Numerical analysis of offshore integrated meteorological mast for wind farms during wet towing transportation

Abstract

An offshore integrated meteorological mast (OIMM) featured by integrating the offshore transportation of the foundation and steel mast into one operation is proposed. The most critical technique of the OIMM is a self-floating towing operation with a reasonable subdivision inside the floating tank. To find out the towing dynamic behaviors of the OIMM with different drafts, mooring positions, towing velocities and towrope lengths in various sea conditions, the hydrodynamic analyses were carried out by using MOSES. The OIMM model in prototype scale was established in MOSES to simulate the static stability and dynamic responses induced by coupled wave and wind conditions. A small tugboat and a single towrope are employed for this towing system. The results show that the OIMM has sufficient intact stability and acceptable damage stability for its inner subdivision configuration. The towrope length exerts the most impact on fluctuation response than draft and mooring positions. Draft depths and mooring positions impact more on pitch motion than on heave motion. The normalized maximum values of motion responses are equally influenced by draft and mooring position. Coupled effects of sea states and towing speed on dynamic features are also illustrated.