Performance assessment of a tether component installed on elastic mooring lines for floating wave energy converters
Journal
Developments in Renewable Energies Offshore - Proceedings the 4th International Conference on Renewable Energies Offshore, RENEW 2020
Pages
681-689
Date Issued
2021
Author(s)
Abstract
Mooring system is important for floating Wave Energy Converters (WECs), as the moorings directly influence the device’s operation and economy. Among the various mooring systems, the use of tether components, which are advantageous over traditional mooring fibre ropes and exhibit viscoelastic stiffness and load-path dependence, has been proposed. This study investigates different mooring systems and compares them with regard to the dynamics of floating WEC systems. The study incorporates a numerical model of a tether component into three elastic mooring configurations to investigate under which conditions the inclusion of tethers is beneficial for WEC systems. The inclusion of tethers can increase the heave motion of the WEC by approximately 10% and decrease the force responses (maximum tension and force range) in the mooring lines by 45% for all three mooring configurations. Thus, more energy can be produced by the WEC while increasing the fatigue life of the mooring lines. ? 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, London.
Subjects
Mooring cables
Tetherlines
Wave energy conversion
Converter system
Fiber ropes
Floating wave energy converters
Load paths
Mooring line
Mooring system
Path dependence
Performance assessment
Viscoelastics
Wave energy converters
Mooring
Type
conference paper