Performance Optimization of Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Under Extreme Turbulent Winds Using Dual Circular Heave-Plate Design

Abstract

This study investigates the performance improvement of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) equipped with dual circular heave plates under extreme turbulent wind conditions. The focus is on optimizing the vertical spacing between the plates to reduce platform dynamic responses. Existing research mainly considers fixed plate spacings and has not fully addressed the adaptability of heave-plate configurations to varying sea states or developed systematic optimization strategies. To fill this gap, a numerical simulation framework combined with free-decay tests is applied to evaluate natural periods, damping ratios, response amplitudes, and the optimal spacing for extreme conditions. Results show that the spacing between the dual circular heave plates strongly affects both heave and pitch modes. A 0.5H spacing exhibits superior motion suppression under irregular waves, whereas a 0.75H spacing effectively avoids resonance between heave and pitch modes under turbulent winds, resulting in more stable loading and moderate tower-base bending moments. These findings provide practical guidance for the design of dual circular heave plates and contribute to enhancing FOWT stability under complex marine conditions.

Keywords

Floating offshore wind turbine / Dual circular heave plates / Extreme turbulent wind / Platform dynamic response / Optimal spacing

References

[1] Bai H, Zhang M, Yuan W, Xu K. Conceptual design, parameter optimization and performance investigation of a 10 MW semi-submersible floating wind turbine in shallow water. Ocean Engineering, 2023, 281: 114895

[2] Barooni M, Ashuri T, Velioglu Sogut D, Wood S, Ghaderpour Taleghani S. Floating offshore wind turbines: Current status and future prospects. Energies, 2022, 16(1): 2

[3] Chen P, Cheng Z, Deng S, Hu Z, Moan T. A frequency domain method for fully coupled modelling and dynamic analysis of floating wind turbines. Marine Structures, 2025, 99: 103715

[4] Commission IE. IEC 61400-3: Wind turbines - part 3: Design requirements for offshore wind turbines, 2009,

[5] Cooperman A, Hall M, Housner S, Hein C, Duffy P, Mulas Hernando D, Carmo L, Moreno F, Musial W. Investigation of the challenges of offshore wind in ultradeep water, 2024, Golden, United States. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) NREL/TP-5000-90849

[6] Falcão JP, de Brito JL, Avila SM, de Morais MV. Passive control by inverted pendulum of a floating offshore wind turbine. International Journal of Structural Stability and Dynamics, 2023, 23(9): 2350101

[7] Fontanella A, Bayati I, Taruffi F, Facchinetti A, Belloli M. Numerical and experimental wind tunnel analysis of aerodynamic effects on a semi-submersible floating wind turbine response. International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, 2019, 58899: V010T09A057

[8] Gonçalves RT, Malta EB, Simos AN, Hirabayashi S, Suzuki H. Influence of heave plate on the flow-induced motions of a floating offshore wind turbine. Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, 2023, 145(3): 032001

[9] Hegde P, Nallayarasu S. Hydrodynamic response of buoy form spar with heave plate near the free surface validated with experiments. Ocean Engineering, 2023, 269: 113580

[10] Jonkman JM. Dynamics of offshore floating wind turbines—model development and verification. Wind Energy: An International Journal for Progress and Applications in Wind Power Conversion Technology, 2009, 12(5): 459-492

[11] Jonkman J, Butterfield S, Musial W, Scott G. Definition of a 5 MW reference wind turbine for offshore system development, 2009, Golden, United States. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) NREL/TP-500-38060

[12] Jonkman JM, Hayman GJ, Jonkman BJ, Damiani RR, Murray RE. AeroDyn v15 user’s guide and theory manual, 2016,

[13] Jonkman JM, Matha D. Dynamics of offshore floating wind turbines—analysis of three concepts. Wind Energy, 2011, 14(4): 557-569

[14] Jonkman JM, Robertson AN, Hayman GJ. HydroDyn user’s guide and theory manual, 2014, 610

