monitoring framework and will be applied for establishing the 'as designed and constructed' reliability as prior information for the assessment and as a basis for designing a monitoring system. The model basis is derived considering the constitutive physical equations and the methodology of solving these which then in combination with the ultimate limit state requirements leads to the specific constitutive relations. As a result finite element models based on shell elements incorporating a structural and a loading model are introduced and described in detail. Applying these models the ultimate capacity of the support structure and the tripod structure are determined with a geometrically and materially nonlinear finite element analysis. The observed failure mechanisms are the basis for the definition of the ultimate limit state responses. A probabilistic model accounting for the uncertainties involved is derived on the basis of literature review and measurement data from a prototype Multibrid M5000 support structure. In combination with the developed structural and loading models, sensitivity analyses in regard to the responses are performed to enhance the understanding and to refine the developed models. To this end, as the developed models necessitate substantial numerical efforts for the probabilistic response analysis predetermined designs of numerical experiments are applied for the calculation of the sensitivities using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. With this quantification of the sensitivity of the random variables on the responses including nonlinearity the refinement of the model is performed on a quantitative basis. KW - Condition monitoring KW - Failure analysis KW - Finite element analysis KW - Offshore installations KW - Probability KW - Risk analysis KW - Shells (structures) KW - Structural engineering KW - Wind power KW - Model basis KW - Offshore wind KW - Support structure KW - Sensitivity KW - Ultimate limit state PY - 2012 DO - https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4004513 SN - 0892-7219 VL - 134 IS - 3 SP - 031904-1 - 031904-9 CY - Fairfield, NJ AN - OPUS4-26358 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rohrmann, Rolf A1 - Rücker, Werner A1 - Thöns, Sebastian T1 - Integrated Monitoring Systems for Offshore Wind Turbines T2 - 6th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, September 11-13, 2007, Stanford, USA (Proceedings) T2 - 6th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring CY - Stanford, USA DA - 2007-09-11 KW - Integrated Monitoring System KW - Damage Identification KW - Load Monitoring KW - Wind turbines PY - 2007 SP - 1 EP - 8 AN - OPUS4-16280 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Thöns, Sebastian A1 - Faber, M.H. A1 - Rücker, Werner A1 - Rohrmann, Rolf ED - Martorell, S. ED - et al., T1 - Assessment and monitoring of reliability and robustness of offshore wind energy converters T2 - Safety, Reliability and Risk Analysis: Theory, Methods and Applications T2 - ESREL 2008 CY - Valencia, Spain DA - 2008-09-22 KW - Structural reliability KW - Robustness KW - Monitoring KW - Risk KW - Wind energy converter PY - 2008 SN - 978-0-415-48513-5 SP - 1567 EP - 1572 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London, UK AN - OPUS4-18565 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Thöns, Sebastian A1 - Faber, M.H. A1 - Rücker, Werner T1 - Life cycle cost optimized monitoring systems for offshore wind turbine structures T2 - IRIS Industrial safety and life cycle engineering - Technologies / Standards / Applications N2 - Monitoring information should be utilized to support optimal decisions. In this sense monitoring systems should be designed such as to optimize expected Life Cycle Costs. PY - 2013 SN - 978-3-200-03179-1 IS - Chapter 4 SP - 75 EP - 90 CY - Vienna, Austria AN - OPUS4-29103 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rücker, Werner A1 - Thöns, Sebastian A1 - Said, Samir A1 - Schmid, Wolfgang ED - Zingoni, A. T1 - SHM strategies, application and measurements on tripod offshore wind energy converters within the German offshore park Alpha Ventus T2 - Research and applications in structural engineering, mechanics and computation - 5th International conference on structural engineering, mechanics and computation (Proceedings) N2 - Prototypes of wind turbines of the megawatt dass are to be built and tested until 2008 within a German offshore wind energy test field in the North Sea (ALPHA VENTUS). To ensure a high operational reliability of offshore wind turbines with economically acceptable repair and maintenance efforts, comprehensive diagnosis and supervision concepts are required. Automatic monitoring Systems will be an essential part of such concepts. Because of the fact, that during Operation there will be static and dynamic interaction between the components ‘structure’, ‘machinery’ and ‘blades’ it is necessary to develop the monitoring techniques in an overall concept. These monitoring Systems are supposed to be applied for the design and testing as well as for the Operation and maintenance phases. In the paper the developed approaches for the measurement of actions and the condition monitoring of all components of an offshore wind energy plant will be shown. T2 - Research and applications in structural engineering, mechanics and computation - 5th International conference on structural engineering, mechanics and computation CY - Cape Town, South Africa DA - 02.09.2013 PY - 2013 SN - 978-1-138-00061-2 SN - 978-1-315-85078-8 SP - 977 EP - 982 PB - CRC Press AN - OPUS4-29104 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Thöns, Sebastian A1 - Rücker, Werner A1 - Faber, M.H. T1 - Support structure reliability of offshore wind turbines utilizing an adaptive response surface method T2 - OMAE 2010 - 29th International conference on ocean, offshore and arctic engineering T2 - OMAE 2010 - 29th International conference on ocean, offshore and arctic engineering CY - Shanghai, China DA - 2010-06-06 PY - 2010 IS - OMAE2010-20546 SP - 1 EP - 10 AN - OPUS4-21666 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thöns, Sebastian A1 - Faber, M.H. A1 - Rücker, Werner T1 - Fatigue and serviceability limit state model basis for assessment of offshore wind energy converters JF - Journal of offshore mechanics and arctic engineering N2 - This paper develops the models for the structural performance of the loading and probabilistic characterization for the fatigue and the serviceability limit states for the support structure of offshore wind energy converters. These models and a sensitivity study are part of a risk based assessment and monitoring framework and will be applied for establishing the 'as designed and constructed' reliability as prior information for the assessment