Stresses and deformation analysis of the storage system structure of the Ocean Grazer

Abstract

The global warming of the planet, mainly due to the excessive use of fossil fuels, and the consequences that are related to this phenomenon have implied a substantial increase in the bet on cleaner and more sustainable energy sources in the last decades. Ocean Grazer is a company created at the University of Groningen with the aim of developing technologies that make this transition possible. One of the elements on which it is carrying out research is an energy storage system, which aims to provide the electrical grid with energy coming from the wind and the ocean, with the ability to adapt at all times to the demand of the system. The aim of this dissertation is to study the stresses and deformations that the structural part of the energy storage system, based on the suction anchoring technology, will have to endure during the installation stage. To this end, theoretical methods have been studied and used in order to find the boundary conditions of the system during the installation process; theories and methods of basic mechanics and materials resistance are backed by computer-assisted analytical calculations and simulations, which will be performed to verify the stability and resistance of the structure and, at the same time, optimize its design.