IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i23p10575-d1535296.html

Seismic Fragility Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines Considering Site-Specific Ground Responses

Author

Listed:
  • Duc-Vu Ngo

    (Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Kunsan National University, Gunsan 54150, Republic of Korea)

  • Sang-Il Lee

    (Department of Wind Energy, Graduate School, Kunsan National University, Gunsan 54150, Republic of Korea)

  • Dong-Hyawn Kim

    (Department of Coastal Construction Engineering, Kunsan National University, Gunsan 54150, Republic of Korea)

Abstract

This study investigated the seismic performance and assessed the seismic fragility of an existing pentapod suction-bucket-supported offshore wind turbine, focusing on the amplification of earthquake ground motions. A simplified suction bucket–soil interaction model with nonlinear spring elements was employed within a finite element framework, linking the suction bucket and soil to hypothetical points on the OWT structures at the mudline. Unlike conventional approaches using bedrock earthquake records, this study utilized free-field surface motions as input, derived from bedrock ground motions through one-dimensional wave theory propagation to estimate soil-layer-induced amplification effects. The validity of the simplified model was confirmed, enabling effective assessment of seismic vulnerability through fragility curves. These curves revealed that the amplification effect increases the vulnerability of the OWT system, raising the probability of exceeding damage limit states such as horizontal displacement of the tower top, tower stress, and horizontal displacement at the mudline during small to moderate earthquakes, while decreasing this likelihood during strong earthquakes. Comparisons between the Full Model and the simplified Spring Model reveal that the simplified model reduces computational time by approximately 75%, with similar seismic response accuracy, making it a valuable tool for rapid seismic assessments. This research contributes to enhancing seismic design practices for suction-bucket-supported offshore wind turbines by employing a minimalist finite element model approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Duc-Vu Ngo & Sang-Il Lee & Dong-Hyawn Kim, 2024. "Seismic Fragility Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines Considering Site-Specific Ground Responses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-27, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:23:p:10575-:d:1535296
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/23/10575/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/23/10575/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yuan, Chenyang & Chen, Jianyun & Li, Jing & Xu, Qiang, 2017. "Fragility analysis of large-scale wind turbines under the combination of seismic and aerodynamic loads," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1122-1134.
    2. Zheng, Hua-Dong & Wang, Xian-Feng & Liu, Chen-Xi & Wang, Zhen & Wu, Bin, 2022. "Nonlinear seismic performance of a large-scale vertical-axis wind turbine under wind and earthquake action," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 24-36.
    3. Kim, Dong Hyawn & Lee, Sang Geun & Lee, Il Keun, 2014. "Seismic fragility analysis of 5 MW offshore wind turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 250-256.
    4. Renjie Mo & Haigui Kang & Miao Li & Xuanlie Zhao, 2017. "Seismic Fragility Analysis of Monopile Offshore Wind Turbines under Different Operational Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-22, July.
    5. Duc-Vu Ngo & Young-Jin Kim & Dong-Hyawn Kim, 2023. "Risk Assessment of Offshore Wind Turbines Suction Bucket Foundation Subject to Multi-Hazard Events," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-13, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mo, Renjie & Cao, Renjing & Liu, Minghou & Li, Miao, 2021. "Effect of ground motion directionality on seismic dynamic responses of monopile offshore wind turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 179-199.
    2. Fitzgerald, Breiffni & McAuliffe, James & Baisthakur, Shubham & Sarkar, Saptarshi, 2023. "Enhancing the reliability of floating offshore wind turbine towers subjected to misaligned wind-wave loading using tuned mass damper inerters (TMDIs)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 522-538.
