Motivated by the need for larger offshore wind turbines, large diameter monopile foundations are being developed. To ensure safe design, there is a need for model testing and validation of hydrodynamic load models. Scaled model tests with a piston-type wavemaker commonly apply first order wavemaker theory for irregular waves. This approach results in the generation of second (and higher) order spurious (also known as parasitic) free waves in the tank. In this study, the effect of superharmonic spurious waves on the response of a monopile with eigenfrequency close to three times the wave peak frequency is examined experimentally. The bending moment response statistics are not found to be significantly affected by the wavemaker correction. Different wave breaking patterns are observed for individual events, but our results do not indicate any clear relation between breaking waves and the wave generation technique.

The complex wake behind two side-by-side flat plates placed normal to the inflow direction has been explored in a direct numerical simulation study. Two gaps, $g=0.5d$ and $1.0d$ , were considered, both at a Reynolds number of 1000 based on the plate width $d$ and the inflow velocity. For gap ratio $g/d=0.5$ , the biased gap flow resulted in an asymmetric flow configuration consisting of a narrow wake with strong vortex shedding and a wide wake with no periodic near-wake shedding. Shear-layer transition vortices were observed in the wide wake, with characteristic frequency 0.6. For $g/d=1.0$ , two simulations were performed, started from a symmetric and an asymmetric initial flow field. A symmetric configuration of Kármán vortices resulted from the first simulation. Surprisingly, however, two different three-dimensional instability features were observed simultaneously along the span of the upper and lower plates. The spanwise wavelengths of these secondary streamwise vortices, formed in the braid regions of the primary Kármán vortices, were approximately $1d$ and $2d$ , respectively. The wake bursts into turbulence some $5d$ – $10d$ downstream. The second simulation resulted in an asymmetric wake configuration similar to the asymmetric wake found for the narrow gap $0.5d$ , with the appearance of shear-layer instabilities in the wide wake. The analogy between a plane mixing layer and the separated shear layer in the wide wake was examined. The shear-layer frequencies obtained were in close agreement with the frequency of the most amplified wave based on linear stability analysis of a plane mixing layer.

ABSTRACT

As the offshore wind industry moves toward larger wind turbines and deeper water, wave-induced loads on large-diameter monopiles are of increasing importance for ultimate limit state design checks. The combination of a relatively large diameter with steep waves in intermediate water depth presents challenges for numerical methods, and small-scale hydrodynamic testing of monopiles is therefore a necessary step in reducing the uncertainties in numerical analyses. Here, we aim to summarize the experimental observations in a new set of tests carried out with a flexible monopile wind turbine, and to understand the similarities and differences between these results and previous studies. Compared to previous studies, the present tests consider a larger monopile diameter and hub height, and include a larger number of realizations and repetitions. The distribution of extreme values and the contributions from different structural modes are studied. These experimental results provide insight into the physical effects which must be accurately captured by numerical tools that are used in design.

Validated hydrodynamic load models for large-diameter support structures are increasingly important as the industry moves towards larger offshore wind turbines. Experiments at 1:50 scale with stiff, vertical, bottom-fixed, extra-large (9m and 11m diameter full-scale) monopiles in steep waves are conducted. The tests are carried out at two water depths, 27 m and 33 m. A range of regular waves, with varying period and amplitude, are used. The first, second, and third harmonics of the total wave loads, where measurements are available, are calculated with different methods. For the first harmonic of the force (and consequently the mudline moment), MacCamy-Fuchs gives the best agreement with experiments, especially for the larger diameter model. For the second harmonic, for the shortest waves the generalized FNV theory and Morison equation overpredict the forces, while for the longest (and largest) waves, the opposite is observed. The third harmonic of the force is generally overpredicted by the calculations.