State-of-the-art design processes for offshore wind turbine support structures - Practical approaches and pitfalls during different stages in the design process

Structural design of offshore wind turbine support structures is a complex process, which has many challenges. In particular in the early phase of a project it is difficult to select the appropriate structural concept and to determine structural masses with reasonable accuracy, without having to go through a time-consuming iterative process. In the more advanced stages, care must be taken that required data for an optimized design has been collected earlier and that the right software tools are available such that all parties involved can execute the design work. In this paper, practical advice is given how this process can be organized and which methods can be used. Furthermore, common mistakes are highlighted, such that those can be avoided.