Turbines installed in seismically active regions such as the Pacific Rim or the Mediterranean must consider loads induced by base shaking from an earthquake. To account for this earthquake risk, current International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) certification requirements provide a simplified method for calculating seismic loads which is intended to be conservative. Through the addition of capabilities, it is now possible to simulate earthquake loading of a wind turbine in conjunction other load sources such as wind and control system behavior using the FAST code. This paper presents a comparison of three earthquake loading scenarios of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) offshore 5-MW baseline wind turbine: idling; continued operation through an earthquake; and an emergency shutdown initiated by an earthquake. Using a set of 22 earthquake records, simulations are conducted for each load case. A summary of the resulting tower moment demand is presented to assess the influence of operational state on the resulting structural demand.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO.
Design Methods, Tools & Standards
Utility-Scale Wind
Technical Report
Prowell, I.; Elgamal, A.; Uang, C.; Jonkman, J.