MS43 Loads and Control of Offshore Renewable Energy Structures

Assistant Prof. Zili Zhang: zili_zhang@eng.au.dk

Session Chairs:
Zili Zhang, Assistant Professor, Aarhus University, Denmark, zili_zhang@eng.au.dk
Biswajit Basu, Professor,Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, basub@tcd.ie

Abstract of the special session:
To meet future requirements of energy production and reduce emission of greenhouse gasses, further development of offshore renewable energy sources is in high demand. As an example, wind energy has evolved to a technology level where the cost of energy is now competitive with fossil fuels. However, this requires installation of extremely large and flexible structures, in harsh offshore conditions, to exploit the full potential. Thus, new challenges arise concerning structural safety and design of offshore wind turbines, especially the quantification of extreme and fatigue loads. On the other hand, offshore wave energy, although not commercially mature yet, provides a significant global energy potential. To bring wave energy closer to commercialization, the development of stochastic wave models, hydrodynamic models and novel control methods taking the uncertainties into consideration becomes essential. This special session concerns the topics related to loads and control of offshore renewable energy structures. Contributions related to both fundamental research and to engineering applications are welcome. Topics of interest include:

• Stochastic modeling of turbulent wind field.
• Stochastic modelling of sea waves.
• Hydrodynamic modeling for offshore renewables.
• Methods for predicting the long-term extreme loads and the fatigue loads.
• Reliability analysis and reliability-based design of offshore renewable structures.
• Structural vibration control of offshore wind turbines.
• Novel control strategies for offshore wave energy convertors.