Dynamic analysis for fatigue performances assessment in floating offshore wind turbines electrical cables

A procedure is proposed to determine the fatigue life of the electrical cable connected to a 5MW floating offshore wind turbine supported by spar-buoy at a water depth of 320 meters by using a numerical approach that takes into account site-specific wave and wind characteristics. The effect of the intensity and the simultaneous action of wave and wind are investigated and outcomes for specific cable configurations are shown. Finally, the fatigue life of the cable is evaluated. All analyses have been carried out using Ansys AQWA computational code, which is a commercial code for the numerical investigation of the dynamic response of floating and fixed marine structures under the combined action of wind, waves and current. Furthermore, this study applies FAST NREL numerical code for comparison with ANSYS AQWA results.