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

Submission Number: 157317

Numerical Analysis and Review of Taut-Leg and Compliant Mooring Systems for
Floating Photovoltaic Systems 

This paper investigates the motions and dynamic loads on a floating photovoltaic system. The present analysis leads to better management of the loads acting on the floating bodies and aspects that can be considered to improve solar energy production. The floating system comprises modular rafts and mooring lines, allowing the floaters to adapt to different water depths. This system is time domain simulated, applying the multi-body approach to evaluate the solar system behavior subject to the meteoceanographic loads established using EUROCODE recommendations. Taut-leg and complaint mooring line systems are analyzed to define the best arrangement. The analyses show that a complaint configuration reduces the maximum tension in the lines, which is a good alternative compared to a taut-leg methodology. On the other hand, the azimuth control of floating solar islands has been studied experimentally and numerically in this paper. The comparison between the simulated data and tests conducted in the subsea visualization tank from the Laboratory of Waves and Currents (LOC-COPPE/UFRJ) created a basis for the concept of an azimuth control system to be installed at a turret of floating islands to improve the annual energy production, allowing a better alignment between the solar radiation and the photovoltaic modules.

Presenting Author: Rodrigo Batista Soares Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Presenting Author Biography: He holds a degree in Naval and Ocean Engineering (2021) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a Master's in Ocean Engineering (2022) from the same institution. He is currently a doctoral researcher at UFRJ. He has experience in the area of ​​Naval and Ocean Engineering and Renewable Energies, working mainly on the following topics: Wind Energy, Floating Solar Energy, Oscillating Water Column, Hydrokinetic Energy of Rivers, Oscillatory Flow, VAACT Turbine, Efficiency, Experimental Hydrodynamics and Computational Fluid Mechanics.