Structural stability of offshore wind turbines in seismically active areas

Charles Sturt University researcher Dr Miao Li from the School of Computing, Mathematics and Engineering has been collaborating with international researchers located at four universities in China after receiving research funding from the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory and Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Turbulence Research and Applications. This research demonstrates that traditional models underestimate the effects of seismic activities on offshore wind turbines, and this is exacerbated when the analysis of the impacts of seismic forces does not extend to the aerodynamic forces that simultaneously affect wind turbines.

The outcomes of this research guide coastal and offshore engineers regarding the design and construction of wind turbines in seismically active areas, allowing for increased use and greater understanding of offshore wind turbines in a wider variety of environmental contexts.