Principal Investigator Paul Sclavounos
Due to the steadier and stronger wind, and the long distance from residential area, the offshore wind farm has been considered as an ideal alternative energy solution. A floating wind turbine system is being considered as a key solution to make this offshore wind farm feasible in economic view point. This research is focusing on an optimal design of the Spar buoy / TLP type floating wind turbines running at a shallow / intermediate water depth. Nacelle acceleration, static and dynamic tensions on catenaries, the maximum tension at the anchors on seafloor are considered as design performances, and a stochastic analysis method has been used to evaluate those quantities based on sea state spectral density functions. The performance at a 100 year hurricane condition is being defined as a limiting case, and a linear wave theory has been the most fundamental theory applied for the present analysis.