The analysis of anti-collision performance of the fender with offshore wind turbine tripod impacted by ship and the coefficient of restitution

Offshore wind turbine tripod as one of the important foundation type is widely used. So its security and stabilization for the marine environment and even life safety must be guaranteed by the fender during the collision. The four types of fenders are proposed by two materials, which are combined in different orders and adopted alone. Base on this, the study is devoted to probe and compare the anti-collision performance of the fender when 2500 tons ship-tripod collision. A series of cases are conducted to investigate the fender of tripod damage analysis and the dynamic response of OWT under the protection of the fender by ANSYS LS-DYNA. Through investigating and analyzing the maximum collision force, energy absorbed, the maximum bending moment of the fender, Von Mises stress, plastic strain, thickness of material layer and ship. It is found that the aluminum foam fender has better anti-collision performance and the thickness of the material layer has an impact on the anti-collision performance of fender. Moreover, the coefficient of restitution (COR) is discussed during the fender service period. Hence, the aluminum foam material is good for improving the fender's performance, which can give valuable information to further study on the application of aluminum foam in the fenders.