• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2017

This paper is concerned with the numerical study on the resonance response of a rigid spar-type floating platform in coupled heave and pitch motion. Spar-type floating platforms, widely used for supporting the offshore structures, offer an economic advantage but those exhibit the dynamically high sensitivity to external excitations due to their shape at the same time. Hence, the investigation of their dynamic responses, particularly at resonance, is prerequisite for the design of spar-type floating platforms which secure the dynamic stability. Spar-type floating platform in 2-D surface wave is assumed to be a rigid body having 2-DOFs, and its coupled dynamic equations are analytically derived using the geometric and kinematic relations. The motion-variance of the metacentric height and the moment of inertia of floating platform are taken into consideration, and the hydrodynamic interaction between the wave and platform motions is reflected into the hydrodynamic force and moment and the frequency-dependent added masses. The coupled nonlinear equations governing the heave and pitch motions are solved by the RK4 method, and the frequency responses are obtained by the digital Fourier transform. Through the numerical experiments to the wave frequency, the resonance responses and the coupling in resonance between heave and pitch motions are investigated in time and frequency domains.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.48-57
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• 2012

This paper deals with numerical analyses in the context of estimations of hydrodynamic motions and dynamic loads for a floating type offshore platform using some exclusive simulation code such as code for the simulation of a floating type of offshore crane based on multi-body dynamics, along with the commercial code AQWA. Verifications of numerical models are carried out by comparing the RAO results from the simulation code. In the verification analyses, hydrodynamic motions are examined in the frequency domain for the floating type offshore platform according to the mooring lines. Both the hydrodynamic motions and dynamic loads are estimated for floating type offshore platforms equipped with the catenary type and taut mooring lines. A review and comparison are carried out for the numerically estimated results. The structural safety of the connection parts in an offshore structure such as a floating type offshore platform is one of the most important design criteria in view of fatigue life. The dynamic loads in the connecting area between a floating type offshore platform and its mooring lines are estimated in detail according to variations in the mechanical properties of the mooring lines. The dynamic tension load on the mooring lines is also estimated.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.22-32
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• 2013

This paper presents the conceptual design procedure for the taut-leg mooring lines of a floating-type combined renewable energy platform. The basic configuration of the platform is determined based on an understanding of floating offshore plants. The main dimensions and mass distribution are determined based on a hydrostatic calculation. To identify the motion history of the floating platform and the tension history of the mooring lines, a hydrodynamic analysis is executed using Ansys.Aqwa. This helps in the selection of the best configuration for the mooring system such as the number of mooring lines, wire types, anchored positions, etc. In addition, the fatigue life of the mooring lines can be predicted from the tension history using the rain-flow cycle counting method.

• Journal of Advanced Research in Ocean Engineering
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.179-191
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• 2016

As the demand for renewable energy has increased following the worldwide agreement to act against global climate change and disaster, large-scale floating offshore wind systems have become a more viable solution. However, the cost of the whole system is still too high for practical realization. To make the cost of a floating wind system be more economical, a new concept of tension leg platform (TLP) type ocean floating wind system has been developed. To verify the performance of a 5-MW TLP type ocean floating wind power system designed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, the FAST simulation developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is used. Further, 1/50 scale model tests have been carried out in the ocean engineering tank of the Research Institute of Medium and Small Shipbuilding, Korea. This paper compares the simulation and ocean engineering tank test results on motion prediction and tension assessment of the TLP anchor.

• International Journal of Ocean System Engineering
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.171-179
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• 2011

This paper presents the concept design procedure of a floating-type combined renewable energy platform based on hydrodynamic analyses and is focused on the fatigue design of taut-type mooring lines of the platform. Two types of combined renewable energy platforms are considered: a combination of wind turbine, wave turbine and photovoltaic energy plant and a combination of wind turbine, current turbine and photovoltaic energy plant. The basic configurations are conceptually determined from the understanding of floating offshore plants, while the main dimensions have been determined based on a hydrostatic calculation. Fully coupled hydrodynamic analyses have been carried out to identify the motion characteristics of the floating body and the tension histories of the mooring lines. The tension history is used for the fatigue life prediction based on the rain-flow cycle counting method. For the fatigue life prediction, tension life curves from API and the Palmgren-Miner rule are employed.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.333-350
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• 2017

