Configuration and tension analysis of dynamic cables for offshore floating photovoltaic platforms

Offshore floating photovoltaics (FPV) is vital for marine clean energy, with dynamic cables connecting FPV to grids directly governing plant operations in complex ocean environments. Based on classical catenary equations mapping environmental loads onto segment horizontal projection variations, the intrinsic relationship between half-span projected length and minimum tension for varying cable lengths is established prior to full tensioning. By mapping critical mechanical boundaries onto the spatial geometric coordinate system, a solution is derived to calculate the allowable motion envelope for preliminary design. In ANSYS, beam elements with low bending and high tensile stiffness perform iterative form finding to evaluate buoyancy module counts, elevation, and length distributions on cable profiles and tension, determining optimal configurations. A coupled platform-cable model in AQWA calculates dynamic tensions under varying wave heights and incidence angles via time-domain simulations, while spectral analysis reveals dominant tension drivers. Results show: equal-length and equal-elevation buoyancy distributions achieve optimal peak tension; increasing wave height elevates tension and fluctuation ranges; transitioning wave angles from shortening to extension monotonically decreases mean tension, with standard deviation displaying a V-shaped distribution; and extreme global tension variations are predominantly driven by platform first-order heave and roll motions.