In this study, a bottom-fixed offshore wind turbine was adapted into a floating offshore wind turbine by designing a substructure based on an upscaling methodology and applying a catenary mooring system suitable for the 150 m water depth conditions in...
In this study, a bottom-fixed offshore wind turbine was adapted into a floating offshore wind turbine by designing a substructure based on an upscaling methodology and applying a catenary mooring system suitable for the 150 m water depth conditions in the southeastern sea of the Korean Peninsula.
ERA5 reanalysis data were used to analyze 10 year averaged wind conditions, characterizing the wind climate of the seas surrounding the Korean Peninsula and providing fundamental environmental data for floating offshore wind turbine applications.
Subsequently, various Design Load Cases(DLCs) specified in the IEC 61400-1/3 standards were simulated to analyze the system loads and dynamic responses under both power production and parked conditions. The stability assessment focused on key performance indicators governing the dynamic behavior of the floating wind turbine, including nacelle acceleration, platform pitch angle, horizontal platform offset, and mooring line tension at the fairlead.
The analysis results indicate that the dynamic responses under both operational and extreme environmental conditions satisfy the prescribed design criteria. The platform pitch angle and horizontal offset remain within acceptable limits, while the mooring line tension remains below the allowable threshold when a safety factor of 2 is applied. These findings demonstrate that the proposed substructure and mooring configuration operate stably across a wide range of environmental conditions.
This study provides a comprehensive design procedure and verification framework for extending a fixed offshore wind turbine to a floating offshore wind turbine. The proposed platform and mooring system provide baseline data for future studies on the tower optimization, substructure lightweighting, cost reduction strategies, and further investigations involving alternative platform geometries or mooring system enhancements. Moreover, the analysis framework established herein is expected to contribute as a practical baseline for floating offshore wind turbine design and performance evaluation under marine conditions around the Korean Peninsula.