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Multi‐rotor floating wind turbines are among the innovative technologies proposed in the last decade in the effort to reduce the cost of wind energy. These systems are able to offer advantages in terms of smaller blades deployed offshore, cheaper operations, fewer installations, and sharing of the floating platform. As the blade‐pitch actuation system is prone to failures, the assessment of the associated load scenarios is commonly required. Load assessment of blade‐pitch fault scenarios has only been performed for single‐rotor solutions. In this work, we address the effect of blade‐pitch system faults and emergency shutdown on the dynamics and loads of a two‐rotor floating wind turbine. The concept considered employs two NREL 5‐MW baseline wind turbines and the OO‐Star semi‐submersible platform. The blade‐pitch faults investigated are blade blockage and runaway, that is, the seizure at a given pitch angle and the uncontrolled actuation of one of the blades, respectively. Blade‐pitch faults lead to a significant increase in the structural loads of the system, especially for runaway fault conditions. Emergency shutdown significantly excites the platform pitch motion, the tower‐bottom bending moment, and tower torsional loads, while suppressing the faulty blade flapwise bending moment after a short peak. Shutdown delay between rotors increases significantly the maxima of the torsional loads acting on the tower. Comparison of blade loads with data from single‐rotor spar‐type study show great similarity, highlighting that the faulty blade loads are not affected by (1) the type of platform used and (2) the multi‐rotor deployment.

This study investigates the sectional loads on an elastic semi-submersible platform for a 2 MW FOWT (floating offshore wind turbine) used in the Fukushima demonstration project. A water tank test is firstly carried out with an elastic model to study the dynamic responses and sectional loads of the platform in regular and irregular waves. Numerical simulations are then performed using multiple hydrodynamic bodies connected by elastic beams. The dynamic responses of the elastic model are compared to those of a rigid model to clarify the influence of the structural stiffness on the platform motion and mooring tension. The predicted sectional loads on the deck, brace and pontoon by the proposed nonlinear hydrodynamic models show good agreement with the experimental data obtained from the water tank test and a simplified formula is proposed to evaluate the distribution of the moments on the platform. Finally, the structural optimization of the elastic semi-submersible platform is conducted. The sectional moments and fatigue loadings on the pontoons are significantly reduced using the strut between the pontoons since the horizontal wave loads on the side column are dominant and the vertical wave loads acting on the platform are relatively small due to the deep draft.

Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) are essential for expanding renewable energy capacity into deep-water regions. However, the deployment of semi-submersible FOWTs faces significant operational and financial hurdles, primarily driven by the high costs and logistical complexity of towing these structures to site. This perspective paper critiques current transportation processes, noting that existing offshore guidelines typically fail to account for the hydrodynamic drag generated by the unique bluff-body geometries of these hulls. The substantial pressure drag inherent in these structures leads to excessive fuel consumption and elevated carbon emissions during long-distance transit. Consequently, potential drag-reduction strategies must be explored to address these hydrodynamic inefficiencies. Among various technologies, fairings attached to the FOWT structure emerge as a promising solution, with potential drag reductions of around 40%. However, extensive research is required to ensure these designs do not compromise system stability, while also providing a net carbon emission reduction that justifies their production for large-scale deployment. Ultimately, integrating effective drag-reduction technologies is a vital step towards improving both the economic viability and the environmental footprint of the FOWT industry, ensuring its long-term sustainability in the global energy transition.

The development of renewable energy sources is inevitable to create a sustainable society for the future. Hybrid wind and wave energy systems are highly regarded as a solution to reduce the cost of energy from offshore wind and waves. The manuscript presents a novel semi-submersible floating wind platform referred to as Septon which is designed with the intention of hosting a multitude of wave energy devices in addition to a wind turbine. Three different wave energy converters (WEC) namely oscillating water column, Torus and point absorber along with their combinations with the Septon platform are considered in the study to understand the dynamic behaviour and power absorption of standalone and integrated configuration. Seven different configurations of the hybrid system are considered for the analysis. Coupled dynamic analysis is performed using an aero-hydro-servo-elastic tool based on boundary element method to analyze the responses of the hybrid platforms under realistic sea states. The motion responses, tower base moments, mooring tensions and power absorption of the hybrid systems are analyzed and compared with the Septon floating wind platform to quantify the effect of various combination of WECs around the wind turbine platform. The numerical results shows that different combinations have a significant impact on the dynamic responses of the platform. The study identifies the hybrid system combining OWC and Torus with the proposed Septon platform as the concept with maximum efficiency in power absorption.

Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) are essential for meeting global renewable energy goals, yet their viability depends strongly on platform motion in harsh marine environments and the resulting influence on structural loading and the levelized cost of energy. This study examines the dynamic response of a 15 MW semi-submersible FOWT based on the IEA-15-240-RWT developed by NREL. The baseline UMaine VolturnUS-S platform is evaluated alongside two newly proposed variants, KSNU-1 15 MW and KSNU-2 15 MW, each equipped with distinct heave-plate configurations designed to enhance hydrodynamic damping while maintaining equal surface area for fair comparison. Hydrodynamic coefficients are obtained through potential-flow analysis using Ansys Aqwa, and fully coupled aero-hydro-servo-elastic simulations are conducted with OpenFAST. The performance of all platforms is assessed under two design load cases (DLCs): the fatigue limit state (FLS) and the ultimate limit state (ULS). The results show that both KSNU platforms achieve slight reductions in surge, sway, and heave motions, with KSNU-2 providing the most consistent improvement in vertical and horizontal stability. Rotational responses increase modestly but remain within acceptable limits. Overall, the KSNU-2 design demonstrates improved motion control without compromising energy output, offering a promising configuration for large-scale floating wind applications.

