TP V.3 Propagation of operational underwater noise

A sub-project in innovation area V – Marine pressure limits and cumulative ecological impacts

An acoustic model is to be developed that includes all relevant sound sources in the life cycle of a wind farm.

The resulting model will then be coupled with a hydrodynamic model of the North Sea and thus enable precise determination of noise scenarios under external environmental conditions and wind turbine operating conditions.

To validate the model, extensive underwater noise measurements are carried out near an offshore wind turbine in operation.

TP V.1 Hydro- and morphodynamic loads

A sub-project in innovation area V – Marine pressure limits and cumulative ecological impacts

The focus of this subproject is on fluid-structure-soil interaction with marine physics and its relevance for hydro- and morphodynamic load estimations.

In order to ensure the sustainable design and operation of OWPs, a robust assessment and prediction of these interactions and the associated loads on foundation structures is required. Hydrodynamic loads as a result of breaking waves and tidal currents as well as erosion processes in the vicinity of turbines must be taken into account in impact assessments and design approaches.

To this end, measurement campaigns are being developed and current and wave measurements are being carried out in the vicinity of offshore wind turbines.

TP IV.5 Design and control of offshore wind farm clusters

A sub-project in Innovation Area IV – System-oriented integration and aerodynamics of offshore wind turbines and wind farms

In order to integrate the offshore wind farms connected via high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission into the electricity grid, they will have to take over the provision of system services for the onshore transmission grid in future.

Furthermore, it is expected that grid-forming converters will also be used in OWPs in the future, which will fundamentally change the feed-in behavior determined by the control system and thus also the provision of system services by the wind farms, or in some cases make this possible in the first place.

Controls are therefore being developed for the provision of active power, in particular for frequency control with grid-supporting or grid-forming converters to ensure grid stability by adjusting the mechanical output and simultaneously reducing the mechanical load on the individual wind turbines to improve maintenance and extend their service life. HVDC must enable these services for the onshore transmission grid.

TP IV.4 Coherent flow structures in wind farms

A sub-project in Innovation Area IV – System-oriented integration and aerodynamics of offshore wind turbines and wind farms

The flow conditions, loads and power output of a wind farm are influenced, among other things, by coherent structures in the inflow.

A better understanding of how these structures interact with the turbines is necessary in order to make future wind farms more efficient and durable.

The aim of this sub-project is to investigate how coherent flow structures move through a wind farm.

TP IV.3 Flow conditions of future wind turbines

A sub-project in Innovation Area IV – System-oriented integration and aerodynamics of offshore wind turbines and wind farms

Offshore wind turbines are getting higher and higher and will soon reach completely different atmospheric wind conditions.

How these laminar-turbulent winds instead of the known turbulent winds affect turbine performance and loads as well as the wake is virtually unknown.

The aim is to record the complex flow dynamics, create initial forecasts for power, loads and, in particular, overruns, and finally check them.

TP IV.2 Reconstruction of the dynamics of offshore wind farm clusters

A sub-project in Innovation Area IV – System-oriented integration and aerodynamics of offshore wind turbines and wind farms

Fluctuations in the wind flow, especially wind ramps, hinder the system-friendly operation of wind farms and electricity trading. Observer-based forecasts in the minute range can support their prediction.

High-resolution lidar wind measurements enable research into the prediction of local wind dynamics on shorter, high-frequency time scales. In this way, lag-induced yield losses and loads could be reduced and system services provided more precisely.

TP IV.1 Offshore measurement campaigns in wind farm clusters

A sub-project in Innovation Area IV – System-oriented integration and aerodynamics of offshore wind turbines and wind farms

Two meteorological measurement campaigns and the high-resolution wind farm operating data (SCADA) form the basis for the other sub-projects as well as support for structural health monitoring in IB III and oceanographic measurements in IB V.

The measurements are carried out on the basis of the measurement specification drawn up with the stakeholders.

TP III.3 Site-specific assessment of the remaining service life of rotor blades using data-based finite element modeling

A sub-project in Innovation Area III – Life-Cycle Management of offshore wind turbines and wind farms

Understanding the real load and environmental conditions is crucial for analyzing the actual performance (service life) of the blade.

One challenge in this context is the limited availability of local stress data for re-evaluating the service life of the blade under real operating conditions.

Here, the Living Lab Offshore offers the unique opportunity to use data from the SHM system for a real and locally resolved fatigue analysis using a generic FE model of the rotor blade in order to determine the site-specific causes of damage development.

TP III.2 Data-driven methods for determining the remaining service life of load-bearing structures

A sub-project in Innovation Area III – Life-Cycle Management of offshore wind turbines and wind farms

Based on the SHM concept from SP III.1, data-driven methods for determining the remaining service life of load-bearing structures are being developed and validated, thus laying the foundation for their acceptance in the certification process.

The main objective of this sub-project is the (further) development of data-driven methods in the co-production phase, so that the remaining service life of load-bearing structures can be estimated even if the data situation is incomplete.

The aim of further development is firstly to use the available data as comprehensively as possible, secondly to investigate the benefits of additional measurement data and thirdly to be able to quantify the uncertainty in the extrapolations.

TP III.1 Data-based structural health monitoring (SHM)

A sub-project in Innovation Area III – Life-Cycle Management of offshore wind turbines and wind farms

In this sub-project, a suitable SHM concept for the continuous monitoring of the support structure, tower and rotor blades is applied to existing sensors and measurement technology in the offshore wind farm and supplemented as required.

The extent to which existing sensor and monitoring infrastructure and previously recorded data can be used must be agreed with the operator. The innovation lies in the comprehensive analysis of structural and SCADA data already available in the OWP using probabilistic and deterministic system identification methods and AI-based methods.

The aim is to identify all relevant operating states and system parameters and to identify critical operating states and damage scenarios which, if known, can be eliminated in order to significantly extend the remaining service life of a wind farm.