Offshore wind energy is a strategic component of international energy and climate policy. In German waters alone, at least 15,000 MW of wind energy capacity is to be installed by 2030.
The advantages of erecting wind turbines at sea are the higher and more constant wind speeds that prevail there. As a result, offshore wind farms can produce twice as much electricity as comparable plants on land. However, the construction of plants at sea is much more complex and expensive than on land. In addition to the distance to land, this is particularly due to the extreme environmental conditions such as storms and high waves. In order to stand securely for the life of the plant, the design must ensure that foundation withstand the effects of wind and waves.
In addition to the various forms of offshore wind turbines anchored in the ground, floating offshore wind turbines are becoming more attractive. These have the particular advantage that even deeper waters can be used. By opening up these new regions, an increased yield can be generated, since the wind strength usually increases with the distance from the coast. In addition, there is less interference with the marine environment with floating wind turbines. This applies to the construction as well as to the operation and dismantling of the systems.
The demand for energy has constantly increased in recent decades. With regard to climate change, power generation by means of renewable energy is becoming more important. The current German federal government recognizes man-made climate change as one of the greatest challenges of our time and has set itself the goal of drastically accelerating the expansion of renewable energy.
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The proportion of spending on research and development is to be increased to 3.5% of the German GDP by 2025, with ensuring clean energy generation and supply being in the centre of the research activities. The expansion of renewable energy is to be promoted in a way that is open to all technologies. We develop technologies and designs with our partners and clients by our engineering expertise.
The interaction between sea state, current seabed and the structure itself often leads to the formation of scours around foundation structures anchored to the seabed, such as monopiles. This means that the supporting structure is flushed out or washed out, which has critical effects on the stability of the system.
With the help of various calculation approaches, we determine the forces acting at the base of the foundation. We take into account the individual sea state and ground parameters on site. We use this to calculate the expected scour depth and give recommendations for suitable scour protection measures.
A similar problem arises for the cabling of the wind farms. When laying cables, the position must be secured. It is also important to prevent cables from kinking due to large bumps on the floor.
An FPV (FPV-floating photovoltaic) system basically consists of a floating substructure (float) and the solar module (PV module) mounted on it. The installation of the floats with PV modules is interconnected in an arrangement as a floating carpet. The entire system is held in position by anchoring systems (anchors and anchor lines or piles).
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Floating photovoltaic systems offer a number of advantages over systems on land. Due to the cooling effect, the land use coefficient increases by about 33% compared to that of land systems from 1.0MWp/ha to 1.33MWp/ha. Additionally the shading reduces the evaporation rate of the water surface, which is particularly relevant for reservoirs and in warm regions. Furthermore, the availability of water bodies where floating PV systems can be installed is large. In 2020, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) determined in a potential assessment that there is a potential total output of 2.74 GWp on German brown coal opencast mining lakes alone. In addition to the lakes from brown coal mining, there are Water areas on other lakes in Germany, which, in contrast to land areas, are subject to fewer conflicts of use. The global potential for FPV is around 400 GWp of which less than 1% has been utilized so far.
With the help of environmental analysis, the environmental parameters of wind and waves can be determined. The wind pressure is calculated according to the local wind zone and applicable standards. A wind tunnel report also enables a pricise wind force calculation on the system components.
Wave loads depend on the maximum wind speed, duration and length of impact and water depth. With the help of SWAN, the maximum wave heights that occur and the resulting wave loads on the system can be determined. The influence of snowfall on the system is also examined in relation to the location.
Depending on the type of anchoring, other parameters such as water depths, shoreline, restrictions due to soil composition, for example, are analyzed and included in the anchoring concept.
Aquaculture is the controlled rearing of fish, mussels and algae for the food industry. Aquaculture is becoming increasingly important, particularly due to the prevailing overfishing of the world's oceans. Almost half of all fishery products eaten worldwide come from aquaculture. There is hope that the growing population can be supplied with animal protein with a significantly lower use of resources and greenhouse gas emissions than in animal breeding on land. The potential of freshwater aquaculture is already almost exhausted, but coastal waters offer space and suitable conditions for the cultivation of mussels and algae. Both species have the advantage that no feed or fertilizer is required for their rearing. Large algae forests bind additional carbon through their photosynthesis. They are therefore considered to be an environmentally friendly method of food production.
Aquaculture offers a wide range of different systems, which are selected individually based on the rearing requirements. Depending on the type of system, different approaches are chosen, which are adapted to the decisive parameters:
Aquaculture cages for fish rearing must be investigated for their structural stability. Modeling of the permeable membrane network plays a crucial role. The cultivation of mussel longlines requires consideration of mussel geometry, which greatly changes the diameter and roughness of the longlines. Seaweed, on the other hand, is a highly flexible viscoelastic material, so the simulation of it is subject to special requirements.
Mechanical properties can vary depending on environmental conditions and the species chosen. However, the correct choice of these is crucial for a correct determination of the loads acting on the farm. We can assist you in determining hydrodynamic loads for any type of system.