Announcing the Final Examination of Tajnuba Hasan for the degree of Master of Science
This thesis presents an innovative approach to enhance the stability of floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) platform through mooring actuation. First, an OC3-Hywind spar buoy floating platform is modeled utilizing the Control-oriented, Reconfigurable, and Acausal Floating Turbine Simulator (CRAFTS) with a specific focus on predicting hydrodynamic and mooring line loads while intentionally excluding consideration of aerodynamic forces. The accuracy of this model is validated against the industry standard OpenFAST simulator through various test cases. The central objective of this study revolves around achieving robust stabilization of the spar buoy platform, primarily focusing on X-Z symmetric planar motions, including surge, pitch, and heave degrees of freedom (DOFs). To accomplish this, two linearization techniques are employed: one transforms the inherently complex nonlinear model from CRAFTS into a linear Mass-Spring-Damper (MSD) system, particularly targeting surge and pitch motions, while the other method involves the conversion of the nonlinear model from CRAFTS into the Functional Mockup Interface (FMI) within MATLAB/Simulink for linearization. The analysis utilizing Bode plots derived from these linearized models yields crucial insights into the system's response to mooring actuation. Notably, it emphasizes the inherent challenge in pitch control, characterized by lower gain compared to surge at relevant frequencies, necessitating substantial mooring actuation or cable length modifications for effective pitch stabilization. Then, a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) controller is designed to mitigate surge and pitch motions. Numerical simulations conducted across diverse scenarios reveal the inherent challenge in simultaneously mitigating surge
and pitch motions using the original platform configuration. To address this challenge, a control co-design strategy is proposed, leading to the development of an optimized mooring line configuration that effectively stabilizes both motions with minimal adjustments. In summary, this thesis introduces a control-oriented modeling approach and an innovative control
strategy to enhance the stability of the floating wind turbine platform through mooring actuation. The results emphasize the potential for broader application of this approach to various floating platforms for FOWTs and the extension of stabilization efforts to address all six DOFs in future research, where aerodynamic loads are also incorporated.
Committee in Charge:
Tuhin Das, Chair, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Sagnik Mazumdar, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Yunjun Xu, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering