How do offshore wind turbines behave in icy water?

Understanding the fundamentals of what happens when turbines meet ice could finally bring off-shore wind farms into chillier waters

In the great outdoors, ice can form, break, melt and refreeze many times over a season. Add the realities of a warming climate, and predicting how tons of frozen H20 behave is tricky business. An international team from Aalto University, Delft University of Technology, and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy is working to find out just what happens when 200-metre tall wind turbines meet seriously frosty conditions, like those seen in Northern Europe’s Baltic Sea, North America’s Great Lakes or China’s Bohai Bay. At the moment, off-shore wind farms are largely located in waters that don’t enter deep... ... More: Official Press Release Aaolto University

Keywords:

Aalto Universty, Siemens Gamesa, research, science, Delft University, technology, wind turbine, offshore, ice, flow, structure, load