Hydrodynamic Response and Tension Leg Failure Performance Analysis of Floating Offshore Wind Turbine with Inclined Tension Legs

Abstract

The tension legs are the essential parts of the tension legs platform-type (TLP-type) floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) against the extra buoyancy of FOWT. Therefore, the TLP-type FOWT will face the risk of tension leg failure. However, there are seldom analyses on the hydrodynamic response and tension leg failure performance of FOWT with inclined tension legs. In this paper, a hydrodynamic model was established using three-dimensional hydrodynamic theory and applied in the motion response and tension analyses of FOWT with conventional and new tension leg arrangements on Moses. The influence of draft and tension leg arrangement on the performance of FOWT with inclined tension legs were studied. The optimum draft was the height of the column and lower tensions were obtained for the new tension leg arrangement. Moreover, the tension leg failure performance of FOWT with inclined tension legs was evaluated under different failure conditions. The results illustrated that the FOWT with the new tension leg arrangement can still operate safely after one tension leg fails.

Experimental study of tendon failure analysis for a TLP floating offshore wind turbine

“…It was found that for an inclined-tensioned TLP FOWT, when two or more tendons fail, there is a risk of collapsing [41][42][43]. The research pointed out that the mooring system should be carefully optimized to sustain the ability to withstand environmental loads under the failure condition.…”