Stochastic Analysis of Short-Term Structural Responses and Fatigue Damages of A Submerged Tension Leg Platform Wind Turbine in Wind and Waves

In connection with the design of floating wind turbines, stochastic dynamic analysis is a critical task considering nonlinear wind and wave forces. To study the random structural responses of a newly designed submerged tension leg platform (STLP) wind turbine, a set of dynamic simulations and comparison analysis with the MIT/NREL TLP wind turbine are carried out. The signal filter method is used to evaluate the mean and standard deviations of the structural response. Furthermore, the extreme responses are estimated by using the mean upcrossing rate method. The fatigue damages for blade root, tower, and mooring line are also studied according to the simulated time-series. The results and comparison analysis show that the STLP gives small surge and pitch motions and mooring line tensions in operational sea states due to the small water-plane area. Additionally, in severe sea states, the STLP gives lower extreme values of platform pitch, slightly larger surge and heave motions and better towerbase and mooring line fatigue performances than those of the MIT/NREL TLP. It is found that the STLP wind turbine has good performances in structural responses and could be a potential type for exploiting the wind resources located in deep waters.