Numerical Simulation of Ship-Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Collision Using the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian Approach

Abstract

The offshore wind industry has experienced significant recent growth, and this trend is expected to continue. Collisions between ships and Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWTs) pose a challenge to this industry. While several numerical and analytical tools have been developed to analyze the crashworthiness of FOWTs, there is insufficient experimental data to verify and validate these methods. This master’s thesis aims to develop a numerical simulation framework using the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) approach, potentially serving as a validation tool for other simplified methods.

The study begins by validating the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) forces obtained through the CEL method against results from Boundary Element Method (BEM) solvers, establishing the accuracy of the proposed approach. A detailed discussion on the proper modeling setup for CEL simulations is presented, addressing key considerations for realistic collision scenarios. Using the OC3-HYWIND spar as the reference turbine, the research compares results from lower-fidelity MCOL simulations with those from the higher-fidelity CEL approach.

This comparison highlights the strengths and limitations of each method in capturing the complex fluid-structure interaction physics during ship-FOWT collisions. The study critically examines the limitations of the CEL approach as a validation tool for ship-FOWT collisions. Areas where both approaches fall short are identified and potential avenues for future development and refinement are proposed.