The ocean offers abundant wind and wave energy resources. This paper proposes an integrated concept that co-locates a semi-submersible floating wind platform with wave energy converters (WECs) to exploit the geographical consistency of these resources. By sharing the platform foundation and power transmission infrastructure, this integrated system enhances the utilization efficiency of marine space and renewable energy. Inspired by the principles of the Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) and leveraging mature hydraulic technologies from wave energy conversion and offshore drilling heave compensation systems, this study introduces a novel scheme. This scheme integrates a heave plate with a hydraulic Power Take-Off (PTO) system, functionally acting as a wave energy converter, to the floating platform. The primary objective is to mitigate the platform’s motion response while simultaneously generating electricity. The research investigates the motion performance improvement of this integrated platform under South China Sea conditions. The results demonstrate that the proposed WEC–PTO system not only improves the platform’s wave resistance and adaptability to deep-sea environments but also increases the overall efficiency of marine energy equipment deployment.

The study focuses on a semi-submersible wind-wave integrated power-generation platform, which consists of an OO-Star semi-submersible platform equipped with a DTU 10 MW wind turbine and a set of wave energy converters. A hydrodynamic model was established using ANSYS-AQWA (2023 R1), and by incorporating upper wind loads and utilizing the open-source program F2A, a fully coupled time-domain model of the integrated power-generation platform was constructed. The primary objective is to explore the interaction mechanisms between the upper wind turbine and the lower wave energy devices under the combined effects of irregular waves and turbulent wind through a series of operational conditions. Additionally, the safety of the mooring system was assessed. The results indicate that, compared to the wave period, the power generation of the lower wave energy devices is more significantly affected by wave height. Overall, the integrated power-generation platform demonstrates optimal performance under the third operational condition. In survival conditions, the introduction of oscillating buoys can improve the motion responses of the platform in terms of sway, roll, pitch, and yaw to a certain extent, but it also increases the surge and heave motion responses and the associated mooring loads. The mooring system can ensure the safety of the integrated power-generation platform under extreme sea conditions.

Based on a new semi-submersible floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT), a coupling aero-hydro-flexible model was established to study its dynamic behaviors, as well as the corresponding mooring system, under complicated sea scenarios. The aerodynamic load, the wave load, the current load, and the mooring load were taken into consideration. To further investigate the influence of the mooring parameters on the floating system, the diameter and the total length of mooring lines, which are the most critical parameters in mooring line design, were chosen to be analyzed. Particularly, five diameters and seven lengths were adopted to establish the FOWT mooring system, and a time-domain simulation was carried out for each cases. Based on the numerical simulations, their influences on the mooring system stiffness and the dynamic responses of FOWT were studied. The results show that the diameter has little influence on the static shape of the mooring line. The mooring system stiffness can be effectively increased by reducing the length and increasing the diameter of mooring lines. Moreover, the surge motion of floating foundation can be effectively controlled by increasing the mooring line diameter and decreasing mooring line length under the rated sea scenario. From this aspect, the dynamic response features of the FOWTs could be improved.

Accurate prediction of the time-dependent system dynamic responses of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) under aero-hydro-coupled conditions is a challenge. This paper presents a numerical modeling tool using commercial computational fluid dynamics software, STAR-CCM+(V12.02.010), to perform a fully coupled dynamic analysis of the DeepCwind semi-submersible floating platform with the National Renewable Engineering Lab (NREL) 5-MW baseline wind turbine model under combined wind–wave excitation environment conditions. Free-decay tests for rigid-body degrees of freedom (DOF) in still water and hydrodynamic tests for a regular wave are performed to validate the numerical model by inputting gross system parameters supported in the Offshore Code Comparison, Collaboration, Continued, with Correlations (OC5) project. A full-configuration FOWT simulation, with the simultaneous motion of the rotating blade due to 6-DOF platform dynamics, was performed. A relatively heavy load on the hub and blade was observed for the FOWT compared with the onshore wind turbine, leading to a 7.8% increase in the thrust curve; a 10% decrease in the power curve was also observed for the floating-type turbines, which could be attributed to the smaller project area and relative wind speed required for the rotor to receive wind power when the platform pitches. Finally, the tower-blade interference effects, blade-tip vortices, turbulent wakes, and shedding vortices in the fluid domain with relatively complex unsteady flow conditions were observed and investigated in detail.

A novel semi-submersible platform is proposed for 5 MW wind turbines. This concept focuses on an integrated system formed by combining porous shells with a semi-submersible platform. A coupled aerodynamic–hydrodynamic–mooring analysis of the new system is performed. The motion responses of the novel platform system and the traditional platform are compared. The differences in hydrodynamic performance between the two platforms are also evaluated. The influence of the geometric parameters (porosity, diameter, and wall thickness) of porous shells on the motion response behavior of the new system is studied. Overall, the new semi-submersible platform exhibits superior stability in terms of pitch and heave degrees of freedom, demonstrating minimal effects on the motion response in the surge degree of freedom.