Modeling of a Semisubmersible Floating Offshore Wind Platform in Severe Waves

Author(s):  
Irene Rivera-Arreba ◽  
Niek Bruinsma ◽  
Erin E. Bachynski ◽  
Axelle Viré ◽  
Bo T. Paulsen ◽  
...  

Floating offshore wind platforms may be subjected to severe sea states, which include both steep and long waves. The hydrodynamic models used in the offshore industry are typically based on potential-flow theory and/or Morison’s equation. These methods are computationally efficient and can be applied in global dynamic analysis considering wind loads and mooring system dynamics. However, they may not capture important nonlinearities in extreme situations. The present work compares a fully nonlinear numerical wave tank (NWT), based on the viscous Navier–Stokes equations, and a second-order potential-flow model for such situations. A comparison of the NWT performance with the experimental data is first completed for a moored vertical floating cylinder. The OC5-semisubmersible floating platform is then modeled numerically both in this nonlinear NWT and using a second-order potential-flow based solver. To test both models, they are subjected to nonsteep waves and the response in heave and pitch is compared with the experimental data. More extreme conditions are examined with both models. Their comparison shows that if the structure is excited at its heave natural frequency, the dependence of the response in heave on the wave height and the viscous effects cannot be captured by the adjusted potential-flow based model. However, closer to the inertia dominated region, the two models yield similar responses in pitch and heave.

Author(s):  
I. Rivera-Arreba ◽  
N. Bruinsma ◽  
E. E. Bachynski ◽  
A. Viré ◽  
B. T. Paulsen ◽  
...  

Floating offshore wind platforms may be subjected to severe sea states, which include both steep and long waves. The hydrodynamic models used in the offshore industry are typically based on potential-flow theory, and/or Morison’s equation. These methods are computationally efficient, and can be applied in global dynamic analysis considering wind loads and mooring system dynamics. However, they may not capture important nonlinearities in extreme situations. The present work compares a fully nonlinear wave tank (NWT), based on the viscous Navier-Stokes equations, and a second-order potential-flow model for such situations. A validation of the NWT is first completed for a moored vertical floating cylinder. The OC5-semisubmersible floating platform is then modelled numerically both in this nonlinear NWT and using a second-order potential-flow based solver. To validate both models, they are subjected to non-steep waves and the response in heave and pitch is compared to experimental data. More extreme conditions are examined with both models. Their comparison shows that if the structure is excited at its heave natural frequency, the dependence of the response in heave on the wave height and the viscous effects cannot be captured by the adjusted potential-flow based model. However, closer to the inertia-dominated region, the two models yield similar responses in pitch and heave.


2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 696-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianxi Wang ◽  
WenKe Liu ◽  
David M Leppinen ◽  
A D Walmsley

Abstract This paper is concerned with microbubble dynamics in a viscous compressible liquid near a rigid boundary. The compressible effects are modelled using the weakly compressible theory of Wang & Blake (2010, Non-spherical bubble dynamics in a compressible liquid. Part 1. Travelling acoustic wave. J. Fluid Mech., 730, 245–272), since the Mach number associated is small. The viscous effects are approximated using the viscous potential flow theory of Joseph & Wang (2004, The dissipation approximation and viscous potential flow. J. Fluid Mech., 505, 365–377), because the flow field is characterized as being an irrotational flow in the bulk volume but with a thin viscous boundary layer at the bubble surface. Consequently, the phenomenon is modelled using the boundary integral method, in which the compressible and viscous effects are incorporated into the model through including corresponding additional terms in the far field condition and the dynamic boundary condition at the bubble surface, respectively. The numerical results are shown in good agreement with the Keller–Miksis equation, experiments and computations based on the Navier–Stokes equations. The bubble oscillation, topological transform, jet development and penetration through the bubble and the energy of the bubble system are simulated and analysed in terms of the compressible and viscous effects.


