Rational selection of floater designs for offshore wind farms using power transfer functions

Copyright 2016 by the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE). Rational design of floating offshore wind turbines requires a trade-off between very stiff structures that support the nacelle in a near-vertical orientation versus less expensive floaters that allow larger angular displacements; the stiffer structures generally cost more but enable greater energy harvest. A computationally friendly method based on power transfer functions is presented in which the total power output from specific designs is computed by convoluting power output transfer functions for the floating wind turbine with site-specific long-term environmental conditions. Environmental conditions characterized by each of four proposed sites are four random variables, representing the wind velocity, significant wave height, peak period of the wave process, and the angle between the wind and waves. One step in the overall method is development of modified two-dimensional wind-power curves, which can be used to show the relative importance of consideration of the wave properties on overall energy harvest.

Rational selection of floater designs for offshore wind farms using power transfer functions Conference Paper