€72,256 from Science Foundation Ireland for a project entitled Dynamic soil-structure interaction modelling for the optimisation of offshore wind turbines.

Dr. Abdollah Malekjafarian awarded €72,256 from Science Foundation Ireland for a project entitled Dynamic soil-structure interaction modelling for the optimisation of offshore wind turbines. The project is a collaboration between UCD School of Civil Engineering and Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions (GDG) Ltd., a specialist geotechnical engineering consultancy based in Dublin.

Offshore wind turbines are slender and flexible structures, subjected to wind and wave loading, that are dynamically sensitive at low frequencies. Therefore, the provision of sufficient damping is critical for offshore turbines to prevent the development of fatigue damage over the lifetime of the structure. To date, the dynamic behaviour of wind turbines has been characterised according to the modal parameters of the structure. However, for wind turbines founded on monopiles, the soil mass also plays a role in terms of the dynamic response of the structure due to the mass damping effects. These effects have neither been accurately quantified nor accounted for in existing design approaches, and yet have the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of offshore wind turbine designs. This project will comprise dynamic soil-structure numerical modelling to investigate the soil damping effects for various turbine geometries, seabed conditions, and loading effects in an effort to provide more accurate soil damping values. This research will overcome the current inefficiencies in the design process whereby designs for the sub-structure and the turbine are conducted individually and neglect the overall soil-structure interaction effects that can lead to more efficient designs.

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