Ørsted and the University of Oxford have signed a five-year research agreement to optimise the design of foundation structures for offshore wind turbines.
A collaboration on wind turbine design is currently ongoing with Durham University and this new agreement with the University of Oxford will focus specifically on the foundation design.
More advanced geotechnical designs for foundations can make a major impact on cost reduction as the foundations contribute significantly to the overall wind turbine capital costs. Ørsted and the University of Oxford have already collaborated on a range of projects over 10 years, including the recently completed PISA (Pile Soil Analysis) project, leading to significant improvements in the design of offshore wind foundations.
The research under the framework agreement will further develop, extend and embed new geotechnical design ideas into defined engineering methods for offshore wind power. The focus will be on cyclic loading, which is an important element of safe design, especially for deeper water and larger turbines.
Source: Ørsted