Differing from the fixed-type, the dynamic motion of floating-type offshore wind turbines is very sensitive to wind and wave excitations. Thus, the sensing and monitoring of its motion is important to evaluate the dynamic responses to the external excitation. In this context, a monitoring system for sensing and processing the wind-induced dynamic motion of spar-type floating offshore wind turbine is developed in this study. It is developed by integrating a 1/00 scale model of 2.5MW spar-type floating offshore wind turbine, water basin equipped with the wind generator, sensing and data acquisition systems, real-time CompactRIO controller and monitoring program. The scale model with the upper rotatable blades is installed within the basin by means of three mooring lines, and its translational and rotational motions are detected by 3-axis inclinometer and accelerometers and gyroscope. The detected motion signals are processed using a real-time controller CompactRIO to calculate the acceleration and tilting angle of nacelle and the attitude of floating platform. The developed monitoring system is demonstrated and validated by measuring and evaluating the time histories and trajectories of nacelle and platform motions for three different wind velocities and for eight different fairlead positions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.513-521
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• 2018

In this paper, the resonance response of spar-type floating platform in coupled heave and pitch motion is investigated using a CPU time-effective numerical method. A coupled nonlinear 2-DOF equation of motion is derived based on the potential wave theory and the rigid-body hydrodynamics. The transient responses are solved by the fourth-order Runge-Kutta (RK4) method and transformed to the frequency responses by the digital Fourier transform (DFT), and the first-order approximation of heave response is analytically derived. Through the numerical experiments, the theoretical derivation and the numerical formulation are verified from the comparison with the commercial software AQWA. And, the frequencies of resonance arising from the nonlinear coupling between heave and pitch motions are investigated and justified from the comparison with the analytically derived first-order approximation of heave response.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.267-279
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• 2014

Hydrodynamic analyses of classic and truss spar platforms for floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) were performed in the frequency domain, by considering coupling effects of the structure and its mooring system. Based on the Morison equation and Diffraction theory, different wave loads over various frequency ranges and underlying hydrodynamic equations were calculated. Then, Response Amplitude Operators (RAOs) of 6 DOF motions were obtained through the coupled hydrodynamic frequency domain analysis of classic and truss spar-type FOWTs. Truss spar platform had better heave motion performance and less weight than classic spar, while the hydrostatic stability did not show much difference between the two spar platforms.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.6
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• pp.785-794
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• 2017

This paper is concerned with the comparative numerical and experimental study on the natural behavior and the motion responses of a 1/75 moored scale model of a 2.5 MW spar-type floating offshore wind turbine subject to 1-D regular wave. Heave, pitch and surge motions and the mooring tensions are investigated and compared by numerical and experimental methods. The upper part of wind turbine which is composed of three rotor blades, hub and nacelle is modeled as a lumped mass and three mooring lines are pre-tensioned by means of linear springs. The numerical simulations are carried out by a coupled FEM-cable dynamics code, while the experiments are performed in a wave tank equipped with the specially-designed vision and data acquisition system. Using the both methods, the natural behavior and the motion responses in RAOs are compared and parametrically investigated to the fairlead position, the spring constant and the location of mass center of platform. It is confirmed, from the comparison, that both methods show a good agreement for all the test cases. And, it is observed that the mooring tension is influenced by all three parameters but the platform motion is dominated by the location of mass center. In addition, from the sensitivity analysis of RAOs, the coupling characteristic of platform motions and the sensitivities to the mooring parameters are investigated.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.253-265
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• 2014

The platform and floating structure of spar type offshore wind turbine systems should be designed in order for the 6-DOF motions to be minimized, considering diverse loading environments such as the ocean wave, wind, and current conditions. The objective of this study is to optimally design the platform and substructure of a 3MW spar type wind turbine system with the maximum postural stability in 6-DOF motions as well as the minimum material cost. Therefore, design variables of the platform and substructure were first determined and then optimized by a hydrodynamic analysis. For the hydrodynamic analysis, the body weight of the system was considered, and the ocean wave conditions were quantified to the wave forces using the Morison's equation. Moreover, the minimal number of computation analysis models was generated by the Design of Experiments (DOE), and the design variables of the platform and substructure were finally optimized by using a genetic algorithm with a neural network approximation.