COUPLED NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF FLOATING OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE PLATFORMS: INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS OF WAVE AND WIND LOADING USING A HIGH-FIDELITY SPH-BASED MODEL

In order to enhance the overall comprehension of floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) performance, a detailed investigation into the dynamic response of a commonly used floater type, namely the tension-leg platform tension-leg platform (TLP), has been undertaken. The objective is to utilize high-fidelity numerical tools to analyze and characterize the expected forces in the anchoring systems resulting from combined actions of sea waves and wind. To capture the coupled effects of waves and wind, a reliable dataset is generated through a high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics tool. This tool is essential to capturing the nonlinearities inherent in the interaction between waves and low surge-stiffness platforms, such as the TLP being studied here. The outcomes of this study, presented as a survivor analysis, aim to provide insight into the characteristic values that arise from various load combinations in the mooring system, considering the specific environmental conditions at the site. Given the challenging nature faced by FOWTs, the analysis will primarily focus on extreme loading cases, accounting for the global motions induced by wind thrust when the turbine is in survival mode (i.e., parked conditions).