Session: 09-07-02: Floating Solar Energy II

Submission Number: 156149

Influence of External Stiffness on the Hydroelastic Behaviour of a Floating Photovoltaic Concept 

In recent years, innovative renewable energy solutions at sea have gained significant interest. As one of such solutions, offshore floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems can produce clean solar energy in remote waters but may encounter harsh environmental conditions. For FPV concepts with interconnected floating modules, the hydroelastic behavior of an array under wave loads is influenced by the internal stiffness due to connectors and external stiffness due to mooring lines. This study selects an offshore FPV concept and examines the impact of mooring line stiffness on the floater motion and bending moment of an array under different wave conditions. The studied FPV array consists of 6 interconnected floaters, which are modelled as rectangular plates using Mindlin plate theory within a hybrid finite element-boundary element framework. The modal expansion method is employed to efficiently solve the large stiffness matrix of the array. Only the mooring stiffness in the vertical degrees of freedom is considered. Hydroelasticity effects of this FPV array are assessed in terms of structural and motion performance by comparing the impact of varying mooring stiffness. In future, factors such as array size and water depth can be explored to optimise mooring design further.

Keywords— Offshore floating photovoltaic; hydroelastic behavior; mooring stiffness, Mindlin plate elements; modal expansion method

Presenting Author: Thea Leventopoulou University of Agder

Presenting Author Biography: Thea (26) is a Greek Naval Architect currently working at the University of Agder in Norway as a PhD Research Fellow. Her research interests lie in hydrodynamic and structural analysis of floating photovoltaic concepts. She holds a MEng. in Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering. After her internship in MARIN, which was related with modeling of towed transports, she worked for Damen Naval, as Shock & Noise Specialist, focused on shock & noise aspects, FEM analysis, and onboard verifications.