Improving stability and fatigue life evaluation of floating offshore wind turbines
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https://doi.org/10.15625/0866-7136/23355Keywords:
floating offshore wind turbine, hydrodynamic response, fatigue life, stress concentration factorAbstract
Offshore platforms serve various functions, including oil and gas production, renewable energy generation, navigation, and ship loading and unloading. Among these, the stability and fatigue life of Floating Offshore Wind Turbine (FOWT) platforms are critical for efficiency, safety, and long-term performance. With the increasing focus on renewable energy, there is a growing need for robust structural designs that can effectively fulfill these functions. This study introduces a semi-submersible platform with a small-diameter float design aimed at enhancing system stability while evaluating its fatigue performance under various operational conditions. A comprehensive frequency-domain response analysis was conducted, comparing the proposed platform with the OC4-DeepCwind model developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), USA. The results demonstrated superior hydrodynamic performance, improved resonance avoidance, reduced Response Amplitude Operators (RAOs), and enhanced stability by mitigating wave-induced instabilities. Additionally, the fatigue life of critical structural components, specifically the pontoons and cross braces, was evaluated using Finite Element Analysis (FEA), considering wind, wave, current, and operational loads. Stress Concentration Factors (SCFs) were determined for three load cases, revealing that the highest SCF occurred in the cross-bracing components. This member was then subjected to cyclic loading to assess its fatigue life based on peak stress values. The findings offer valuable insights into optimizing floating wind turbine structures by enhancing stability, reducing fatigue damage, and improving overall structural reliability.
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