Later this year, the Block Island Wind Farm on Rhode Island will be completed—the first offshore wind farm in the United States.
Bentley takes pride in playing a vital role in the engineering design of this wind farm. Its Offshore Structural Analysis and Design Software, or SACS, was used in designing the substructures of the wind turbines. In other words, Bentley helped to create the literal foundation of this celebrated engineering project.
The Substructures That Will Support the Offshore Wind Farm
The substructures are vastly different from typical offshore energy operations. Instead of the regular monopole concrete foundations, they are supported from a type of steel lattice that is slightly twisted.
The image on the left shows the “Twisted Jacket” steel design. On the right, typical monopole concrete foundations for offshore barges. (Images courtesy of Keystone and seacore.)
The substructures are based off of the Inward Batter Guide Structure (IBGS) design, also called the “Twisted Jacket.” Created by Keystone, the type of substructure was first installed in the Gulf of Mexico in March 2005 as part of the Louisiana-based West Delta oil rigs. That summer, Hurricane Katrina devastated the region, but Keystone’s IBGS was left unscathed.
Ten years later, Keystone is bringing its substructure design for its oil and gas offshore operations to the new offshore wind energy facility—this time with a design that is new and improved with SACS…
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