Fully coupled dynamic analysis of a floating wind turbine system

Abstract

The use of wind power is in a period of rapid growth worldwide and wind energy systems have emerged as a promising technology for utilizing offshore wind resources for the large scale generation of electricity Drawing upon the maturity of wind turbine and floater technologies developed by the wind energy and oil and gas industries, respectively, large offshore wind energy systems have been developed and are being proposed for operation in offshore areas where environmental restrictions are less restrictive, large wind resources exist, and open sea areas are available for wind farm development. A fully coupled dynamic analysis/technique was developed to predict the response of a floating wind turbine system in a stochastic wind and wave environment This technique incorporated both non-linear wave loading on the submerged floater and the aerodynamic loading on the wind turbine A tension leg spar buoy was designed to support the wind turbine This design was chosen due to its relatively small size and hence lower potential cost per wind turbine The system's tethers were attached to the ends of spokes which radiated out from the spar cylinder This arrangement of lines and spokes promised to be very stiff in the roll and pitch modes of motion.