Research into structural INTEGRity in floating offshore wind using models based on Artificial Intelligence

Project funded by the Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment of the Basque Government (HAZITEK 2023 Programme) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Project

The INTEGRIA project will generate a single comprehensive model consisting of several digital models based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) of elements of the structure (transition piece, TP), the mooring system, the evacuation and power supply elements, the access system or the hydraulic and mechanical systems for the control of the floating wind turbine.

Context

The development of commercial floating wind farms poses challenges that do not arise in individual prototypes. It is necessary to go from the technology working properly for a limited period, to guaranteeing its operation for its entire lifespan. So, there is a big technological leap from oversizing the first prototype to demonstrate its technical feasibility, to optimising its design to demonstrate its economic viability.

Nowadays, there are multiple models and tools available for offshore Operation & Maintenance (O&M), especially at an academic level. These provide precise solutions to specific problems. In addition to their specificity, these models have other shortcomings in the industry:

Lack of real information on failure rates.
Lack of correct market orientation
Lack of comprehensive approaches that would allow a single model to be able to analyse data and make decisions.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES:

The INTEGRIA project aims to generate models for fault detection and prevention, the generation of models for detecting and preventing faults, fatigue, and degradation. Moreover, the construction of decision-making algorithms for O&M.

In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, four research lines have been established in the project:

Advanced monitoring systems for application in floating wind energy.

Special emphasis will be placed on certain systems and/or components:

Machine and powertrain monitoring.
Monitoring of dynamic mooring lines.
Floating structure monitoring.

Data management architecture for processing large amounts of information.

Generation of a large amount of data from the monitoring and control system.
The location of infrastructures is remote.
Shared information of different nature and interests: windfarm operator, operation and maintenance personnel, or substation staff, among others.

Artificial Intelligence-based models for the modelling of various physical phenomena.

IoT technologies.
Data storage capacity.
Computational processing capabilities.
Hybridisation of artificial intelligence models with physical models.
Enables the combination of machine learning models with mathematical models representing real-world physical phenomena.

Coatings for corrosion protection for the characterisation of degradation .

Processes for applying ceramic coatings.
Organic and hybrid coatings.
Eco-sustainable metallic coatings.

To develop all the innovations, the NAUTILUS floating platform design will be used as a case study and the HarshLab, installed in BIMEP and operated by TECNALIA, as an offshore laboratory for the validation of the research carried out in the INTEGRIA project.