Session: 09-01-01: Offshore Wind Energy - Installation

Paper Number: 107819

107819 - Maritime Navigation Simulations to Measure Captain’s Perceived Operational Limits for Wind Turbine Feeder Barges 

A paradigm shift from conventional fossil fuels to alternative resources is underway in the United States. Offshore wind energy has gained increasing attention in the past few years due to the energy content of wind, however, installation is challenging due to environmental conditions.  There has been research on overcoming the supply chain issues introduced by the U.S. setting a national target of 30 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030, especially due to limited Jones Act Compliant installation vessels.  One of the most accepted solutions is a Jones Act Compliant feeder barge.

The concept of using feeder barges to supply Wind Turbine Installation Vessels (WTIVs) is relatively new. This presentation describes the technical analysis of data collected from a series of maritime navigation mission simulations in a Full Mission Ship Simulator of the type used to train tug operators.  The maneuvers analyzed were planned and revised by experienced tug operators and the performance and limitations were judged by experienced captains after performing each maneuver.  The significant wave height (Hs), wave period (Tp) and wave field directionality selected for the study are based on analysis of measured environmental conditions at the project site.  The weather conditions used in the simulation were actual wave spectrum data modeling the wave energy from the most active direction and frequency bins.

Presenting Author: Ali Mohtat Crowley Engineering Services

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Ali Mohtat is a Senior Naval Architect at Crowley Engineering Services. Ali’s proficiency is on linear and nonlinear ocean wave modeling and analysis, design and execution of experiments in wave basin facilities, and development of analytical models. Currently, Ali is involved with different multi-disciplinary projects, ranging from providing Metocean data and response analysis / design for offshore wind industry, to implementation of machine learning models in developing predictive maintenance models.
Ali’s previous role was as the principal ocean engineer, where he was working on lift-based wave energy convertors. He was in charge of mechanical / structural design and analysis in SolidWorks and related FEM software, development of Metocean data and extreme value analysis for survivability and operational states, design, commission, and built a 1:100 scale model and completed the full experiment in the in-house facility. Finally, Ali was responsible for negotiation with different wave basin operators.
Ali received his BSc in Civil Engineering from Semnan University, his Msc in Civil Engineering – Offshore Structures from K.N.Toosi University of Technology, both in Iran, and finally his PhD in Civil Engineering – Coastal and Ocean Engineering, with minor in mathematics, from Oregon State University.
Out of working hours, Ali enjoys early morning runs with his wife (both in-door and outdoor), playing soccer, and exploring local breweries with friends and family.

Authors:

Ali Mohtat Crowley Engineering Services
Melissa Hertel Crowley Engineering Services
Christopher Hooper Crowley Engineering Services
Charles Jors Crowley Engineering Services
Coulston Van Gundy Crowley Engineering Services
Benjamin Souquet Crowley Engineering Services