Visible Light Communication System for Offshore Wind Turbine Foundation Scour Early Warning Monitoring
Journal
Water
Journal Volume
11
Journal Issue
7
Pages
1486
Date Issued
2019
Author(s)
Lin, Yung-Bin
Lin, Tzu-Kang
Chang, Cheng-Chun
Huang, Chang-Wei
Chen, Ben-Ting
Lai, Jihn-Sung
Chang, Kuo-Chun
Abstract
Offshore wind farms have a superior wind source to terrestrial wind farms, but they also face more severe environmental conditions such as severe storms, typhoons, and sea waves. Scour leads to the excavation of sediments around the foundations of structures, reducing the safe capacity of the structures. The phenomenon of pier scour is extremely complex because of the combined effects of the vortex system involving time-dependent flow patterns and sediment transport mechanisms. A real-time scour monitoring system can improve the safety of structures and afford cost-effective operations by preventing premature or unnecessary maintenance. This paper proposes an on-site scour monitoring system using visible light communication (VLC) modules for offshore wind turbine installations. A flume experiment revealed that the system was highly sensitive and accurate in monitoring seabed scour processes. This arrayed-VLC sensory system, proposed in this paper, has considerable potential for safety monitoring and also can contribute to improving the accuracy of empirical scour formulas for sustainable maintenance in the life cycle of offshore structures. © 2019 by the authors.
Subjects
Early warning monitoring; Life cycle; Offshore wind turbine foundation; Scour; Visible light communication system
Other Subjects
Cost effectiveness; Electric utilities; Life cycle; Light; Monitoring; Offshore oil well production; Offshore structures; Offshore wind turbines; Scour; Sediment transport; Storms; Visible light communication; Early warning; Environmental conditions; Safety of structures; Scour-monitoring systems; Sustainable maintenance; Transport mechanism; Turbine foundations; Visible light communications (VLC); Offshore wind farms; communication; early warning system; flume experiment; foundation; life cycle analysis; monitoring system; offshore application; operations technology; scour; visible spectrum; vortex; wind farm; wind turbine
Type
journal article