Comparison of different fidelity hydrodynamic-aerodynamic coupled simulation code on the 10 MW semi-submersible type floating offshore wind turbine

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze and examine the precision of a middle-fidelity simulation tool by performing load analysis using CFD and middle-fidelity analysis tools. The analysis was performed on a fully coupled system including turbine, platform, and mooring system under the severe operating state. Grid sensitivity tests were performed on the turbine and floater to increase the precision of CFD results. The results showed that the mid-fidelity analysis tool had a high error rate in surge and pitch load responses due to failure in considering the current load caused by wind. Moreover, potential flow-based analysis tools can be less accurate for complex-shaped structures such as the rectangular pontoon used in this study. To determine the extent to which the viscosity effect, dependent on the wet body shape, affects the accuracy of the results, this study compared the accuracy of potential flow-based analysis tools and CFD. This study contributes to the development of research in this field by providing new insights and undiscovered results for analyzing a FOWT with an unstructured shape.