In a research project called “Intelligent Foundation Structure for Offshore Wind Turbines”, Professor Christine Döbert from the Technical University of Mittelhessen wants to develop cost effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional techniques of building offshore wind foundations. Cooperation partner in this project is the Bremer Maritime Offshore Group.
Coastal wind turbines, which are installed in water depths of up to 20 meters, are usually built with monopiles. These are steel tubes, which are driven into the seabed and carry the superstructures. The accompanying noise disturbs and damages the natural marine area.
Since the coastal areas are largely protected in Germany, future wind farms will be built mostly 20 to 60 meters into the water depth. At greater depths, monopiles are unsuitable because of the technical and economic reasons.
According to Professor Döbert, a model for the design already exists in nature as an efficient solution for supporting structures, with the minimum amount of material to provide maximum stability.
The Professor is thinking of radiolaria as an example. Those are plankton organisms which have pressure resistant mineral skeletons in different geometric shapes.
Therefore, the foundation structure of offshore wind turbines should be designed to be flexible, as it is crucial to meet the demand of easy transportation.
Professor Döbert expects that developing the foundation structure by optimizing the use of materials and facilitating installation has a significant cost advantage over currently used approaches.
This research is supported with EUR 35,000 by the regional Government, within the framework of the “Research to Practice” project.
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Offshore WIND Staff, March 12, 2013; Image: Christine Döbert