Evaluation of Natural Period of Offshore Tension Leg Platform Wind Turbine Experimental Studies

TLDR: In this paper, a tension leg platform to support wind turbine of 5 MW capacity is designed and a 1:100 scaled model is fabricated, and free oscillation studies have been performed in surge, sway, heave, roll, pitch and yaw degrees of freedom.

Abstract: Offshore wind energy is being extracted by wind turbines installed on offshore supporting structures. Jackets and other fixed structures are proposed to support wind turbines at shallow water depths. Tension leg platforms, spars and semi-submersibles are other alternative supporting structures used in deep and ultra water depths as they can be used in the establishment of wind farms. Tension leg platform to support wind turbine of 5 MW capacity is designed in the present study. The hydrostatic stability analysis has been performed to ensure safety in the installation of tension leg platform wind turbine (TLPWT). Froude scaling law is used to derive the mass and stiffness properties of the model in relation with the prototype. A 1:100 scaled model is fabricated, and free oscillation studies have been performed in surge, sway, heave, roll, pitch and yaw degrees of freedom. The natural periods in different degrees of freedom for the designed TLPWT model and prototype are reported.