Author(s):  
Sherry Xiang ◽  
Peimin Cao ◽  
Richard Erwin ◽  
Steve Kibbee

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology has been considered as a renewable power generation for the tropical oceans where a thermal gradient from subsea to surface are higher than 20°C since 1980. In 2009, the OTEC technical readiness report has identified that semi-submersible, ship-shaped vessel and spar are most feasible to OTEC application. All three are technically mature and well-established floating facilities and have been widely manufactured and operated in offshore industry all over the world. A pilot OTEC development, led by Lockheed Martin (LM) Industry Team, has configured a semi-submersible floating platform. As an alternative design, SBM is developing OTEC designs based on converted ships. Ship shapes provide good access to facilities for practical operation and maintenance activities. Our study focused on demonstrating the feasibility of constructing and installing a 4 meter outer diameter Cold Water Pipe (CWP) based on conventional land-based manufacture of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastics (FRP) followed by installation with SBM marine equipment. Based on insights gained from this exercise, we will continue to develop the installation methods for larger diameter CWPs. The CWP is a key design challenge for OTEC since it must be strong enough to withstand the forces and motions while being light enough to be installed with available marine equipment. This paper focuses on the cold water pipe global dynamic performance hosted by a converted ship for a 10MW OTEC plantship offshore Hawaii. The offshore Hawaii location was selected for purposes of comparison rather than the existence of any specific prospective projects. The CWP is connected to the vessel via a sealed gimbal device that allows the CWP’s angular motions to be decoupled from the vessel. The fundamental understanding of CWP vibrations is discussed. The CWP global dynamic responses to extreme storms and operational fatigue environments are presented. Vortex Induced Vibration (VIV) and other design issues are discussed. The key global design considerations of CWP for the ship-shaped vessel are identified and summarized.


Author(s):  
Iman Ramzanpoor ◽  
Martin Nuernberg ◽  
Longbin Tao

Abstract The main drivers for the continued decarbonisation of the global energy market are renewable energy sources. Moreover, the leading technological solutions to achieve this are offshore wind turbines. As installed capacity has been increasing rapidly and shallow water near shore sites are exhausted, projects will need to be developed further from shore and often in deeper waters, which will pose greater technical challenges and constrain efforts to reduce costs. Current floating platform solutions such as the spar and semi-submersible rely on large amounts of ballast and complex structural designs with active stabilisation systems for stability of the floating offshore wind turbine platform (FOWT). The primary focus of this study is to present a design concept and mooring arrangement for an alternative floating platform solution that places emphasis on the mooring system to achieve stability for a FOWT. The tension leg buoy (TLB) is designed to support future 10MW offshore wind turbine generators. This paper presents the numerical methodology used for a coupled hydro-elastic analysis of the floater and mooring system under combined wind, wave and current effects. A concept TLB design is presented and its platform motion and mooring line tension characteristics are analysed for a three-hour time domain simulation representing operating and survival conditions in the northern North Sea with water depths of 110 metres. The importance of wave drift forces and the other non-linear excitation forces in the concept design stage are evaluated by comparing the motion and tension responses of three different numerical simulation cases with increasing numerical complexity. The preliminary TLB system design demonstrated satisfactory motion response for the operation of a FOWT and survival in a 100-year storm condition. The results show that accounting for second-order effect is vital in terms of having a clear understanding of the full behaviour of the system and the detailed response characteristics in operational and survival conditions. Extreme loads are significantly reduced when accounting for the second-order effects. This can be a key aspect to not overdesign the system and consequently achieve significant cost savings.


