Session: 08-06-01 non-presentations

Paper Number: 121760

121760 - Cfd Prediction of the Wind Drag Force on a Telescopic Crane Boom From a Self-Propelled Wind Turbine Installation Jack-Up 

The design of a self-propelled wind turbine installation jack-up and associated equipment, such as a telescopic crane, require the prediction of the forces generated by wind. At an early stage of the design process, the wind drag force acting on the telescopic crane structure is used as input for the prediction of the wind loads on the complete jack-up unit as well as for the design of the telescopic crane itself. At GustoMSC a state of the art CFD tool is used during the design processes to predict the wind drag force and get insight into the flow behavior around offshore structures.

This paper presents the results from wind drag force CFD calculations performed on a typical GustoMSC designed telescopic crane boom from a self-propelled wind turbine installation jack-up. The CFD model is constructed using the unsteady RANSE solver STAR-CCM+ from Siemens. The wind drag force is computed using a constant and uniform flow field at the inlet boundary of the computational domain. The CFD calculations are performed at full-scale and for two different wind speeds.

In this study, a section of the telescopic crane boom is considered in the transit condition of the jack-up. This considered section consists of structures which are different in shapes. The outer section of the crane is made from cylindrical components while the inner section is built up from sharp edged components. The CFD wind drag force coefficients are determined for both sections separately and also combined including more detailed elements. Furthermore, the calculation results are compared with the published experimental data for the related single cylindrical components at the same considered Reynolds numbers.

Based on the results of the CFD calculations, this paper will discuss the drag forces acting on different sections of a telescopic crane boom from a self‑propelled wind turbine installation jack-up. The verifications, advantages and uncertainties of the applied approach will be highlighted.

Presenting Author: Zana Sulaiman GustoMSC

Presenting Author Biography: Zana Sulaiman is currently a CFD Expert Engineer at the engineering department of GustoMSC, a group within NOV. He is working on the development and application of CFD in the design and engineering processes of mobile offshore units (Jack-up vessels, semi-submersibles and drill-ships). He has an educational background in Aerospace Engineering with a master of science degree in Aerodynamics and CFD. He graduated in 2011 from Delft University of Technology.

Authors:

Zana Sulaiman GustoMSC