Ice-structure interaction in the Baltic Sea: defining a feasibility map for monopiles

• Main Author: van der Stap, Florian (author)
• Other Authors: Hendrikse, H. (mentor), Owen, C.C. (graduation committee), van der Male, P. (graduation committee), Nielsen, Martin Bjerre (graduation committee), Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Ice-structure interaction; offshore wind; monopile; design optimization; feasibility map; Arctic
• Online Access: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:d01c7d5f-efdf-409f-be85-e382b1293f32

The increasing popularity of offshore wind as a result of the demand for renewable energy, forces the industry to consider the development of wind farms in sub-arctic areas. One of these areas is the Baltic Sea, where the potential for wind energy is very large, but which is also prone to the occurrence of ice. For the design of offshore foundations it is paramount that ice-structure interaction is appropriately considered as ice-induced vibrations are known to significantly increase the loads. As a result, ice-mitigating measures may need to be included in the design. However, such measures will substantially increase the cost estimates required for competitive tenders. Hence it is valuable for developers to have early screening tools to assess this. The aim of the research was to provide a ‘feasibility map’, which predicts the necessity for ice-mitigating measures in the entire Baltic region. Feasibility of monopiles was considered both technically and economically. The former by imposing design, installation & fabrication constraints and the latter was measured in terms of weight increase of monopiles. Offshore and Dredging Engineering