2011 ◽  
Vol 688 ◽  
pp. 390-421
Author(s):  
J. C. Padrino ◽  
D. D. Joseph

AbstractThe nonlinear deformation and break-up of a bubble or drop immersed in a uniaxial extensional flow of an incompressible viscous fluid is analysed by means of viscous potential flow. In this approximation, the flow field is irrotational and viscosity enters through the balance of normal stresses at the interface. The governing equations are solved numerically to track the motion of the interface by coupling a boundary-element method with a time-integration routine. When break-up occurs, the break-up time computed here is compared with results obtained elsewhere from numerical simulations of the Navier–Stokes equations (Revuelta, Rodríguez-Rodríguez & Martínez-Bazán J. Fluid Mech., vol. 551, 2006, p. 175), which thus keeps vorticity in the analysis, for several combinations of the relevant dimensionless parameters of the problem. For the bubble, for Weber numbers $3\leqslant \mathit{We}\leqslant 6$, predictions from viscous potential flow shows good agreement with the results from the Navier–Stokes equations for the bubble break-up time, whereas for larger $\mathit{We}$, the former underpredicts the results given by the latter. When viscosity is included, larger break-up times are predicted with respect to the inviscid case for the same $\mathit{We}$. For the drop, and considering moderate Reynolds numbers, $\mathit{Re}$, increasing the viscous effects of the irrotational motion produces large, elongated drops that take longer to break up in comparison with results for inviscid fluids. For larger $\mathit{Re}$, it comes as a surprise that break-up times smaller than the inviscid limit are obtained. Unfortunately, results from numerical analyses of the incompressible, unsteady Navier–Stokes equations for the case of a drop have not been presented in the literature, to the best of the authors’ knowledge; hence, comparison with the viscous irrotational analysis is not possible.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1232
Author(s):  
Xuan Mei ◽  
Min Xiong

In order to investigate the effects of second-order hydrodynamic loads on a 15 MW floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT), this study employs a tool that integrates AQWA and OpenFAST to conduct fully coupled simulations of the FOWT subjected to wind and wave loadings. The load cases covering normal and extreme conditions are defined based on the met-ocean data observed at a specific site. The results indicate that the second-order wave excitations activate the surge mode of the platform. As a result, the surge motion is increased for each of the examined load case. In addition, the pitch, heave, and yaw motions are underestimated when neglecting the second-order hydrodynamics under the extreme condition. First-order wave excitation is the major contributor to the tower-base bending moments. The fatigue damage of the tower-base under the extreme condition is underestimated by 57.1% if the effect of second-order hydrodynamics is ignored. In addition, the accumulative fatigue damage over 25 years at the tower-base is overestimated by 16.92%. Therefore, it is suggested to consider the effects of second-order wave excitations of the floating platform for the design of the tower to reduce the cost of the FOWT.


Author(s):  
Lu Wang ◽  
Amy Robertson ◽  
Jason Jonkman ◽  
Yi-Hsiang Yu ◽  
Arjen Koop ◽  
...  

Abstract The natural surge and pitch frequencies of semisubmersible offshore wind platforms are typically designed to be below the wave frequencies to avoid direct excitation. However, surge or pitch resonance can be excited by the nonlinear low-frequency loads generated by irregular incident waves. Second-order potential-flow models with added Morison drag have been found to underpredict this low-frequency excitation and response. As part of the OC6 project1, the authors performed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to enable a better understanding of the low-frequency loads and the limitations of lower-fidelity models. The focus of this paper is to set up a computationally cost-effective CFD simulation of a fixed semisubmersible platform to investigate nonlinear difference-frequency loads and establish the corresponding uncertainty in the results. Because of the high computing cost, CFD simulations of irregular waves can be challenging. Instead, simulations were performed with bichromatic waves having a shorter repeat period. A preliminary comparison with quadratic transfer functions from second-order potential-flow theory shows that CFD models consistently predict higher nonlinear wave loads at the difference frequency, likely because of flow separation and viscous drag not accounted for in potential-flow theory.


