The MooringSense project has updated the state-of-the-art technologies, techniques and tools related to the management of mooring systems applied in the Oil&Gas industry. This review, carried out from the perspective of floating offshore wind energy, aims to identify the main technological gaps for extrapolating this knowledge to the mooring lines that hold the floating wind turbines. The nine members of the consortium led by the CTC Technology Centre have also published another deliverable consisting of data obtained through simulations that describe the floating wind turbine’s behaviour as a case study. This data is being used for developing both the structural health monitoring system (Ikerlan) and the algorithms of the intelligent sensor that will monitor the movements of the floating platform (CTC).
The deliverable “D2.2 Mooring system integrity management technologies” details the critical aspects of the management of mooring systems, from degradation in chains, steel cables and synthetic cables to inspection techniques and integrity management, fault detection, and line voltage monitoring, control algorithms and the digital twin. The whole purpose is to lay the foundations to allow the consortium to come closer and reduce its operational costs by 10 to 15%.
The oil & gas sector is a mature sector with extensive experience developing, building and operating floating platforms. However, given the high number of failures and breakages, managing anchoring systems’ integrity remains critical. This deliverable, which belongs to the work package that analyses and defines the reference case, points to the number of mooring lines as critical when trying to reduce operation and maintenance costs. With 50 floating wind turbines in a medium-sized park, each turbine will need between 3 and 6 of its own lines. This means that the 10-30 lines required for a traditional O&G installation will be increased to a range of 150 to 300.
This reaffirms the MooringSense project’s relevance, whose ultimate goal is to develop an efficient strategy for anchorage system integrity management. The high cost of inspection, maintenance and repair operations at sea and the unpredictability required by the environment itself calls for a new model for managing these structures that is more cost-effective and keeps operating costs at an acceptable level.
The document also points out other technological gaps that developing floating wind power in Europe must address. Thus, there is an absolute need for sector-specific international regulations and guidelines to facilitate its progress. Likewise, problems related to the robustness and reliability of current monitoring technologies are detailed, and a multidisciplinary approach is used to design and implement the digital twin of the anchoring system that supports the project.
The second of the deliverables published by the MooringSense international consortium consists of simulations of the coupled numerical model, under different operating conditions (load cases and damage to mooring lines) selected to characterise the dynamic behaviour of the platform. This publication, part of the work package that develops the digital twin for the anchoring system, was obtained with the SIMA software model, developed by the member of the Sintef Ocean consortium.
MooringSence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 85170. The CTC Technology Centre, Saitec, Zunibal, Vicinay Marine Innovación, Ikerlan, TNO, Intecsea, Bridon Bekaert Wire Rope Industry, and Sintef Ocean make up the consortium for this project, which has over 4 million euros in funding.
