Macro-model of chain-clay interaction for simulating the mooring line pretension in SIMA

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4. Macro-model of chain-clay interaction for simulating the mooring line pretension in SIMA

Traditional fully integrated analyses of floating wind turbines (FWTs) often assume that mooring points are fixed on the seabed, overlooking the complex interactions between the mooring lines and the seabed itself. This simplification fails to account for factors like seabed friction. As a result, it introduces potential inconsistencies and uncertainties into mooring system design, potentially leading to less accurate predictions of performance and safety under varying ocean conditions. This study presents a macro-model integrated into SIMA to simulate the mooring line pretension in clay, capturing the coupled non-linear relationship between displacement and soil reaction forces in three dimensional space. The model was applied to analyze seabed friction and chain embedment effects during the pretension process based on the VolturnUS-S floater with the IEA 15MW floating wind turbine. The study highlights the critical role of modeling the embedded mooring line in accurately capturing seabed friction mobilization. When the embedded portion of the mooring line is not considered, the model predicts higher tension in the mooring lines due to reduced displacement near the padeye on the seabed. This finding underscores the importance of accounting for the embedded line to achieve a more realistic representation of seabed friction between the mooring line and the seabed.

5th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics (ISFOG2025)

15 - Mooring lines, Cables, Pipelines, Immersed tunnels and Risers