An Assessment of Surface Ice Sheet Loads and Their Effects on an Offshore Wind Turbine Structure

This thesis examines the effects of surface ice sheets on an offshore wind turbine. First, the main ice load cases are presented, and methods used to calculate the loads from each of these cases are explained. These load cases consist of loads from moving ice sheets, loads from non-moving ice sheets, and loads from agglomerated masses of ice, called ice ridges. Next, the data required to conduct the load calculations are presented from sources applicable to an offshore site in Lake Erie, which is the location of interest in this work. The load calculation methods were implemented into a wind turbine simulation software package, and simulations were run subjecting an offshore wind turbine to extreme ice loads combined with a large representative wind load. Results from these simulations are presented, which show the relative magnitude of the effects of the ice loads compared to the magnitude of the effects of the wind load. It was found that the effects on the foundation due to extreme ice loads can be much larger than the effects caused by a large representative wind load. Also presented in this work is an examination of how the ice loads would influence the design of an offshore wind turbine foundation (i.e. how much bigger should the foundation be to support the ice loads). The simulation results presented in this study indicate that the surface ice sheet loads can be much larger than the wind loads and could be the driving parameter of the design of offshore wind turbine foundations in areas where ice can occur.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Toledo

Year dc:date

2012

Author dc:creator

• Wells, Eric M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Afjeh, Abdollah
• Cioc, Sorin

• Mechanical Engineering
• Offshore wind turbine
• wind turbine
• ice loads
• ice
• Lake Erie

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1345214125

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:toledo1345214125