Time-domain simulation of sum-frequency hydrodynamic performance of a TLP-type floating wind turbine in multidirectional seas

Abstract

Previous studies (Ren et al., 2022) by the authors have confirmed that the second-order diffracted wave loads are very sensitive to the wave directional spreading of the so-called storm-swell mixed seas where the storm-driven local seas combined with long-period swells propagating from different angles. In this paper, particular attention is paid to estimate the sum-frequency hydrodynamic forces and motion responses of a TLP-type floating wind turbine (FWT) in such complex sea states. A time-domain potential flow model is developed for the second-order interaction between the multidirectional irregular waves and moored structures. The boundary value problems for the scattered potential are solved by a higher-order boundary element method (HOBEM). The fourth-order Adams–Bashforth–Moulton method is used to update the wave surface and the Newmark method combined with the Newton–Raphson iteration scheme is adopted to solve the body motion equations.For validation, a freely floating hemisphere in unidirectional bichromatic waves is investigated and good agreement is found by comparing with Kim and Yue's frequency-domain results. Numerical tests are conducted on the TLP-type FWT with different combinations of incident angles and spreading factors of the storm-swell mixed seas. The effects of the wave headings and directional spreading on the sum-frequency hydrodynamic response are discussed. It is noted that when the swells approach the storm seas from large relative angles, the sum-frequency vertical response of the FWT can be up to seven times greater than that in the collinear mixed seas. In addition, the present model can extend the rotor-floater-tether coupled dynamic simulator of FWT to more realistic seas such as storm-swell mixed seas.