Response of a TLP floating wind turbine subjected to combined wind and wave loading

In this paper, a tension leg platform solution for a floating offshore wind turbine is investigated. A representative location has been chosen to define the environmental loading conditions. The proposed configuration has been subjected to combined wind and wave loading giving rise to the coupled response. The initial study has been done for a two dimensional configuration and two dimensional waves. The effect of wind loading is modelled by means of a simplified constant thrust and a varying aerodynamic thrust from unsteady Blade Element Momentum theory. Wind and wave loads are coupled through a simplified method. The two dimensional responses provide insight into the platform motion and wind turbine behaviour, which gives further motivation for extending the model to 3D and further coupling with an advanced aero-elastic code.