Adaptive dynamic positioning control of an offshore wind turbine installation vessel subjected to thruster dynamics and input constraints

This paper suggests an adaptive positioning control method for a DP-equipped offshore wind turbine installation vessel. The method combines a finite-time disturbance observer (FTDO) with adaptive command filtered backstepping (CFB) to handle issues related to thruster dynamics, input saturation, model parameter uncertainties, and unknown environmental disturbances. By analyzing the environmental loads acting on the pile legs, a mathematical model for the installation vessel is established. To counteract the unknown disturbance actively, a FTDO is utilized. Additionally, an auxiliary dynamic system (ADS) is used to mitigate the thruster input saturation issue. Then an adaptive positioning controller is designed based on the FTDO and ADS, and Lyapunov stability theory is used to prove that all signals in the control system remain uniformly ultimately bounded. Numerical simulations are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control approaches. •Established mathematical model for the offshore wind turbine installation vessel.•Finite-time disturbance observer estimates compound disturbances during pile driving operations.•Design dynamic positioning controller using the command filtering backstepping method.•An offshore wind turbine installation vessel example is presented to display the reasonability of the developed theory.