Experimental and numerical investigation of wind loads on the offshore wind power hydrogen production container modules

Utilizing offshore wind energy to desalinate and electrolyze seawater for hydrogen production is an innovative integration of ocean renewable energy and green hydrogen manufacturing. It offers a new approach to handling consumption of offshore wind energy. This study, based on Asia's first industrial-scale offshore wind power hydrogen production demonstration project, focuses on the wind loads on hydrogen production container modules placed on a wind turbine’s working platform. Physical model tests and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were carried out, with emphasis on comparing these two methods in terms of wind pressure coefficients (Cp) and shape coefficients (Cs). In the experiments, models of wind turbine jacket platforms and container modules were constructed. Wind pressure and three-axis force sensors were used to measure the wind pressure distribution and wind load on the containers at specific wind directions.CpandCsof each module were analysed. The analyses showed that there is good agreement between experimental data and CFD simulation results, andCpandCsvary significantly with wind directions. For the three container modules in upstream,Cpvaries in the range of [-0.73 1.16], whileCsvaries in [0.81 1.41], both exceeding the respective ranges specified in industrial codes, i.e. [-0.7 0.8] and [0.5 1], which differs from the findings in literature works. The present study also found that when multiple containers are arranged in a compact manner in a given space like the wind turbine working platform, the significant shielding effect does exist, but conservatively overestimated by the industrial codes for leeward containers. The results of this study help to provide actual wind pressures on the surface of prototype containers. The pressure derived from scale ratios and similarity laws can serve as the input for consequent finite element analysis and provide a valuable reference for structural safety assessment on offshore wind power hydrogen production systems.