Initial Design Phase and Tender Designs of a Jacket Structure Converted into a Retrofitted Offshore Wind Turbine

Abstract

Jackets are the most common structures in the Adriatic Sea for extracting natural gas. These structural typologies are suitable for relative low water depths and flat sandy sea floors. Most of them have been built in the last 50 years. When the underground source finishes, these structures should be moved to another location or removed if they have reached their design life. Nevertheless, another solution might be considered: change the future working life of these platforms by involving renewable energy and transforming them into offshore wind towers. The present research proposal aims to investigate the possibility of converting actual structures for gas extraction into offshore platforms for wind turbine towers. This simplified analysis is useful for initial design phases and tender design, or generally when available information is limited. The model proposed is a new simplified tool used to study the structural analysis of the jacket structure, developed and summarized in 10 steps, firstly adopted to study the behavior of the oil and gas structure and then for the retrofitted wind tower configuration.