The European MooringSense project is successfully advancing in developing technologies that will enable designing an efficient strategy for managing the structural integrity of mooring systems. The international research, which aims to reduce the costs associated with floating offshore wind energy production by 10-15%, has reached its halfway point, and it has passed all the milestones set for the first half of the initiative to the satisfaction of the consortium.
Progress was presented in the Interim Review Meeting, held recently via video-conference sessions. Representatives of the entire consortium, led by the CTC Technology Centre and composed of leading research centres such as TNO, Ikerlan and Sintef Ocean; and world-leading companies such as Zunibal, Saitec, Brindon Bekaert Wire Rope Industry, Vicinay Marine Innovation and Intecsea, shared the results achieved within each work package.
The project continues to take firm steps in defining and implementing an efficient strategy for managing the structural integrity of anchoring systems. Work is underway to develop several enabling technologies, such as a digital twin of the mooring system, an intelligent motion sensor, structural health monitoring strategies and advanced wind turbine control algorithms.
Eighteen months since the start of the project, the digital twin is now in full implementation, a key element in the initiative that will optimise the operation and maintenance of the anchoring and mooring systems of the floating wind turbines. In this respect, numerical structural models have already been developed to provide real-time knowledge of the anchoring systems’ loads and stresses.
The position and movement algorithms for the smart sensor, which will use GNSS technology to monitor the movement of the floating platforms, have also been developed, and the consortium already has a preliminary model of the monitoring system and advanced control strategies for monitoring the structural health of the wind turbines.
Representatives of the European Commission also attended the follow-up meeting to confirm that the research is progressing well and that the results comply with European decarbonisation policies. The MooringSense project has received funding from the European Union’s “Horizon 2020” research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 85170
Having reached the halfway point of the project, the consortium has also recently met with the Advisory Board, a body whose main task is to advise the MooringSense partners to ensure the future exploitation of the results achieved in the project. Dragados Offshore, Siemens Gamesa, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), DNV GL and Film Ocean are the expert companies that make up the Advisory Board and contribute to aligning the research so that the project results respond to the challenges and needs of the market.
After closing the first half of the research period and with the satisfaction of having met the established objectives, the MooringSense consortium continues to move forward with determination towards upcoming milestones.
