Extending floating lidar to deeper, more exposed waters
Floating lidar buoys measure wind speeds at the heights of modern turbines, giving developers wind data without building a fixed met mast. Fraunhofer IWES had deployed its Wind Lidar Buoy at relatively shallow, benign sites, where a simple plain catenary mooring was adequate. To reach the sites where offshore wind is heading, the buoy needed a mooring that would work in much deeper and more exposed water.
Morek carried out a comprehensive study in collaboration with Fraunhofer IWES to extend the system's capabilities. The work began with a thorough assessment of the existing system's theoretical limitations, which identified the critical areas for development.
The team then undertook a detailed optimisation of the mooring to enhance the system's stiffness, ensuring the buoy functions well both in relatively benign standard operating conditions and in extreme weather.
The Fraunhofer IWES Wind Lidar Buoy is now primed for deployment at previously inaccessible sites, including the harsh conditions of the North Sea. The upgraded mooring system supports robust data capture and is designed to withstand the rigours of extreme weather events.
Work package included:
- Assessment of the theoretical limits of the existing catenary mooring
- Identification of critical areas for development
- Mooring optimisation for system stiffness in operating and extreme conditions
Images: Fraunhofer IWES
