SJOEM, the Simple Jacket Optimization Engineering Model

Abstract

One of the main drawbacks of offshore wind energy is its high levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). One explanation for these high costs arises from the large amount of uncertainties that come with such complex projects. As a result of this complexity, it’s difficult to foresee the course of events in advance. Decisions made during the preliminary design phase are often based on limited data while having a great impact on project outcome. A tool is needed to assist engineers during these early stages of design. This tool should deliver good results using limited input data and require little computational time. An example of such a tool is TeamPlay; an engineering model that evaluates offshore wind farm design using automated optimization techniques. In its current state, only a monopile type foundation is analyzed within this process. Since the current trend in the industry is to build larger farms further from shore, this foundation type will become less popular in the future. A jacket type foundation is better suited for far-­‐shore application. In this thesis, a new stand-­‐alone engineering model is created which can be added to TeamPlay’s functionality to extend future use...