    3. Caputo, Antonio C. & Federici, Alessandro & Pelagagge, Pacifico M. & Salini, Paolo, 2023. "Offshore wind power system economic evaluation framework under aleatory and epistemic uncertainty," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 350(C).
    4. Renqiang Xi & Piguang Wang & Xiuli Du & Chengshun Xu & Junbo Jia, 2020. "Evaluation of an Uncoupled Method for Analyzing the Seismic Response of Wind Turbines Excited by Wind and Earthquake Loads," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-27, July.
    5. Yang, Yang & Bashir, Musa & Li, Chun & Michailides, Constantine & Wang, Jin, 2020. "Mitigation of coupled wind-wave-earthquake responses of a 10 MW fixed-bottom offshore wind turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 1171-1184.
    6. Wang, Wenze & Wang, Jianze & Dai, Kaoshan & Ba, Zhenning & Wu, Mengtao & Zhou, Baofeng & Sharbati, Reza & El Damatty, Ashraf, 2025. "Seismic fragility analysis of near-fault mountainous wind turbines considering source-path-site effects," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    7. Chenyang Yuan & Yunfei Xie & Jing Li & Weifeng Bai & Haohao Li, 2022. "Influence of the Number of Ground Motions on Fragility Analysis of 5 MW Wind Turbines Subjected to Aerodynamic and Seismic Loads Interaction," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-18, March.
    8. Duc-Vu Ngo & Dong-Hyawn Kim, 2024. "Sensitivity of Seabed Characteristics on the Seismic Performance of Suction Bucket-Supported Offshore Wind Turbines," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-19, October.
    9. Zuo, Haoran & Bi, Kaiming & Hao, Hong & Xin, Yu & Li, Jun & Li, Chao, 2020. "Fragility analyses of offshore wind turbines subjected to aerodynamic and sea wave loadings," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 1269-1282.
    10. Georgios Malliotakis & Panagiotis Alevras & Charalampos Baniotopoulos, 2021. "Recent Advances in Vibration Control Methods for Wind Turbine Towers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-37, November.
    11. Jian Zhang & Guo-Kai Yuan & Songye Zhu & Quan Gu & Shitang Ke & Jinghua Lin, 2022. "Seismic Analysis of 10 MW Offshore Wind Turbine with Large-Diameter Monopile in Consideration of Seabed Liquefaction," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-31, March.
    12. Choe, Do-Eun & Ramezani, Mahyar, 2025. "Fragility estimation for performance-based structural design of floating offshore wind turbine components," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    13. Lee, Yeon-Seung & González, José A. & Lee, Ji Hyun & Kim, Young Il & Park, K.C. & Han, Soonhung, 2016. "Structural topology optimization of the transition piece for an offshore wind turbine with jacket foundation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1214-1225.
    14. Renjie Mo & Haigui Kang & Miao Li & Xuanlie Zhao, 2017. "Seismic Fragility Analysis of Monopile Offshore Wind Turbines under Different Operational Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-22, July.
    15. Seo, Junwon & Pokhrel, Jharna & Hu, Jong Wan, 2022. "Multi-Hazard Fragility Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbine Portfolios using Surrogate Models," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    16. Liu, Yingzhou & Li, Xin & Shi, Wei & Wang, Wenhua & Jiang, Zhiyu, 2024. "Vibration control of a monopile offshore wind turbines under recorded seismic waves," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    17. Zhanpu Xue & Hao Zhang & Yunguang Ji, 2023. "Dynamic Response of a Flexible Multi-Body in Large Wind Turbines: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-25, April.
    18. Liu, Wenyi, 2016. "Design and kinetic analysis of wind turbine blade-hub-tower coupled system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 547-557.
    19. Corinna Köpke & Jennifer Mielniczek & Alexander Stolz, 2023. "Testing Resilience Aspects of Operation Options for Offshore Wind Farms beyond the End-of-Life," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-12, June.
    20. Yu Hu & Jian Yang & Charalampos Baniotopoulos, 2020. "Repowering Steel Tubular Wind Turbine Towers Enhancing them by Internal Stiffening Rings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-23, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:23:p:10575-:d:1535296. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.