Implementation of Substructure Flexibility and Member-Level Load Capabilities for Floating Offshore Wind Turbines in OpenFAST [report]

Emmanuel Branlard, Matthew Hall, Andrew Platt, Amy Robertson, Greg Hayman, Jason Jonkman
2020 unpublished
OpenFAST is an open-source, physics-based engineering tool applicable to the load analysis of land-based and offshore wind turbines, including floating offshore wind turbines. The substructure for a floating wind turbine has historically been modeled in OpenFAST as a rigid body with hydrodynamic loads lumped at a point, which enabled the tool to predict the global response of the floating substructure but not the structural loads within its individual members. This limitation is an impediment
more » ... designing floating substructures-especially newer designs that are more streamlined, flexible, and cost-effective. This report presents the development of new functionality in OpenFAST to model floating substructure flexibility and member-level loads, as well as the concepts and mathematical background needed to understand and apply it correctly. vi
doi:10.2172/1665796 fatcat:22tnet6ayfefpgrveld3sr2my4