OPTIMAL DESIGN OF JACKET SUPPORTING STRUCTURES FOR OFFSHORE WIND TURBINES USING ENHANCED COLLIDING BODIES OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM

Structural optimization of offshore wind turbine structures has become an important issue in the past years due to the noticeable developments in offshore wind industry. However, considering the offshore wind turbines’ size and environment, this task is outstandingly difficult. To overcome this barrier, in this paper, a metaheuristic algorithm called Enhanced Colliding Bodies Optimization (ECBO) is utilized to investigate the optimal design of jacket supporting structures for offshore wind turbines when a number of structural constraints, including a frequency constraint, are considered. The algorithm is validated using a design example. The OC4 reference jacket, which has been widely referenced in offshore wind industry, is the considered design example in this paper. The whole steps of this research, including loading, analysis, design, and optimization of the structure, are coded in MATLAB. Both Ultimate Limit States (ULS) and frequency constraints are considered as design constraints in this paper. Huge weight reduction is observed during this optimization problem, indicating the efficiency of the ECBO algorithm and its application in the optimization of offshore wind turbine structures.