Abstract
Some of the marine and structural issues related to the installation of an offshore wind farm three miles away from the shoreline of Gela (Italy) are discussed. In particular, the characterization of the maritime climate has been carried out by considering the winds, the waves, the mean water level variations and the current regime. The results of such an analysis have been used in order to determine the environmental loads on the foundation structure. A gravity based structural type has been proposed as foundation of the wind turbines and the design of a foundation prototype has been carried out by trying to implement the most updated international standards to the Sicilian case. An original automatic optimization procedure has been developed in order to determine the dimensions of the design foundation, which satisfied the prescribed static verifications and provided the lowest costs. The scour process at the basis of the foundation and the wave run-up on the structure have been also taken into account. Finally, problems related to the laying and the maintenance of electrical connection cables are also discussed.
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