Analysis of Tidal Turbine Mooring Systems in Turbulent Flows Applying the (Wind Industry) FAST Simulation Tool and DSA ProteusDS Software

For floating tidal turbine platforms, the turbine forces and resulting platform motions have a direct impact on the lifetime of its moorings and cables. This means the tidal sector must predict accurate tidal turbine loading on floating platforms to determine mooring life and cable longevity. This project investigated the coupling of wind-turbine modelling software known as FAST with the cable dynamics software ProteusDS from DSA, to more accurately predict the fatigue life and loading on cables. The intent was to contribute to developing a feature in ProteusDS, enabling more accurate turbine modelling. This enables tidal developers to more accurately predict mooring and power cable loading, which is critical for reducing project operational risks.

Team

Principal Investigators:  Dean Steinke, Dynamic Systems Analysis (DSA) Ltd.; Dr. Matt Hall, UPEI; Dr. Robynne Murray, NREL-USA

Date
March – September 2018