SINKING OF SCOUR PROTECTIONS AT HORNS REV 1 OFFSHORE WIND FARM

Abstract

The present study is an attempt to explain the reason for the sinking of the scour protection observed at Horns Rev 1 Offshore Wind Farm. A new method for analyzing the survey data has been developed based on detailed descriptions in the literature of the processes causing sinking. The results of the analysis of the survey data have shown that the largest relative damage was observed at shallow water and for the largest scour protections. This is found - based on descriptions found in the literature - to be characteristic for sinking in wave dominated climate and as the current at Horns Rev is found to be too weak to mobilize the sediment underneath the scour protections, it is found likely that the waves had a major influence on the sinking of the scour protections at Horns Rev 1 Offshore Wind Farm.