Toolbox created for efficient towing of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines
Published: 2025
Publication Name: Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering
Publication URL: https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4069095
Abstract:
The floating offshore wind industry is poised for growth with advancing technologies and expanding commercial projects. Towing is a key marine operation in offshore wind, where safety and efficiency depend on selecting a suitable tug, tow speed, and predicting towline tensions in a variety of sea states. Accurate tension predictions aid in efficient towing system design, while site-specific weather analysis is crucial for planning and safety. The present paper describes a methodology for towing dynamics predictions and is implemented into a toolbox for planning future operations. The proposed methodology is able to (a) estimate the bollard pull requirements and static towing forces crucial for planning a tow operation; (b) predict the mean and dynamic towline tensions in a given sea state; and (c) integrate a weather window analysis to determine operational statistics. Three separate analyses are presented. In the first analysis, the towline tension estimates from the toolbox are validated against measured tension data from the University of Maine’s VolturnUS 1:8 deployment. In the second, a parametric study is performed using the toolbox and presented for a 6 MW FOWT. In the third, an operability analysis is presented for a Gulf of Maine lease area where two methods are used to calculate weather windows. The results of the study show the toolbox was able to closely predict the measured static and dynamic towline tensions. The weather window analysis shows the capabilities of the toolbox for performing weather window calculations using the results of the physics based calculations.