Executive Summary : | The global climate crisis necessitates a sustainable revolution, with offshore wind farming being a promising solution. India has significant potential for offshore wind energy due to its long coastline and increasing renewable energy demand. However, the feasibility of installing larger offshore wind turbines along the Indian coastline has not been thoroughly investigated. Some coastal regions in India are earthquake and cyclone-prone, and the performance of these turbines is highly dependent on the foundation system used. The project proposal consists of four major activities: assessing seismic hazard for offshore coastal regions using probabilistic approaches, investigating the performance of larger OWT systems, and developing seismic microzonation maps for different earthquake levels. The project also includes detailed numerical investigation using simplified and three-dimensional finite element approaches, as well as site-specific spectrum compatible earthquake time histories for different regions of the Indian coastline. The project also assesses the liquefaction susceptibility of key coastal points and investigates the deficiency of conventional foundation systems through shaking table investigations. Finally, an innovative foundation system will be devised for larger OWT systems specifically for Indian coastal regions, validated through small-scale model testing. The adequacy of innovative monopile with collar foundation and high rise pile cap foundation will be investigated. Based on these investigations, suitable foundation systems for larger OWTs will be proposed for the Indian coastline. |