Nonlinear Wave Loads on Offshore Wind Turbines: Extreme Statistics and Fatigue

The development is presented of an analytical model for the prediction of the stochastic nonlinear wave loads on the support structure of bottom mounted and floating offshore wind turbines. Explicit expressions are derived for the time-domain and frequency-domain nonlinear exciting forces in a seastate with significant wave height comparable to the diameter of the support structure based on the fluid impulse theory. The higher order moments of the nonlinear load are evaluated from simulated force records and the derivation of analytical expressions for the nonlinear load statistics for their efficient use in design is addressed.

Effect of Coal Loading Conditions on Structural Characteristics of LFTS

Indonesia is a main country supplying coal in the Asia-Pacific region, it is important to ensure a stable coal supply to Japan. Because the topography of the seabed near East Kalimantan Island, Indonesia’s main coal production area, is shallow, it is difficult for bulk carriers to reach the coast. Therefore, Large-Scale Floating Coal Transshipment Station (LFTS) was proposed, which will be used as a relay base between coal-barging barges from land and bulk carriers offshore. Installing an LFTS offshore from East Kalimantan is expected to improve coal transport productivity. LFTS can store coal equivalent to five times the capacity of one bulk carrier (total 500,000T), and can accommodate 2 bulk carriers at the same time during offloading. The scale of LFTS is 590m × 160m. The LFTS has a flat spread and the elastic behavior becomes the dominant Structure. The upper part of the LFTS is different rigidity partly because the partition wall to be loaded by dividing the coal into each quality is provided. Loaded coal not only changes the draft of the LFTS but also greatly deforms the LFTS and is expected to cause local stress concentration on the structural members. Therefore, this paper investigates wave response characteristics and stress characteristics with the coal loading of the LFTS, and then evaluation of structural strength by limit state design method. In this study, linear potential theory and the finite element method (FEM) were used to analyze the static hydroelastic motion under various coal loading condition and wave response of LFTS. And, to grasp the local stress concentration occurring inside the LFTS by using the response results, a detailed model modeling a complicated internal structure was prepared. Zooming analysis which is a method of giving the deformation result by the whole model of LFTS as forced displacement to the local detailed model was carried out. As a result, depending on the coal loading condition and wave conditions, it became clear that LFTS will be in a tough situation.

The Analysis of the Joint Limitation Condition of Wave Height-Period on the Floating Crane Lifting Operation

Considering the influence of wave period on the motion of ship, the hydrodynamic model of the floating crane-lifting objects coupling system is built. This model can calculate the motion response of floating crane and lifting object under wave conditions with different wave heights and periods. And it takes stability and sea-keeping of ship, personnel comfort as well as safety of equipment into full account. By comparing swing amplitude and acceleration amplitude of the floating crane and the lifting object, the limit working condition including both wave height and period for hoisting operation of the floating crane is determined. The method for limitation operation condition analysis of the floating crane not only offers calculating foundation for the construction operating adaptability of the engineering ship and the allowable working time window of the construction sea area, but also provides a new technical approach to the arrangement for the construction plan.

Force Measurements and Stationarity Analysis on the Flow Around a Single Square Column With Rounded Edges

Studies about the flow around single column are the preliminary way to understand the behaviour of multi-column systems, e.g. semi-submersible platforms and floating offshore wind turbines. The presence of a rounded edge in a square column can include advantages in the constructive phases, on the other hand, can include difficulty in understanding the hydrodynamic behaviour. With this aim this paper presents a 2dof force measurement for a fixed single square column with and without rounded edges. The columns tested have the aspect ratio (H/L) equal to 1.5 representing the typical column height for multi-column platforms. The aim is to investigate the forces between a single square column with rounded edges and sharp edges in different flow incidence. For both edges a total of seven different current incidence angles were performed; 0, 7.5, 15, 22.5, 30, 37.5 and 45. Reynolds number used for the experiment is equal to 40,000. Additional tests were performed to evaluate a quantitative analysis of the uncertainties due to the repeatability and time length of the experiments. This procedure is necessary for the VV studies of CFD codes, and due to this, the database can be utilized for benchmarking.

Investigation of the 2D Behavior of a Rotating Cylinder in Flow Using the Discrete Vortex Method

The influence of rotation on the behavior of a two-dimensional rotating cylinder in flow was investigated by using the discrete vortex method combined with the 4th order Runge-Kutta method. There are three stages for rotational speed dependence of hydrodynamic force on a fixed rotating cylinder, the stage where lift force increases and drag force decreases, the stage where lift and drag forces increase in proportion to the square of rotation ratio, and the stage where lift and drag forces increase in proportion to rotation ratio. As a fixed rotating cylinder begins to rotate and the rotational speed increases, the vortex train that causes VIV weakens and disappears. When the cylinder is mounted on a spring, the vibration frequency of the spring mounted rotating cylinder becomes lower. This indicates that the added mass of the rotating cylinder is increasing as the rotation ratio increases.

