Dynamic analysis of a Floating Offshore Wind Turbine under extreme environmental conditions

This paper is concerned with the development of a Floating Offshore Wind Turbine (FOWT) utilizing spar-type floating foundation. In order to design such a structure, it is essential to evaluate the dynamic response under extreme environmental conditions. In this study, therefore, a dynamic analysis tool has been developed. The dynamic analysis tool consists of a multi-body dynamics solver (MSC.Adams), aerodynamic force evaluation library (NREL/AeroDyn), hydrodynamic force evaluation library (In-house program named SparDyn), and mooring force evaluation library (In-house program named Moorsys). In this paper, some details of the developed dynamic analysis tool are given. In order to validate the program, comparison with the experimental results, where the wind, current and wave are applied simultaneously, has been made. The comparison shows that satisfactory agreements between the simulation and the experimental results are obtained. However, when VIM (Vortex Induced Motion) occurs, the current loads and cross flow responses (sway and roll) are underestimated by the simulation since the simulation code does not account for the effect of VIM.Copyright © 2012 by ASME