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Role of mini tension leg platforms (TLP) in oil exploration and production in marginal deepwater fields is becoming increasingly important. Mini TLP combines the simplicity of a spar and favorable response features of a TLP. In this paper, the results of a detailed experimental and numerical investigation of the coupled dynamic behavior of a mini TLP are reported with special attention to hull-tether coupling. The experimental study has been carried out using a scaled model in wave flume with specially designed tethers whose first two “string” natural frequencies are excited by waves, thus achieving strong hull-tether coupling. The numerical study has been carried out using a nonlinear time domain finite element method specifically addressed to compliant offshore platforms using a combination of potential theory based wave loading and Morison-type wave loading. Extensive comparisons between numerical and experimental results have been made both for platform motions and deflected shapes of the tethers and conclusions drawn.

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Demand for renewable energy sources is rapidly increasing since they are able to replace depleting fossil fuels and their capacity to act as a carbon neutral energy source. A substantial amount of such clean, renewable and reliable energy potential exists in offshore winds. The major engineering challenge in establishing an offshore wind energy facility is the design of a reliable and financially viable offshore support for the wind turbine tower. An economically feasible support for an offshore wind turbine is a compliant platform since it moves with wave forces and offer less resistance to them. Amongst the several compliant type offshore structures, articulated type is an innovative one. It is flexibly linked to the seafloor and can move along with the waves and restoring is achieved by large buoyancy force. This study focuses on the experimental investigations on the dynamic response of a three-legged articulated structure supporting a 5MW wind turbine. The experimental investigations are done on a 1: 60 scaled model in a 4m wide wave flume at the Department of Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. The tests were conducted for regular waves of various wave periods and wave heights and for various orientations of the platform. The dynamic responses are presented in the form of Response Amplitude Operators (RAO). The study results revealed that the proposed articulated structure is technically feasible in supporting an offshore wind turbine because the natural frequencies are away from ocean wave frequencies and the RAOs obtained are relatively small.