Author(s):  
Luca Bonfiglio ◽  
Stefano Brizzolara

Near field flow characteristics around catamarans close to resonant conditions involve violent viscous flow such as energetic vortex shedding and steep wave making. This paper presents a systematic and comprehensive numerical investigation of these phenomena at various oscillating frequencies and separation distances of twin sections. The numerical model is based on the solution of Navier–Stokes equations assuming laminar-flow conditions with a volume of fluid (VOF) approach which has proven to be particularly effective in predicting strongly nonlinear radiated waves which directly affect the magnitude of the hydrodynamic forces around resonant frequencies. Considered nonlinear effects include wave breaking, vortex shedding and wave-body wave-wave interactions. The method is first validated using available experiments on twin circular sections: the agreement in a very wide frequency range is improved over traditional linear potential flow based solutions. Particular attention is given to the prediction of added mass and damping coefficients at resonant conditions where linear potential flow methods fail, if empirical viscous corrections are not included. The results of the systematic investigation show for the first time how the so-called piston-mode motion characteristics are nonlinearly dependent on the gap width and motion amplitude. At low oscillation amplitudes, flow velocity reduces and so does the energy lost for viscous effects. On the other hand for higher oscillation amplitude, the internal free surface breaks dissipating energy hence reducing the piston mode amplitude. These effects cannot be numerically demonstrated without a computational technique able to capture free surface nonlinearity and viscous effects.


Author(s):  
Carlos Lopez-Pavon ◽  
Rafael A. Watai ◽  
Felipe Ruggeri ◽  
Alexandre N. Simos ◽  
Antonio Souto-Iglesias

AZIMUT project (Spanish CENIT R&D program) is designed to establish the technological groundwork for the subsequent development of a large-scale offshore wind turbine. The project (2010–2013) has analyzed different alternative configurations for the floating offshore wind turbines (FOWT): SPAR, tension leg platform (TLP), and semisubmersible platforms were studied. Acciona, as part of the consortium, was responsible of scale-testing a semisubmersible platform to support a 1.5 MW wind turbine. The geometry of the floating platform considered in this paper has been provided by the Hiprwind FP7 project and is composed by three buoyant columns connected by bracings. The main focus of this paper is on the hydrodynamic modeling of the floater, with especial emphasis on the estimation of the wave drift components and their effects on the design of the mooring system. Indeed, with natural periods of drift around 60 s, accurate computation of the low-frequency second-order components is not a straightforward task. Methods usually adopted when dealing with the slow-drifts of deep-water moored systems, such as the Newman's approximation, have their errors increased by the relatively low resonant periods of the floating system and, since the effects of depth cannot be ignored, the wave diffraction analysis must be based on full quadratic transfer functions (QTFs) computations. A discussion on the numerical aspects of performing such computations is presented, making use of the second-order module available with the seakeeping software wamit®. Finally, the paper also provides a preliminary verification of the accuracy of the numerical predictions based on the results obtained in a series of model tests with the structure fixed in bichromatic waves.


Author(s):  
Carlos López-Pavón ◽  
Rafael A. Watai ◽  
Felipe Ruggeri ◽  
Alexandre N. Simos ◽  
Antonio Souto-Iglesias

AZIMUT project (Spanish CENIT R&D program) is designed to establish the technological groundwork for the subsequent development, of a large-scale offshore wind turbine. The project (2010–2013) has analysed different floating offshore wind turbines (FOWT): SPAR, TLP and Semi-Submersible platforms were studied. Acciona, as part of the consortium, was responsible of scale-testing a Semi-submersible platform to support a 1.5MW wind turbine. The floating platform geometry considered in this paper has been provided by the Hiprwind FP7 project and is composed by three buoyant columns connected by bracings. The main focus of this paper is on hydrodynamic modelling of the floater, with especial emphasis on the estimation of the wave drift components and their effects on the design of the mooring system. Indeed, with natural periods of drift around 60 seconds, accurate computation of the low-frequency second-order components is not a straightforward task. As methods usually adopted when dealing with the slow-drifts of deep-water moored systems, such as Newman’s approximation, have their errors increased by the relatively low resonant periods, and as the effects of depth cannot be ignored, the wave diffraction analysis must be based on full Quadratic Transfer Functions (QTF) computations. A discussion on the numerical aspects of performing such computations is presented, making use of the second-order module available with the seakeeping software WAMIT®. Finally, the paper also provides a preliminary verification of the accuracy of the numerical predictions based on the results obtained in a series of model tests with the structure fixed in bichromatic waves.


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