Numerical Modelling of a Combined Tension Moored Wind and Wave Energy Convertor System

The offshore wind industry is moving to deeper water sites which generally have more severe environmental conditions. This presents not only a challenge to deploying devices in such conditions but also an opportunity for developing combined hybrid platforms that harvest both wind and wave energy. This paper introduces the novel tension moored combined wind and wave energy converter (WEC): TWindWave. Numerical modelling of the system in power production and novel survival modes is undertaken. Hydrodynamic interaction is analysed and shown to reduce the overall WEC power production. The addition of the WECs onto platform characteristics is described. Novel survival modes which involve ballasting the WEC floats and sinking them along the platform columns, before they rotate around the column and pontoon connecting bends are described and analysed. Future work incorporating these results and more advanced techniques are proposed.