SPAIN | CIVIL ENG. AND CONSTRUCTION
Wind turbine structure of the DemoSATH floating offshore wind turbine project
DemoSATH Structure Monitoring System
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
Installation of the monitoring system
Grupo Álava has collaborated in the development of the DemoSATH floating offshore wind energy project, led by the Spanish company Saitec Offshore Technologies. As part of this project, the DemoSATH 2 MW floating offshore wind turbine has been installed off the coast of the Biscayan town of Armintza.
The wind turbine installation operation has been carried out by local tugboats to move the platform from Punta Sollana, in the Port of Bilbao, to the BiMEP (Biscay Marine Energy Platform) test area, where it has been located.
It is an area with a depth of 85 meters, located 2 miles from the coast, where the wind turbine is fixed thanks to an anchoring system. This is composed of six hybrid chain and fiber lines connected to the turret on the bow of DemoSATH. It is expected to produce annually the amount of electricity equivalent to the energy needs of 2 billion households.
Date of execution:
January to October 2022
Location:
Armintza (Biscay)
Sector:
CIVIL ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION
Client:
How we made it happen
State-of-the-Art Monitoring System for Floating Wind Turbines
Grupo Álava's participation in the project consisted in the installation of a monitoring system for the floating structure of the wind turbine. It has 133 stress-strain sensors, and as many others to measure temperature, all made of fiber optic FBG(Bragg Nets). Some are attached to the reinforcement of the structural elements, while others have been integrated directly into the concrete. All of them are placed in the most resistant main elements of the wind turbine's flotation structure, as well as in the support structure of its shaft.
In addition to the sensors, the installed monitoring platform also has an acquisition system for them. With it, a dynamic and static interrogation of the sensors can be performed when external wave actions occur. In this way, the system will be able to validate the calculation hypotheses with the real behavior of the structure subjected to external action at sea.
These arrays of installed technology sensors ensure the measurement of the stress-strain situation of the structural elements of the wind turbine. Since they do not use metallic materials or electrical currents, they are not affected by oxidation: they are immune to it. In addition, they can be connected in series on one cable and thus use a single channel for the system interrogator. Each interrogator channel can have a maximum of 50 of these sensors connected to it.
Another of its advantages lies in the long distance that the signal from these sensors can travel without loss: it can reach up to 40 kilometers. Thanks to the power and precision of this wind turbine monitoring system deployed by Grupo Álava, and DemoSATH's advances in floating offshore wind, the participants in the project hope to mark a turning point in the renewable energy sector.
OUR CONTRIBUTION
Some of our products and services applied to this project
Service
Technology consulting
We advise on the best technological solution to apply according to the needs of each project. Learn more about our technology consulting.
RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Floating structure in perfect condition
For DemoSATH to function properly, its flotation structure must always be in perfect condition. For this reason, it has a system that permanently monitors its tension, deformation and temperature levels. The system developed and deployed by Grupo Álava allows these levels to be kept under constant surveillance, in order to be able to take measures in the event of any deviation, however slight, from the calculations established for the optimal operation of the wind turbine.
OUR EXPERIENCE
