Experimental and Numerical Study of a Wet-Towing System for Multi-Bucket Jacket Wind Turbines Considering Air Compressibility in Suction Caissons

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Description

Offshore wind energy is widely regarded as a promising solution for achieving global net-zero emissions, with wind turbine installations progressively expanding into far-offshore regions. The jacket foundation with multiple suction buckets has emerged as a feasible option for deep-water applications due to its ease of installation and retrieval. To reduce offshore transportation costs, this paper studies a novel wet-towing approach, in which a supplementary floater is employed to enhance the stability of the foundation during towing. Firstly, a prototype of the towing system and a 1:67.5 scale experimental model are developed. A series of experiments, including free-decay tests, regular wave response tests, and towing tests, are conducted to examine the hydrodynamic behavior of the system. Then, a numerical model is established to integrate seakeeping and maneuvering theories and incorporate the effects of air compressibility within the caissons to simulate the dynamic response of the towing system under various sea conditions. To improve model fidelity, linear and nonlinear damping coefficients are estimated based on experimental data. Numerical results show good agreement with experimental observations in most cases. The results further indicate that the presence of compressible air in the caissons increases the natural periods in heave and pitch by approximately 3.5 %, while the heave damping is reduced by 16 % and the pitch damping is increased by 25 %. Finally, the performance of the towing system is evaluated under a circular route, accounting for realistic met-ocean conditions.

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Details 詳細情報について

  • CRID
    1050867611172324864
  • NII Book ID
    AA11535446
  • ISSN
    18735258
    00298018
  • HANDLE
    2324/7362163
  • Text Lang
    en
  • Article Type
    journal article
  • Data Source
    • IRDB

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