Heave Plate Hydrodynamic Coefficients for Floating Offshore Wind Turbines – A Compilation of Data

Abstract The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s OpenFAST software is utilized by academics and industry professionals alike to simulate offshore wind turbines. The software’s modeling of hydrodynamic loads on heave plates attached to these structures relies on user-specified hydrodynamic coefficients. To guide the proper selection of these coefficients and potentially develop a new functionality within OpenFAST that automatically prescribes and/or adjusts the heave-plate hydrodynamic coefficients, we review past literature to examine the dependence of the added mass, damping, and drag coefficients on various relevant nondimensional parameters, including the Keulegan-Carpenter number, the frequency parameter, and the plate thickness ratio. Existing data in the literature show strong dependence of the hydrodynamic coefficients on the Keulegan-Carpenter number. We observe consistent trends across a range of different plate geometry, plate porosity, and flow conditions. Secondary dependence of the coefficients on the frequency parameter and plate thickness ratio is also present.