Numerical analysis of the offshore wind turbine pre-mating process using a low-height lifting system for a nonconventional installation vessel.

The offshore wind industry is a growing business. New and alternative installation methods which have the potential to reduce the cost of developing offshore wind farms are urgently needed. In this paper, an innovative concept that is tentatively designed for median or large water-depth sites is studied. The conventional jacked-up installation vessel is replaced by the small waterplane area twin-hull vessel (SWATH) equipped with the dynamic position (DP) system, and the heavy lifting is replaced by the low-height lifting crane with lifting wires for lowering the assembled OWT to the floating foundation. The global dynamic responses of the installation system under environmental loads are investigated by the fully coupled nonlinear numerical models, and the corresponding strength capacity for the lifting crane is validated. Several sea states are selected to study the feasibility of the concept, and the response variables of the OWT tower mating point (i.e., the displacement and velocity) are analyzed under different loading conditions. The lifting wires and selected lifting crane components are also investigated to understand their force situations. Some interesting conclusions are drawn, which can provide references for introducing the control system to the low-height lifting system and further optimizing the concept. • A comprehensive numerical model for pre-assembled OWT installation is proposed. • The low-height lifting crane's flexibility and the details of the lifted OWT are considered. • The lifting crane's buckling stability under dynamic load conditions is validated. • The responses of the installation concept is calculated under combined wind and wave loads. • A deeper understanding of the installation concept is achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]