Irregular Frequency Removal and Convergence in Higher-Order BEM for Wave Diffraction/Radiation Analysis

Higher-order boundary element method (HOBEM) for wave diffraction/radiation analysis is a powerful tool for its applicability to a general (curved) geometry. Inspired by the paper which examined the convergence of BIE code with constant panels (Martic, et al., 2018; OMAE2018-77999), the convergence characteristics of HOBEM with quadrilateral panels have been examined. Here, the effect of removal of irregular frequencies is particularly focused as discussed by Martic, et al. (2018). The irregular frequency removal has been made by the rigid-lid method which is applicable to HOBEM, where the intersection line between the body-surface and the free-surface should be carefully handled. The results show that for first order quantities the convergence is quite good for both cases with/without irregular frequency removal (except where the irregular frequencies affect for the case without irregular frequency removal). For mean drift forces, the convergence becomes poor particularly for the case without irregular frequency removal. The convergence characteristics are examined and some discussions are made.

Development of 3-Dimensional Fully Nonlinear Potential Flow Planar Wave Tank in Framework of OpenFOAM

A 3-Dimensional numerical wave tank based on the fully nonlinear potential flow theory has been developed in OpenFOAM, where the Laplace equation of velocity potential is discretized by Finite Volume Method. The water surface is tracked by the semi-Eulerian-Lagrangian method, where water particles on the free surface are allowed to move vertically only. The incident wave is generated by specifying velocity profiles at inlet boundary with a ramp function at the beginning of simulation to prevent initial transient disturbance. Additionally, an artificial damping zone is located at the end of wave tank to sufficiently absorb the outgoing waves before reaching downstream boundary. A five-point smoothing technique is applied at the free surface to eliminate the saw-tooth instability. The proposed wave model is validated against theoretical results and experimental data. The developed solver could be coupled with multiphase Navier-Stokes solvers in OpenFOAM in the future to establish an integrated versatile numerical wave tank for studying efficiently wave structure interaction problems.

Weathervane Performance and Stability of Single Point Moored FOWTs Under Wind-Current Coexisting Field

The objective of this study is to understand the weathervane performance and stability of FOWTs moored to SPM systems under wind and current coexisting field. Two types of FOWT systems, a semi-submersible and a spar (1/200 scale) are designed and manufactured based on Froude’s scaling law. A series of scaled model experiments are conducted and compared during wind-current coexisting field in a circulating water tank at Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, Japan. Weathervane performance is evaluated under various conditions of wind and current. It is found during experiments that the weathervane performance of the SPM-FOWT systems is acceptable in rated wind and slow current condition. However, in the rated wind and high speed current condition, the weathervane performance is found to be not acceptable and unstable oscillation is observed. A numerical program is also developed to understand the behavior using the maneuvering equations. Further, attempts are made to understand the stability of SPM-FOWT systems based on Eigenvalue analysis.

Design Methodology and Development of an Independently Rotating Multi-Hull Vessel

Aquaculture farms play a vital role for food security in Japan. The cultivation potential is directly related to the quality of the marine environment. Water quality parameters such as dissolved oxygen and temperature need to be measured and monitored regularly throughout the cultivation period. Energy efficiency and ease of navigation are the prime requirements for environmental survey vessels. In this paper, a new and novel automated vessel is introduced and design methodology is explained. Multi-hull innovative vessel is named as ‘Quadmaran’ and developed particularly for carrying out environmental surveys. The vessel consists of four hulls each capable of rotating independently thereby leading to better sailing performance and excellent stability. It is equipped with devices to measure quality parameters at various water depths and includes a dynamic positioning system aiding for the environment data collection. The basic design criteria of the Quadmaran is derived and understood in this study. Scaled model (1/3 scale) is fabricated for tank tests and resistance tests are carried out in a circulating water tank at Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, Japan. With the knowledge gained from tank tests, multi-hull phenomenon of the Quadmaran is studied and interaction between the hulls is investigated. It is found that wave interference due to hull orientation becomes significant for Froude number greater than 0.5 and resistance of Quadmaran is found to be less than two times the twin hull resistance for same water draft. Further, an attempt is made to understand how the configuration arrangement affects the resistance of the vessel.

Numerical Investigation on the Rogue Wave Occurrence in Crossing Wave Fields

A series of directly numerical simulations of potential Euler equation have been performed using high-order spectral (HOS) method, to investigate the nonlinear wave statistics and the probability of rogue wave occurrence in crossing sea states. Several typical crossing sea states in deep water with different wave steepness are chosen for the computations. The ensemble statistical properties for those crossing waves are measured, including the temporal evolution of directional and omnidirectional wave spectra, exceedance probability of wave crest amplitude, as well as the kurtosis and skewness of free surface elevations. Particular attention is paid to the correlation between kurtosis and rogue wave occurrence. Our numerical results suggest that the global wave steepness plays a significant role in the statistical properties of crossing seas. Results also show the dependence of rogue wave occurrence probability on the kurtosis of free surface elevations.