Numerical Study of Breaking Waves and Associated Wave Forces on a Jacket Substructure for Offshore Wind Turbines

Abstract

The interest towards offshore wind energy has grown manifolds in the last few decades. Jacket structures are one of the most widely used substructures in the offshore wind turbine installations for intermediate water depths. Offshore structures are exposed to breaking waves. The interaction of breaking waves with the jackets is quite complicated due to the multiple vertical, horizontal and diagonal members. In the present study, a numerical investigation of the wave hydrodynamics and wave forces exerted by regular breaking waves on a jacket is performed. The open-source CFD code REEF3D is used for this purpose, which raises the possibility to model the breaking process physically. The conducted model-scale laboratory experiments have been performed in the past such that a direct comparison is presented.