Finite element analysis and redesign of the UMaine VolturnUS-S floating platform in MOST and Ansys.

In the last years, offshore energy is getting an increasing role within the renewable energies. The growth of this new type of energy has been possible thanks to the development of new technologies. One of the fundamental associated technologies which makes possible the implementation of offshore energy are the floating platforms, in which the wind turbines are sustained. This project focuses on the redesign and testing of an existing floating platform model, the UMaine VolturnUS-S. This model will be simulated in different static and dynamic conditions in order to understand its structural behavior. In addition, its geometry will be modified in order to ensure its structural stability in the conditions simulated. Parallel to that, a new process for validating the design will be developed and tested with this model. This new validation process, based on the standardized one, will try to simplify it in order to save time and computational costs. Finally, a study of the different critical parameters of the simulations performed for the validation process will be done in order to understand its real influence and importance at the time of validating the structural stability of the platform.