Numerical Investigation into the Dynamic Responses of Floating Photovoltaic Platform and Mooring Line Structures under Freak Waves

Floating photovoltaics (PVs) are progressively constructed in the ocean sea; therefore, the effect that freak waves have on their structural design needs to be considered. This paper developed a dedicated numerical model coupling the floating PV platform and mooring line structures to investigate their dynamic responses under freak waves. A feasible superposition approach is presented to generate freak wave sequences via the combination of transient waves and random waves. A large floating PV platform moored by twenty lines for a water depth of 45 m was designed in detail according to the actually measured ocean environmental and geological conditions. The global time domain analyses of the floating PV mooring structures were implemented to obtain dynamic responses, including PV platform motions and the mooring line configuration and tension under freak waves. A comparison of the response results with those caused by random waves was conducted to illustrate the intuitive evidence of the freak wave effects, which offer a significant reference for the preliminary design of the floating PV platform and mooring line structures.