Review of methods to assess the structural response of offshore wind turbines subjected to ship impacts

• Published in: Ships and offshore structures Vol. 18; no. 6; pp. 755 - 774
• Main Authors: Ladeira, Icaro, Márquez, Lucas, Echeverry, Sara, Le Sourne, Hervé, Rigo, Philippe
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Taylor & Francis 03.06.2023; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Informa UK Limited
• Subjects: Cement constituents; Civil engineering; Concrete structures; Constitutive models; Coupling; Energy transfer; Engineering Sciences; Engineering, computing & technology; Experimental methods; finite element analysis; floating structures; fluid structure interaction; Hydrodynamics; Impact loads; Ingénierie civile; Ingénierie, informatique & technologie; Literature reviews; Mathematical models; Mechanical Engineering; Mechanics; Mooring lines; Numerical methods; Numerical models; Ocean Engineering; Offshore; Offshore energy sources; Offshore structures; offshore wind turbines; Reinforced concrete; Ship collisions; simplified methods; Soil-structure interaction; Structural response; Turbines; Wind effects; Wind loads; Wind power; Wind turbines; Fluid Structure Interaction; Finite Element Analysis; Floating Structures; Ship Collisions; Offshore Wind Turbines; Simplified methods
• ISSN: 1744-5302; 1754-212X; 1754-212X
• DOI: 10.1080/17445302.2022.2072583

This paper presents a literature review of analytical, numerical, and experimental methods for evaluating the structural response of Offshore Wind Turbines (OWT's) during ship collision events. The different energy transfer mechanisms involved throughout a collision against fixed or floating OWT substructures are examined, whilst documenting some of the most common procedures in the assessment of wind load effects, soil-structure interaction, mooring lines contribution and hydrodynamic coupling. A survey of internal mechanics and external dynamics approaches developed for ship-structures collision events is carried out with a discussion on their potential application in analyses involving different types of substructures. Moreover, different hydrodynamic coupling schemes found in the literature are studied, highlighting the importance of hydro-effects in the collision analysis. Common practices in the use of metallic and cementitious material constitutive models in ship-collision analysis are also presented, whereas the structural behaviour of reinforced concrete structures submitted to impact loads, which has been rarely studied outside high-velocity impact/blast applications, is discussed in the current context. Finally, some of the most important limitations of the analytical and numerical models used in ship-OWT collisions are identified, from which suggestions are provided for future research endeavors.