Model test of a dual-spar floating wind farm in regular waves

Abstract

A floating wind farm with shared moorings has the potential to reduce capital expenditure but may face structural dynamics issues. We selected a prototype wind farm that consists of two spar floating wind turbines with shared moorings and carried out model tests with a scale factor of 1:47. Rigid-body motions of one spar and mooring line tensions were measured. In this paper, the test setup is described, and results from the decay and regular-wave tests are discussed. In regular waves, the spar motions in surge, heave, and pitch are dominated by wave frequencies and the extreme motion ranges are acceptable. Compared with the baseline, the clump weight affects the mean position of platform motion; it also reduces the dynamic tension of the shared line but causes higher mean and maximum tension in the single lines. This paper contributes to an improved understanding of complex floating systems in offshore environments.