Stochastic response reduction on offshore wind turbines due to flaps including soil effects

This work attempts to investigate the load mitigation effects on foundations of NREL 5-MW offshore wind turbine (OWT) supported on fixed structures using blade trailing edge flaps. The analysis is subjected to turbulent wind and irregular wave loads. The offshore wind turbine is simulated for five met-ocean conditions for Indian scenario, covering operational to the parked region of turbine. Sea states being stochastic, the responses are obtained using average of Monte Carlo simulations. The blade element momentum theory is used to obtain the aerodynamic loads by modelling in a multi-body framework while the hydrodynamic and geotechnical analysis are performed in a finite element framework. Soil-structure interaction is modelled using nonlinear Winkler spring model along the length of the pile. The trailing edge flaps are numerically implemented through a dynamic link library into the aerodynamic program. Loose sandy soils with uniform density is considered for analysis. The results bring out the importance of including blade trailing edge flaps in OWT studies with significant response reduction (2.1–16.0%) for designing pile foundations.