Principia, a French engineering and software development company, has launched DeepLines Wind™, a finite element analysis (FEA) software for offshore wind turbines.
The software results from joined development efforts of Principia and IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN), a public research, innovation and training center, active in the fields of energy, transport and the environment.
Simulating the dynamic response of floating wind turbines at sea requires coupled FEA (finite element analysis) simulations taking into account the combined effects of aerodynamic loads on the blades, active blade pitch control, hydrodynamic loads on the floating platform and dynamic mooring loads, Principia explained.
The collaborative DeepLines Wind™ software development project was launched 4 years ago, with an aim to make it easier for design engineers to perform advanced analyses of this type. IFPEN developed dedicated aerodynamic load and blade control analysis routines that are now integrated into DeepLines™ FEA software.
The software was then validated with respect to its competitors within the framework of the IEA-Wind program’s international benchmark project, OC4, and further checked against model test experiments within the VALEF R&D project led by France Energies Marines.
All the components of the wind turbine, including the blades, the mooring system, the tower and the supporting platform, are modeled as beam elements, and can be easily defined in a single model. This global model dataset, combined with time-domain dynamic simulation or quasi-static mooring simulation capabilities, offers an analysis resource in line with the requirements of real-life projects, the company said.
DeepLines Wind™ is available as an add-on module to DeepLines™ software and has already been adopted for basic and detailed engineering design studies for several offshore floating wind turbine concepts, according to Principia.