Fatigue Testing of Support Structure for Offshore Wind Turbine

[Introduction] In view of the fatigue problem of support structure for offshore wind turbine, fatigue performance of transition piece with external stiffening ring was studied. [Method] Static and fatigue tests of A1/5 scale simplified support structure model were carried out to obtain their hot spot stress and fatigue life. Finite element analysis for the test model was conducted with different element type according to DNV rules. Fatigue damage obtained from experimental tests was compared with that calculated by numerical simulations. [Result] The results show that the main discrepancy between test results and specification methods is the selection of S-N curves. [Conclusion] Finally, on the basis of experimental data and DNV rules, two different methods for evaluating the fatigue damage of transition piece are given. This work provides some guidance for further application.