Study on Mooring Design of 15 MW Floating Wind Turbines in South China Sea

Abstract

Wind turbines and floating platform upsizing are major trends in the current offshore wind development. However, harsh environmental conditions increase the risk of anchor dragging and mooring failure when deploying large offshore floating wind turbines. Therefore, it is necessary to design a mooring system for the specific deployment site. This study aims to perform the mooring system design of a floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) operated in the South China Sea, which is a combination of the IEA 15 MW wind turbine and UMaine VolturnUS-S floating platform. Hydrodynamic coefficients were calculated based on the potential flow theory, considering the environmental loads in the South China Sea. Additionally, the hydrodynamic coefficients were imported into AQWA to calculate the time-domain mooring tension. The mooring design parameters, such as mooring line length, nominal sizes, and anchor point, were determined using the criterion of anchor uplift, maximum breaking strength, and fatigue life, respectively. The design criterion required that the anchor uplift is not more than the allowable value, the long-term breaking limit of mooring with a 100-year return period should be less than the maximum breaking limit, and the fatigue damage accumulation in 50 years should be safe. The mooring design procedure provides a reference for mooring system design and safe operation of large floating wind turbines in the South China Sea.