Investigation of the dynamic response of a floating wind-aquaculture platform under the combined actions of wind, waves and current

Abstract

Floating wind-aquaculture platforms are drawing increasing attention from the academic and engineering communities due to their potential to fully exploit and utilize marine space and its resources. However, these platforms integrate both the hydrodynamics and aerodynamics of floating wind turbines and aquaculture cages, making their mechanical properties more complex. This study aims to evaluate the effects of three different hydrodynamic and aerodynamic damping components on and the contribution of the stochastic environmental loads to the dynamic response of a floating wind-aquaculture platform. A coupled hydro-aero-servo method is established. Decay and forced oscillation tests of the platform in still water are firstly numerically performed, followed by simulation of the dynamic behavior under different combinations of environmental loads, including the fluctuating wind load of the blades, stochastic wave excitation forces on the floating body and viscous force of the aquaculture cage system. The aerodynamic damping of the wind turbine and the hydrodynamic damping of the floating body are dominant in low- and wave-frequency range, respectively. Regarding the environmental load components, the second-order wave force and the turbulent wind load are dominant in the surge direction in the low-frequency range. The dynamic response of the platform in the wave-frequency range is mainly induced by the first-order wave force. Fish nets can suppress the low-frequency motion but have almost no influence on the wave-frequency motion.