Design and Fully Coupled Dynamic Response Analysis of a New Floating Offshore Wind Platform

Abstract

Floating offshore wind platform (FOWP) has become the economically favored option for supporting wind turbines in deep waters. It is urgent to propose new concept designs for FOWPs that can be effectively deployed. Additionally, the extensive use of steel in such platforms significantly escalates costs, necessitating the optimization of steel utilization. Motivated by these challenges, a V-shaped floating semi-submersible platform equipped with NREL 5 MW wind turbine is designed and analyzed based on the potential flow theory and the blade element momentum theory. Fully coupled time-domain simulations are conducted using the F2A program, which couples NREL FAST and ANSYS AQWA via a Dynamic Link Library (DLL), to compare the hydrodynamic performance and stability of the V-shaped floating platform with the original triangle-shaped model of “Fuyao”. Various sea conditions have been considered, including combined wind-wave action and wind-wave-current action at different incidence angles. The results show that the V-shaped floating platform has better economic and hydrodynamic performance (e.g., a reduction of 40.4% and 12.9%, respectively, in pitch and yaw motions, and a 17.4% reduction in maximum mooring tension), but lower stability than its triangle-shaped counterpart.