Mooring system for floating wind turbine
AssigneeEquinor Energy AS
InventorBjørn Skaare
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A wind turbine system including a rotationally asymmetric floating wind turbine installation and a rotationally asymmetric mooring system connected to the floating wind turbine installation. The mooring system includes a number of mooring lines connected, directly or indirectly, to the floating wind turbine installation such that the mooring system has a lower yaw stiffness when a wind acting on the wind turbine installation comes from 0° than when a wind acting on the wind turbine installation comes from ±90°. A wind coming from 0° is defined as a wind direction when the horizontal part of the aerodynamic rotor thrust force resulting from the wind is directed towards the center of gravity of the floating wind turbine installation.
Claims16
A wind turbine system comprising a rotationally asymmetric floating wind turbine installation and a rotationally asymmetric mooring system connected to the floating wind turbine installation, wherein the mooring system comprises a plurality of mooring lines connected, directly or indirectly, to the floating wind turbine installation such that the mooring system has a lower yaw stiffness when a wind acting on the wind turbine installation comes from 0° than when a wind acting on the wind turbine installation comes from ±90°, wherein a wind coming from 0° is defined as a wind direction when the horizontal part of the aerodynamic rotor thrust force resulting from the wind is directed towards the centre of gravity of the floating wind turbine installation;
- wherein:
- the mooring system comprises at least one first mooring line and at least one second mooring line, each of the at least one first and second mooring lines having a wind turbine installation connection end for connection to the floating wind turbine installation;
- the wind turbine installation connection end of the at least one first mooring line is arranged at a location closer to the rotor than the wind turbine installation connection end of the at least one second mooring line;
- and
- the wind turbine installation connection end of the at least one second mooring line is located further from the floating wind turbine installation than the wind turbine installation connection end of the at least one first mooring line.
A method of mooring a rotationally asymmetric wind turbine installation, the method comprising:
- providing a rotationally asymmetric mooring system comprising a plurality of mooring lines;
- and
- connecting the plurality of mooring lines, directly or indirectly, to the floating wind turbine installation such that the mooring system has a lower yaw stiffness when a wind acting on the wind turbine installation comes from 0° than when a wind acting on the wind turbine installation comes from +90°, wherein a wind coming from 0° is defined as a wind direction when the horizontal part of the aerodynamic rotor thrust force resulting from the wind is directed towards the centre of gravity of the floating wind turbine installation;
- wherein:
- the mooring system comprises at least one first mooring line and at least one second mooring line, each of the at least one first and second mooring lines having a wind turbine installation connection end for connection to the floating wind turbine installation;
- the wind turbine installation connection end of the at least one first mooring line is arranged at a location closer to the rotor than the wind turbine installation connection end of the at least one second mooring line;
- and
- the wind turbine installation connection end of the at least one second mooring line is located further from the floating wind turbine installation than the wind turbine installation connection end of the at least one first mooring line.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.