[15] Li H, Zheng J, Zhang J, Peng W, Peng J. Numerical investigation on dynamic responses of a semi-submersible wind turbine with different types of heave plates. Ocean Engineering, 2024, 310: 118650

[16] Medina-Manuel A, Botia-Vera E, Saettone S, Calderon-Sanchez J, Bulian G, Souto-Iglesias A. Hydrodynamic coefficients from forced and decay heave motion tests of a scaled model of a column of a floating wind turbine equipped with a heave plate. Ocean Engineering, 2022, 252: 110985

[17] Niosi F, Castellano A, Cammalleri M, Mattiazzo G. FOWT modeling and validation in extreme conditions. International Workshop IFToMM for Sustainable Development Goals, 2025, Cham. Springer Nature Switzerland: 321-329

[18] Piscopo V, Scamardella A. Comparative study among nonredundant and redundant stationkeeping systems for floating offshore wind turbines on intermediate water depth. Ocean Engineering, 2021, 241: 110047

[19] Rao MJ, Nallayarasu S, Bhattacharyya SK. CFD approach to heave damping of spar with heave plates with experimental validation. Applied Ocean Research, 2021, 108: 102517

[20] Reddy LR, Karystinou D, Milano D, Walker J, Viré A. Influence of wind-wave characteristics on floating wind turbine loads: A sensitivity analysis across different floating concepts. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2024, 2767(6): 062030

[21] Robertson A, Jonkman J, Masciola M, Song H, Goupee A, Coulling A, Luan C. Definition of the semisubmersible floating system for phase II of OC4, 2014, Golden, United States. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)NREL/TP-5000-60601

[22] Sun HB, Yang SQ, Xu YF, Xiao JF. Prediction of the pitch and heave motions in regular waves of the DTMB 5415 ship using CFD and MMG. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 2022, 10(10): 1358

[23] Tao L, Molin B, Scolan YM, Thiagarajan K. Spacing effects on hydrodynamics of heave plates on offshore structures. Journal of Fluids and Structures, 2007, 23(8): 1119-1136

[24] Tian X, Tao L, Li X, Yang J. Hydrodynamic coefficients of oscillating flat plates at 0.15 ⩽ KC ⩽ 3.15. Journal of Marine Science and Technology, 2017, 22(1): 101-113

[25] Wang Y, Guo Y, Xia X, Zhuang N. Impact of various coupled motions on the aerodynamic performance of a floating offshore wind turbine within the wind-rain field. Journal of Marine Science and Application, 2025, 24(2): 370-387

[26] Xie S, Jiang S, He J, Zhang C. Parametric modeling and correlation analysis of the substructure design variables for a single-column floating offshore wind turbine. International Journal of Structural Stability and Dynamics, 2024, 24(3): 2450030

[27] Yang C, Chen P, Cheng Z, Xiao L, Chen J, Liu L. Aerodynamic damping of a semi-submersible floating wind turbine: An analytical, numerical and experimental study. Ocean Engineering, 2023, 281: 114826

[28] Yang R, Zheng X, Chen J, Wu Y. Current status and future trends for mooring systems of floating offshore wind turbines. Sustainable Marine Structures, 2022, 4(2): 40-54

[29] Yao Y, Mayon R, Zhou Y, Zhu Y, Ning D. Integrated system of semi-submersible offshore wind turbine foundation and porous shells. Journal of Marine Science and Application, 2024, 23(2): 491-505

[30] Zhang L, Shi W, Zeng Y, Michailides C, Zheng S, Li Y. Experimental investigation on the hydrodynamic effects of heave plates used in floating offshore wind turbines. Ocean Engineering, 2023, 267: 113103

[31] Zhang S, Ishihara T. Numerical study of hydrodynamic coefficients of multiple heave plates by large eddy simulations with volume of fluid method. Ocean Engineering, 2018, 163: 583-598

[32] Zhou B, Zhang Z, Li G, Yang D, Santos M. Review of key technologies for offshore floating wind power generation. Energies, 2023, 16(2): 710

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Harbin Engineering University and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature