Floating Wind Turbine Mooring Cable Intersection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Floating wind turbine generators face instability due to drift force and rotational moment caused by wind and wave loads, necessitating a stable mooring solution for virtual triangular-shaped floating bodies.

Innovation Solution

A mooring device with first and second mooring cables extending from vertices, intersecting away from the floating body, and optionally a third cable connected to the vertex with the largest interior angle, to counteract rotational forces and stabilize the floating body.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a floating body is used to install wind turbine generator in deep water, then the wind turbine can be installed in deep water regions where bottom-mounted type is uneconomic, but the floating body experiences drift force and rotational moment causing instability

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinstallation capability in deep waterVSAvoidmooring stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The mooring system is segmented into multiple independent mooring cables (at least two cables) connected to different vertices of the triangular floating body, allowing each cable to independently manage specific directional forces and moments, thereby achieving stable mooring in deep water

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Multiple mooring cables are combined to work together as a unified mooring system, where the cables are arranged and tensioned to collectively resist both drift force and rotational moment, achieving stable mooring through coordinated action of multiple elements

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Stability of the object's composition

If mooring cables are arranged to counteract rotational moment, then the floating body stability is improved, but the mooring device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresistance to rotational momentVSAvoidmooring cable arrangement
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The mooring cables are asymmetrically arranged by connecting them to specific vertices of the triangular floating body (excluding the vertex with the largest interior angle), creating an optimized configuration that effectively counters rotational moment while maintaining manageable system complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

Data Source

PatentEP2789849B1Floating type wind turbine generating apparatus
Publication Date: 2016.10.05 MITSUBISHI HEAVY IND LTD
  • EP2789849B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2789849B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2789849B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An object is to provide a floating type wind turbine generating apparatus including a mooring device capable of mooring a floating body stably against drift force and rotational moment. A floating type wind turbine generating apparatus comprises a floating body (20) floating on a water surface, a wind turbine generator (10) installed on the floating body; and a mooring device (36) configured to moor the floating body. The floating body is formed into a virtual triangular shape having three vertices in a planar view. The mooring device (36) includes a first mooring cable (34b) and a second mooring cable (34c), the first mooring cable connected to one vertex of two vertices and the second mooring cable connected to other vertex of the two vertices, the two vertices excluding a vertex having a largest interior angle or, in a case where there are two or more vertices having the largest interior angle, excluding an arbitrary vertex of the two or more vertices from among the three vertices of the virtual triangular shape. Each of the first and second mooring cables extends in a direction such that the first and second mooring cables extend away from the floating body (20) and intersect with each other in the planar view.