and the design of monitoring systems. The constitutive physical equations are introduced in combination with the fatigue and serviceability limit state requirements as the starting point for the development of the structural performance and loading models. With these models introduced in detail, several modeling aspects for both limit states are analyzed. This includes analyses of the influence on the hot spot stresses by applying a contact formulation for the pile guide brace connection and the application of a finite element formulation using solid elements. Further, the comparison of the natural frequencies of a discrete rotor model with a continuous rotor model is documented. To account for uncertainties associated with the structural and loading models, a probabilistic model is derived on the basis of literature review and measurement data from a prototype Multibrid M5000 support structure. The sensitivity study is based on the calculation of a nonlinear coefficient of correlation in conjunction with predetermined designs of experiments. This is conducted by a systematic analysis of the influence of the random variables on limit state responses and hence on the structural reliability. Integrating the analyses and sensitivity studies of the fatigue and serviceability limit state models developed in this paper as well as the ultimate limit state models in Thöns et al. ('Ultimate Limit State Model Basis for Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Converters,' ASME J. Offshore Mech. Arct. Eng.), the model basis for the assessment is completed. The process of establishing and analyzing such a model basis contributes to a detailed understanding of the deterministic and probabilistic characteristics of the structure and provides valuable insights in regard to the significance of available data. KW - Fatigue KW - Finite element analysis KW - Rotors KW - Wind power PY - 2012 DO - https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4004514 SN - 0892-7219 VL - 134 IS - 3 SP - 031905-1 - 031905-10 CY - Fairfield, NJ AN - OPUS4-26437 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rohrmann, Rolf A1 - Rücker, Werner A1 - Thöns, Sebastian A1 - Said, Samir T1 - Design and operation of integrated monitoring systems for offshore wind turbines T2 - DEWEK 2008 - 9th German wind energy conference (Proceedings) N2 - To ensure a high operational reliability of future generations of offshore wind conversion systems (OWEC) with economically acceptable repair and maintenance efforts, comprehensive diagnosis and supervision concepts are required. Automatic monitoring systems will be an essential part of such concepts. Because of the fact, that during operation there will be static and dynamic interaction between the components 'structure', 'machinery' and 'blades' it is necessary to develop the monitoring techniques in an overall concept. These monitoring systems are supposed to be applied for the design and testing as well as for the operation and maintenance phases. The used methods are focused on the design requirements for the structure, which are stated in the respective standards and certification guidelines. For the validation of the design, methods are specified which would be also applicable for SHM in the operating condition, e.g. for the evaluation of the structural conditon possibly after the occurrence of damages or changes. The further task consists in the realization of condition monitoring for all components, aiming at early damage detection and the observation of the damage development and its evaluation. Here the task consists of determining with assessment procedures the optimum time for maintenance actions to be carried out. T2 - DEWEK 2008 - 9th German wind energy conference CY - Bremen, Germany DA - 2008-11-26 KW - Integrated monitoring system KW - Offshore wind turbines KW - Assessment KW - Damage identification KW - Load monitoring PY - 2008 SP - 1 EP - 4(?) AN - OPUS4-19872 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rohrmann, Rolf A1 - Thöns, Sebastian A1 - Rücker, Werner T1 - Integrated monitoring of offshore wind turbines - requirements, concepts and experiences JF - Structure & infrastructure engineering N2 - Wind turbines on offshore sites (OWECs) are subjected to combined loads from wind and waves. These dynamic loads, with a frequency content within the range of the natural frequencies of the structures, cause fatigue-effective stresses in the substructures of wind turbines. Therefore, the examination of natural frequencies is an important part within the design process of wind turbines. The quality of the numerical models for such calculations is of great importance, since the certification guidelines permit only small uncertainties in modal analysis results. The accuracy of the parameters of the numerical model can only be achieved through a comparison of simulation results with corresponding test results. Therefore, it is necessary to measure the dynamic behaviour of all components of the wind turbines simultaneously. This is true not only for the design verification, but also for monitoring the OWECs in operation. The potential of integrated systems for monitoring-based maintenance optimisation should thus be used. KW - Offshore wind turbines KW - Integrated monitoring system KW - Structural assessment KW - Damage indicators KW - Dynamic loads KW - Data management PY - 2010 DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/15732470903068706 SN - 1573-2479 SN - 1744-8980 VL - 6 IS - 5 SP - 575 EP - 591 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London AN - OPUS4-21452 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rohrmann, Rolf A1 - Thöns, Sebastian A1 - Rücker, Werner A1 - Bicker, S. A1 - Said, Samir A1 - Schmid, Wolfgang T1 - Structural investigations and monitoring results on a prototype of offshore wind turbines of multibrid M5000 series T2 - DEWEK 2010 - 10th German wind energy conference (Proceedings) N2 - The concept and technical details of the implementation of the developed integrated monitoring system within the IMO-WIND project are presented. The tasks of the components of the system and its requirements are described. Selected results from the continuous monitoring during operation of the plant M5000_2 regarding the task design verification and dynamic structural analysis are given. T2 - DEWEK 2010 - 10th German wind energy conference CY - Bremen, Germany DA - 2010-11-17 KW - Integrated monitoring system KW - Offshore wind turbines KW - Design verification KW - Structural assessment KW - Limit values KW - Load transfer KW - Data management KW - Dynamic analysis KW - Rotor blades KW - Embedded sensors PY - 2011 IS - S03 SP - 1 EP - 5 PB - DEWI GmbH AN - OPUS4-23712 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -