Dynamic Cables for Floating Offshore Wind

Floating platform wind turbines will require cables to run through the water column from their platform base at the water surface to the touchdown point on the seabed. This trajectory exposes the cable to dynamic environmental forces, such as waves and currents. The Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (ORE Catapult) and the Industrial Doctoral Centre for Offshore Renewable Energy (IDCORE) have been investigating the impact of this dynamic marine environment on a dynamic cable’s fatigue life, with the aim of reducing uncertainty and improving the reliability of dynamic cables. The aim of this project is to allow more effective planned maintenance offshore through the prediction of a failure of a dynamic cable.

 

By David Young, IDCORE and ORE Catapult, and Lars Johanning, University of Exeter, UK