Applying new high damping viscoelastic dampers to mitigate the structural vibrations of monopile-supported offshore wind turbine

The utilization of renewable energy is an important way to solve the energy crisis, and wind power is one of the most mature new energy technologies. This paper studies the potential of applying the viscoelastic damper to mitigate vibrations of the OWT tower under wind-wave loadings. The viscoelastic damper directly converts the horizontal deformation of the tower into the shear deformation of the viscoelastic material for energy dissipation, which provides a new idea for suppressing the dynamic response of the OWT. According to OWT structural dynamic characteristics and load conditions, a new high damping wall-type viscoelastic damper (HVED) control is developed. The mechanical properties of HVED are investigated by full scale test. A numerical vibration response analysis of the controlled and uncontrolled 4 MW OWT was carried out in ANSYS. Results indicate that the HVED can significantly reduce the dynamic response of OWT and increase its fatigue life.