Variable buoyancy anchor deployment analysis for floating wind applications using a Marine Simulator

Rodrigo Martinez; Sergi Arnau; Callum Scullion; Paddy Collins; Richard D. Neilson; Marcin Kapitaniak

doi:10.1016/j.oceaneng.2023.115417

Variable buoyancy anchor deployment analysis for floating wind applications using a Marine Simulator

Rodrigo Martinez, Sergi Arnau, Callum Scullion, Paddy Collins, Richard D. Neilson, Marcin Kapitaniak^* (Corresponding Author)

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

2 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

To study the feasibility of deploying a novel type of anchor with variable buoyancy for mooring floating offshore wind turbines, a set of detailed modelling studies was performed in the state of-the-art Marine Simulator at the National Decommissioning Centre. The aim of the multiphysics simulations is to assess fully a proposed craneless deployment method that involves towing the anchor from the harbour to the installation site, pumping liquid ballast to overcome anchor’s buoyancy and lowering it to the seabed using only a winch, thereby simplifying the process, and reducing installation costs. As a test case, a novel shape of the floating anchor is considered, to establish the feasibility of its deployment in conjunction with the variable buoyancy technology and installation sequence. The analysis is divided into three sections: characterisation of the anchor buoyancy, positioning the anchor under the stern of the vessel and the controlled descent of the anchor to the seabed, under varying weather and operational conditions (e.g significant wave height, current, winch velocity, liquid ballast mass, ballast pump rate). The analysis allows assessment of the importance of the different factors affecting the proposed deployment scenario of variable buoyancy anchors, such as the winch velocity, the ballast mass and the pump rate.

Original language	English
Article number	115417
Number of pages	21
Journal	Ocean Engineering
Volume	285
Issue number	Part 2
Early online date	25 Jul 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2023.115417
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

The research presented in this paper has been primarily sponsored by EPSRC’s Supergen ORE Hub & ORE Catapult Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence (grant number FF2021-1040). The authors acknowledge funding received from Energy Technology Partnership Knowledge Exchange Network scheme (grant number PR057-ME) that provided additional funding to support this work. The authors wish to thank Oceanetics Inc. and Aubin Group for their support towards this project. This work has benefited from the support and funding received from Net Zero Technology Centre and The University of Aberdeen through their partnership in The National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) and The Scottish Government’s Decommissioning Challenge Fund in part-funding the establishment of the Marine Simulator research facility at the NDC.

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available on request.

Keywords

Marine simulator
Virtual prototyping
Underwater towing operation
Anchor dynamics
Floating wind

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.oceaneng.2023.115417Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Martinez_etal_OE_Variable_Buoancy_Anchor_VOR
© 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Final published version, 4.19 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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abstract = "To study the feasibility of deploying a novel type of anchor with variable buoyancy for mooring floating offshore wind turbines, a set of detailed modelling studies was performed in the state of-the-art Marine Simulator at the National Decommissioning Centre. The aim of the multiphysics simulations is to assess fully a proposed craneless deployment method that involves towing the anchor from the harbour to the installation site, pumping liquid ballast to overcome anchor{\textquoteright}s buoyancy and lowering it to the seabed using only a winch, thereby simplifying the process, and reducing installation costs. As a test case, a novel shape of the floating anchor is considered, to establish the feasibility of its deployment in conjunction with the variable buoyancy technology and installation sequence. The analysis is divided into three sections: characterisation of the anchor buoyancy, positioning the anchor under the stern of the vessel and the controlled descent of the anchor to the seabed, under varying weather and operational conditions (e.g significant wave height, current, winch velocity, liquid ballast mass, ballast pump rate). The analysis allows assessment of the importance of the different factors affecting the proposed deployment scenario of variable buoyancy anchors, such as the winch velocity, the ballast mass and the pump rate.",

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note = "The research presented in this paper has been primarily sponsored by EPSRC{\textquoteright}s Supergen ORE Hub & ORE Catapult Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence (grant number FF2021-1040). The authors acknowledge funding received from Energy Technology Partnership Knowledge Exchange Network scheme (grant number PR057-ME) that provided additional funding to support this work. The authors wish to thank Oceanetics Inc. and Aubin Group for their support towards this project. This work has benefited from the support and funding received from Net Zero Technology Centre and The University of Aberdeen through their partnership in The National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) and The Scottish Government{\textquoteright}s Decommissioning Challenge Fund in part-funding the establishment of the Marine Simulator research facility at the NDC.",

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AU - Kapitaniak, Marcin

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ER -

Variable buoyancy anchor deployment analysis for floating wind applications using a Marine Simulator

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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