Offshore wind turbine anchors are subject to forces caused by tides and currents, and these stresses are amplified by the presence of algae. In order to assess the additional forces exerted by the presence of algae on anchor cables under experimental conditions in a basin, @Franck Schoefs of @IUML uses algae reproductions produced by additive manufacturing.
The challenge is to reproduce the consistency of the algae (Laminaria Hyperborea) using a mixture of materials, from the stiffest – at stem level – to the softest – at leaf level, in a single piece. These prototypes have 14 different stiffness zones. They were produced by the Manufacturing Lab in Hall 6 West on a ProJet MJP 5600.
