Sensitivity Analysis of Different Parameters of Taut Mooring System of a Truss Spar

The taut mooring system is widely used for some advantages, such as smaller mooring radius, lighter total weight and better anti-corrosion performance. In this paper, the taut mooring system of a Truss Spar platform which was taken as the research object was investigated under the condition of 2000 m water depth in South China Sea. Firstly, the main body of the platform was analyzed in frequency domain based on the 3-d potential theory, and then the nonlinear solutions of platform displacement and mooring line force were obtained by using coupling analysis method in time domain, which determined the preliminary design parameters of mooring system. The sensitivity of the taut system is studied by changing several design parameters such as the top angle of mooring line, cable hole position and method of mooring disposal. In summary, the variation of the motion and dynamic response of the platform and mooring system has been explored and summarized by studying the design process and influential parameter of dynamic characteristics of mooring system and optimizing ideas of relevant parameters, which can further provide technical support and engineering reference for the design and application of the taut mooring system of deepwater Truss Spar platforms.

New Spar Design for Floating Offshore Wind Turbine With Damping Plates

Spar is one of the promising floating structures which support wind turbine at sea. In general, some lower part of spar is used as a ballast tank. It is possible to replace this part with other shapes without water-tightness because this part does not contribute to buoyancy nor stability to support the weight or heeling moment of wind turbine. In the field of oil and gas production, truss spar has been developed with this concept and the lower part consists of heave plates. However, for wind turbine, pitching motion is more important than heaving. The authors changed this part to four vertical damping plates to reduce this motion. The effect of the central gap and holes in the damping plates were investigated because these parameters have effects on flow separation and hydrodynamic forces. The motions in waves of the new spars were compared with a classic spar of the same dimensions and stability. The proposed vertical damping plates, with central gap or holes, work to reduce the pitching motion in wide range of wave frequency. Considering the expected cost reduction and some motion reduction, the promising nature of the proposed spar revealed.

Dynamic Analysis of a Truss Spar-Type Floating Foundation for 5 MW Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine

This paper studies the dynamic characteristic of the truss Spar-type floating foundation used to support the offshore vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT). The effects of changes in foundation structural parameters on its motions were evaluated. The results show that radius of the buoyancy tank, radius of the upper mechanical tank, interval of the center of gravity and center of buoyancy, and height of the upper mechanical tank have important effects on the heave and pitch motions of the foundation. Two sets of foundation parameters (FS-1 and FS-2) were selected to support the 5 MW Darrieus wind turbine. The motion performances of the two floating VAWTs, S-1 (the VAWT supported by FS-1) and S-2 (the VAWT supported by FS-2), were analyzed and compared. It was observed that the amplitudes of the heave and pitch motions of the floating VAWT depend on the wave loads; the mean values of the heave and pitch motions depend on the aerodynamic loads. The floating VAWT S-2 had better motion performance; its heave and pitch motions were all small. The heave frequencies of the floating VAWT were equal to the wave frequencies. For the pitch frequencies, there is a component of the rotor rotational frequency (0.175 Hz) for cases LC1 to LC4, while the amplitudes of the twice-per-revolution (2P) response are far smaller than the amplitudes of the wave response.

Motion Performances of a 5 MW VAWT Supported by Spar Floating Foundation With Heave Plates

The VAWT (vertical axis wind turbine) has advantages in the development of large-scale offshore wind power. This paper presents a motion study of a 5 MW floating VAWT composed of the Φ type Darrieus wind turbine and a truss spar floating foundation with heave plates. The surge, heave and pitch motion equations considering the effects of retardation function of the floating VAWT were established and solved numerically. Several load cases were carried out to analyze the motion performances of the floating VAWT. The results show that the wind forces have minimal influence on the heave motions of the floating VAWT, while they obviously increase its surge and pitch mean displacements. For LC3, the surge, heave and pitch frequencies of the floating VAWT are dominated by the wave frequencies, and the 2P (twice-per-revolution) response of pitch motions is not significant. For LC4, the 2P response of pitch motions of the floating VAWT are more significant than LC4.