Improvement of Hydrodynamic Response of a Semi-submersible Wind Turbine with Damping Sheets

This study investigated the effect of damping plates on the hydrodynamic responses of a semisubmersible wind turbine.First, the original turbine model without damping plates was simulated under wave loading using the Boundary Element Method (BEM), and the results were validated against experimental data.Following this, eight different configurations of damping plates-varying in size, quantity, and installation position-were evaluated.The results revealed that the introduction of damping plates increased the natural period of heave motion while reducing its response amplitude in the vicinity of this period.While these plates also extended the natural period of pitch motion, they did not effectively reduce its response amplitude.Analysis of surge motion further confirmed that the damping plates were beneficial in alleviating this movement.The evaluation of structural behavior under 10-year and 100-year wave conditions demonstrated that damping plates significantly reduced heave and surge motions, although they did not yield positive effects on pitch motion.Nevertheless, in all scenarios, the natural period of the structure separated from the wave period, preventing resonance.Ultimately, damping plates with a diameter of 25 meters connected to the columns positioned 5 meters from the pontoons, as well as damping plates with a diameter of 30 meters attached to the pontoons, were identified as optimal solutions for enhancing the hydrodynamic performance of this turbine.