ANALYSIS ON HYDRODYNAMIC RESPONSES OF A SPAR OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE WITH AN INNOVATIVE TYPE OF MOORING SYSTEM

The mooring system is a key component connecting a floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) to the seabed. Generally, the traditional mooring systems mainly control the horizontal motions of the floating platform. However, due to the existence of blades, tower structure and the requirement of power generation efficiency, there is a high requirement on the pitching performance when a platform is used for the floating wind turbine. Therefore, an innovative type of mooring system which could improve the pitch performance of the FOWT is really needed. In this paper, considering the OC3-Hywind Spar floating wind turbine, based on the original type of 3 x 3 mooring system, an innovative type of mooring system which has a better control performance of the pitch of FOWT is designed. Then, the hydrodynamic responses of the floating wind turbine platform are investigated. The influence of two different mooring system types on the hydrodynamic responses of the FOWT are compared and analyzed. The conclusions of this study could serve as a reference for the mooring system design of floating wind turbine systems.